121: Screenshotting the adidas trackpants into existence
121: Screenshotting the adidas trackpants into existence
How to wear adidas' Adicolor Classics Wide Leg Pants three ways.
The adidas trackpant lore begins from deep within my iPhone screenshots folder titled “Other people’s outfits.” There’s a pretty clear arc tracing the journey of “un-Fashion” pants Fashion has co-opted since 2019, getting us to where we are now—cycling shorts (e.g. the Posternak twins wearing them with Nike Air Rifts and Prada Linea Rossa tanks and Pleats Please), then sweatpants mid-pandemic (with strappy heels as per Jenna Saraco, or even belted, as in Willy Chavarria’s lookbook), boxer shorts spilling from Celine Winter ‘22 (á la Julia Viner tagged by Alexa Pedulla in Toteme-esque boots), then basketball shorts the following summer (Liana Satenstein during FW with a LV briefcase, Claudia Nicole Cruz with an Odeon cap and tabis), which would ultimately make way to boom ! trackpants everywhere.
The instances I captured are abundant and inspiring: Gray Broderick captured by Ava Van Osol in a red pair with The Row mesh flats and a trench coat; Maitreya Brooks with Salomons; Vic and Caro Jelert and a Bottega Intrecciato hobo; Mari Giudicelli in a blazer and flip-flops…or alternatively in a blazer and fur hat; Tora Northman in the Loewe leather “boobs” jacket and a vintage Gucci bag; Ana Kras in Commission’s $795 pair; Elizabeth Tampkin in her Prince of Wales check car coat; Hedi Stanton plus socks and loafers. I’ve outed myself as a voyeur plenty, so I’ll stop there, but just trust that I have an adamantine case.
adidas Adicolor Classics Wide Leg Pants, $80 / vintage Gucci tank (similar, $181) / Mansur Gavriel Pencil Bag, $265 / vintage Miu Miu kitten heels (similar, $480) / Wolf Circus Tidal Necklace in Silver, $269 / Charlotte Chesnais Initial Ear Cuff, $435
These particular trackpants—adidas' Adicolor Classics Wide Leg Pants—are so great for styling because of their unusually wide leg and cotton-blend composition, which is more relaxed and frankly more forgiving than thin, revealing nylon can be. Wearing them á la sportif doesn’t command an outfit breakdown, but does provide a starting point for doing something a little different.
Here, that means pairing them with a black tank (mine’s a vintage Gucci that crops at the waist, but any ribbed black tank works, obviously), and then letting my feet gravitate into the kitten heels (vintage Miu Mius per the silver shoe agenda) that I’ve trained them to seek out over years of refusing most other footwear. The bag, Mansur Gavriel’s Pencil Case, I’m gutted to say is no longer in production, but has been a go-to of mine for years when an outfit needs a gentle pop.
adidas Adicolor Classics Wide Leg Pants, $80 / AMO Long Rib Tank, $85 / vintage Prada jacket from Reluxe Fashion (similar, $112) / vintage Prada slides (similar, $315) / Marni Black Rainbow Mountains Sunglasses, $290 / Wolf Circus Tidal Necklace in Silver, $269 / Charlotte Chesnais Initial Ear Cuff, $435
These pants are so easy. Too easy? Another ribbed tank, now in white, doesn’t exactly reinvent the wheel, but then again, a well-worn wheel makes for a smooth ride. The ‘90s Prada jacket, one half of a nylon skirt suit from Reluxe Fashion, draws directly from the sweatpants-screenshot canon (hi Mari), offering a balanced counterweight to the low-brow gravity of the adidas. But then, just when things begin to look a little toooooo girlboss-on-the-go, a chill (vintage Prada again) slide is the salt that gives the pants back their vacation flavor that makes them such a fun ingredient in the first place.
adidas Adicolor Classics Wide Leg Pants, $80 / Attersee Sculpted Vest, $495 / vintage Gucci Bamboo bag (similar, $400) / Loq Ema Mary Janes, $340 / Santangelo anklet, $96
The dress up-dress down quality of these adidas’ is also found in a lot of what Attersee does: guaranteed-flattering “whenever” pieces with a generally more polished but equally dynamic use case. Here, its sculpted vest acts its (my) age while the pants get to let loose, the micro-pinstripes on the former echoing adidas’ trademarked tri-stripe along each leg. Meanwhile, a prim patent Loq Mary Jane duos with a beachy Santangelo anklet, soprano and bass harmonizing all the way down from shoulder to toe.
I love that these adidas trackpants are just $80, not a gate being kept in sight, but dropping a few alternate options, in case there’s a different style you might like better: the Commission Jitsu pants worn by Ana Kras, on sale for 40% off, a cargo style from Reformation available in black or white for $198, a black-yellow-striped version from the latest adidas x Wales Bonner collab, and an ethereal blue pair by Fal-Ash I’ve almost bought for the last two SSENSE sales.
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Photos by Nicole Steriovski