Let’s face it: The world is absolutely bonkers right now, and most people are acting accordingly. The CDC’s guidelines to practice social distancing by maintaining at least a six-foot distance from others has thrown a significant portion of the population — excluding those bravely fighting on the front lines against the coronavirus pandemic — into a collective stir-crazy state of panic, within the confines of their own homes. And what does one yearn for when they feel like they’re truly spiraling? Comfort.
Enter the tie-dye sweatsuit. I first spotted the trend on Ashley Tisdale, who gifted the bored masses with a random yet welcome choreographed dance from High School Musical on TikTok, sporting an oversized set and a messy bun. I haven’t followed Tisdale closely since her days as Sharpay Evans, but the viral video grabbed me. She looked happy, relaxed, almost unforgivably cozy. Suddenly, I desperately needed a tie-dye sweatsuit of my own.
Before I knew it, or even vocalized it, I was being hit with Instagram ads for tie-dye sweatsuits of all patterns and styles. Rainbow, ombré, you name it. I even got one for a DIY kit. Editors and influencers I follow began posting tutorials for how to make your own using a plain white sweatshirt and sweatpants — a stay-at-home activity that’s fun for the whole family! And then it hit me. The tie-dye sweatsuit has become the leopard-print midi skirt of quarantine.
Of course, we all remember “the skirt.” Made popular by millennial cult-favorite label Réalisation Par, the ‘90s-era printed piece inspired look-alikes from Topshop, Free People, ASOS, and pretty much every other brand, not to mention a crowdsourced Instagram account, @leopardprintmidiskirt, that documents the trend in the wild, cementing its place in the sartorial zeitgeist. No matter how hard you tried, you couldn’t unsee the skirt. It was literally everywhere.
Though one is intended for a variety of appropriate uses and the other explicitly for lounging, the appeal of the leopard-print midi skirt and its tie-dye counterpart remains the same. While it could be rendered tacky with the wrong footwear (an unlikely outcome considering the current stay-at-home mandates), most would agree that the tie-dye sweatsuit is just chic enough without being overwhelming; just edgy enough without being too in-your-face.
It’s worth noting that tie-dye loungewear is not something born from quarantine. In fact, its ubiquity can be traced back to last spring, when perpetual cool girl Emily Ratajkowski debuted the laid-back look while walking her dog, Colombo, in New York City. Months later, Gigi Hadid leisurely stepped out post-fashion month wearing a colorful set in a blue-and-yellow print. A few weeks after that, Lady Gaga, giver of infectious, dance-friendly bops, debuted a multicolor version on a plane back to Vegas for her concert residency. And voilà, a star was born (sorry, had to).
Emily Ratajkowski
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Gigi Hadid
Getty ImagesBut most covetable things are cyclical, and sometimes inauspicious times call for digging through the archives. Tie-dye sweats are filling a painfully empty void right now. The saturated colors are rife with joy and promise. You can’t argue with the instant add-to-cart appeal.
Trends may come and go — and hopefully this godforsaken virus goes sooner than later — but as we look ahead to several more weeks of staying holed up inside, the tie-dye sweatsuit, like its leopard-print predecessor, is likely here to stay for the foreseeable future. With that in mind, here are nine better-than-basic options that will make your Instagram stand out from the crowd (or at least six feet away).
