The coolest girls you know are still wearing vintage to the gym

The year is 2007. Gwyneth Paltrow and Madonna are papped on their way to the gym in London. Between the low-slung sweats and Ed Hardy prints, they look comfortable and effortless. What’s more, they look different from each other. There’s a sense that each piece is versatile and authentic to their personal styles.

Comparatively, modern utilitarian athletic clothes have become aligned with conformity, not only to an aesthetic, but to a lifestyle. Through influencer brand partnerships and celebrity endorsements, brands like Alo Yoga utilise exclusivity as a marketing tool (a page on its website, for example, is dedicated to pieces that have been worn by Kendall and Kylie Jenner). Evidently, this strategy worked well enough for Alo’s founders, Marco DeGeorge and Danny Harris, to become billionaires. As a byproduct, the ‘pink pilates princess’ aesthetic became aspirational, driving consumers to seek out brand-name, luxury products in every avenue of beauty, self-care and wellness.

Today, fitness girls who love fashion are yearning for something more. In 2026, athleticwear is more integrated into high fashion than ever before. The SS26 season saw sport-inspired garments appear on runways from Dries Van Noten to Undercover, and professional athletes are increasingly appearing in fashion spaces, from the Met Gala to Miu Miu campaigns. Despite this, mainstream gymwear and athleisure retailers have remained mostly stagnant in design, mass-manufacturing the same nylon pieces that have dominated the market over the last decade. For those seeking a personalised approach to gym clothes, this same-old formula has begun to feel repetitive and, dare I say, basic.

With most modern retailers sticking to the status quo, fashion girls have recently hopped online to demonstrate a natural solution: vintage athletic wear. Last year on TikTok, users began uploading videos showing off thrifted gym outfits with an affinity for playful patterns, vibrant colours and dynamic silhouettes. Isabella Vrana amassed over one million views on her video styling vintage activewear. Influencer Carla Uselton uploaded a TikTok haul of vintage Lululemon pieces from the early 2000s, ones that would simply never be on shelves today. The pieces varied from plaid running shorts and reversible leggings to a ruched racer-back tank. In contrast to their modern counterparts, the vintage garments have personality and feel one-of-a-kind.

It was two winters ago that Uselton began layering thrifted pieces over her matching workout sets to stay warm. With a closet full of mostly secondhand clothes, it was an ‘aha’ moment, when she realised she could thrift her gymwear too. As someone who spends most of her life in activewear, the change has made getting ready for the gym more fun, actually motivating her to show up. “Fitness can be creative, and style and performance aren’t mutually exclusive,” she says. “If it inspires someone else to have fun with their clothes or move their bodies, that’s the best part.”

Of course, the thrifting boom is nothing new and shows no sign of slowing, with a record number of consumers shopping secondhand since 2024, according to ThredUp’s annual report. With over 48 per cent of young consumers citing secondhand as their first choice for apparel, it makes sense that this tendency would eventually trickle into specialised clothing.

Everything can feel so serious in the workout world. I think it’s necessary to have a little fun everywhere you can

In response to 2025’s TikTok trend, archival vintage storefronts are now creating sportswear categories, with some sellers popping up dedicated to gym clothes entirely. Bean by Jess, for example, is a marketplace for secondhand and deadstock apparel founded by Jessica Read, who began reselling her clothes on Depop in 2019. On her website under “pre-loved activewear,” she sells sports bras, loungewear and tees from brands like Puma and VS Pink. Over at Rummage Stretch, founder Isabella Odoy seeks to connect sport and personality. Her vintage athleticwear store offers gently used pieces she describes as “ready for the gym or not.” These storefronts double as time capsules, resurfacing iconic Y2K trends in sportswear that feel fresh compared to what’s on offer today.

When she began Rummage Stretch two summers ago, Odoy wasn’t resonating with modern gymwear. She didn’t recognize herself in constricting workout sets, and this sentiment reflects that of her clientele, she says. Her customers range from tennis players, pilates teachers and golfers, to fashion girls and people that only workout once a month. Along with style, she shares a sense of nostalgia with her clients. “It’s how my mom would dress going to the YMCA to workout,” she says. “Everything can feel so serious in the workout world. I think it’s necessary to have a little fun everywhere you can.”

Grace Robinson, a London-based fashion journalist, explains that after the storm of Brat summer and rise of models like Gabbriette and Alex Consani, culture has grown a reverence for edginess and authenticity. Frankly, people are bored with a perfectly polished look, evidenced by the younger generations’ renewed obsession with style icons like Jane Birkin. “Could you imagine Jane Birkin at the peak of her It-girl status wearing a matching Alo gym set? Of course not,” Robinson says. “She’d be in some mismatched combo of pieces she found at a flea market, a vintage shop, or something borrowed from her boyfriend, still looking amazing.”

The vintage sportswear trend has started gaining momentum, and it’s only a matter of time before more influencers hop on the content bandwagon, says Robinson. That said, what sets this apart from other niche microtrends is its potential to open up real design possibilities for functional performance wear. And while mainstream retailers haven’t yet caught onto these shifting tastes, emerging designers are already experimenting with sport-inspired fashion, crafting collections that are both interesting and functional.

Johanna Parv, for one, creates delicate pieces that harken to Gore-Tex aesthetics while being suitable for everyday wear. At Charlie Constantinou, tees and technical wear are reimagined with grungy distressing and metallic finishes. More accessible yet, GONGGAR makes playful outdoor sportswear for running, hiking and skiing that seamlessly doubles as streetwear for city dwellers. With time, more and more designers will continue to push the boundaries of functional design, evidenced by the numerous existing collaborations between sports retailers and high-end designers. Think Jacquemus’ collection with Nike or Cecilie Bahnsen’s highly after Asics sneakers.

Robinson predicts that we might one day arrive at a moment where our gym looks are barely different aesthetically from how we dress day to day. With such a shift, we might even start to see gymwear break into more hyper-fragmented categories, applying the endless variety of aesthetics available for daily dress to athletic clothing. “As more fashion people get into sport, and more sport people get into fashion, it makes sense that things are getting more experimental when it comes to gymwear.”