Streamlining the Change From Work to Workout

Time is precious. Gobbling up big chunks are family, work, shopping and, if there are a few spare moments, exercise. Many women choose to work out at a gym on the way home from the office, finding it an efficient way to wind down from a long day.

One of the disadvantages, especially when women are running late for a class in hip-hop aerobics, is that they’ve got to rush into the locker room and change. Wouldn’t it be easier if they could wear something that doubles as office and exercise wear?

“One of the easiest ways to do this is with a unitard,” says Cassie Piasecki of Body Issue in Laguna Hills. “You can match it with a blazer, which makes it look like you’re wearing leggings. Then take off the blazer, change your shoes, and you’re ready for your class.”

In offices where conservative clothing is the rule, women can still take advantage of some workout fashions.

“A fancy leotard can be worn under a suit, making it look like a nice top. Add baggy sweat pants to pull on at the gym, and you’re ready,” Piasecki says.

“It works better with spring and summer fashions,” says clothing consultant Sara D’Allassandro of Yorba Linda. “I’ve gone to events wearing a white linen pantsuit with a leotard underneath, then afterward took off the suit, slipped on some shorts and went to the gym.”

While work/workout clothing is convenient, there are pitfalls to planning your wardrobe too much around your exercise schedule.

“Good workout wear can coordinate very well with some of the things you wear to work,” D’Allassandro says. “The problem is that they two have different uses, and they’re going to wear differently.”

A leotard and jacket that match at first may not stay that way. The leotard is likely to be washed many more times than the jacket will be cleaned, and during workouts it will be stressed, stretched and pulled. After a few months of this, the leotard may be faded and ill-fitting, while the jacket looks like new.

“If you work out fairly regularly, you probably already know how long it takes for one of your exercise outfits to wear out,” D’Allassandro says. “Make sure the one you’re wearing to the office is still fairly new, (that) the seams are still sewn and (that) it looks like a top you didn’t get to lift free weights in.”