Photo | Courtesy of Ernie via Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)
When I die, bury me in my Juicy Couture tracksuit. Let the flowers on my tombstone be fuchsia like my outfit, and may my loved ones throw sequins—not dirt—upon my bedazzled casket. May my mourners wear anything but black—to do otherwise would offend me gravely.
A symbol of Y2K fashion, celebs like JLO, Paris Hilton, and the Kardashians popularised this velvety, sparkly, two-piece set. It is my sincere belief that the world is a better place because of it. I received my Juicy tracksuit as a gift last year, and let me tell you, I take every opportunity I can to wear it. My go-to uniform for running errands, this loungewear set is everything I want to be in life: compelling, relaxed, and downright iconic.
Don’t get me wrong though, you don’t need to drop over a hundred bucks to feel like a million bucks! If there’s anything that being the proud owner of an (imitation) Juicy tracksuit has taught me, it’s that there are tiny ways you can incorporate its fabulous essence into your day-to-day life to spice things up a little. Some ideas that come to mind: wearing vibrant nail polish (even if it’s just on your toes) and sunglasses (to dodge the paps, of course), using glitter pens for your notes, and—best of all—reading a physical magazine. I recently learned that a friend of mine loves buying real magazines instead of reading them online and that blew my mind. I miss tracking One Direction’s every move in Tiger Beat or J14. There’s something so delicious about flipping through the glossy pages of a magazine; it screams relaxation and indulgence to me.
As the axiom goes, there is no right way for a woman to exist in society. Wherever you fall on the girly-girl to tomboy spectrum (or maybe your style lies completely outside of that), someone will always have something to say about what you’re wearing. It has only been in recent years that I’ve embraced my love for all things ‘extra’ in fashion: sumptuous fabrics, sparkles, bright colours, puffed sleeves…. Once I let go of the pressure that I put on myself to follow trends and dress like my peers, I started to embrace what felt like timeless pieces for me; the Juicy tracksuit is but one of them. So, when that little voice in your head tells you to take off that flashy accessory before leaving the house, I want you to take a deep breath, look in the mirror, and repeat the wise words of our Lord and Saviour, Paris Hilton: “That’s hot.”
