#035: I get the whole adidas track pants thing now

Styling the brand's signature styles in Tokyo.

Today’s issue is brought to you by adidas

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Good taste is the defining characteristic of the New York downtown cool I find myself gladly immersed in and constantly inspired by. There is a very clear difference between someone who actually has good, thoughtful, intuitive style and someone who just likes clothes. I’m less interested in the latter as labels and optics often veer into cheesy territory. Think: influencer who just throws on head to toe designer without much effort or thought in styling or TikTok fashion videos filled with Amazon hauls, etc. Good taste, as I subscribe to it, is nuanced and understated and oftentimes, but not always, be viewed by the general public as “ugly” (like how 98% of straight men will tell you they hate tabis).

Adidas track pants are a staple in the wardrobe of the aforementioned New York downtown cool, presenting a casual piece that can be styled in a multitude of ways for a multitude of occasions. They’re effortless and cool, two things I always want to be. The many color ways, seasonal materials and varying lengths and fit further prove the infinite ways they can be worn. Recently, I’ve been keeping a mental note of all the adidas track pants sightings that have prompted me to start looking into a pair myself. The IG posts I’m sharing here were some of the starting points for me.

Images courtesy of Laura Reilly, Reese Blutstein, Ruby Lyn, Michelle Li

Last summer, I bought myself a pair of black track shorts I wore maybe three days out of the week for an entire month straight. It was all I wanted to wear and even on the nights I wanted to dress up, I’d throw on a “going out” top and kitten heels and call it an outfit. I mean, it was an outfit. I felt good in them.

This spring, I decided I wanted a new pair and went into the Adidas originals store in Soho to see what new color ways were in for the season. I left with two pairs: this off-white pair with yellow stripes (so very spring) made from a poly-rayon crepe blend that drapes beautifully and a navy iteration of their adicolor Firebird pants, a classic style from their signature polyester tricot material. I just found out that the navy color way is sold out but you really can’t go wrong with any color way and the black one…. well, everyone needs a pair of the black ones. And then I saw these sambae sneakers (not to be confused with the ubiquitous samba sneakers) which I haven’t seen before. I brought them all with me to Tokyo and wore them around town for different occasions, further proving just how versatile they can be.

Leaning into spring tones:

adidas crepe pants, sambae sneakers

adidas crepe track pants, Sambae sneakers

Dressing for one of the cooler days on the trip:

adicolor Firebird Loose Track Pants

Exploring the city in comfort:

Getting just a little dressier:

adicolor 3-stripes tee

I feel like I embody so many different personas when I style a piece in multiple ways, which is the beauty of style. You can pick and choose your fighter for the day (or night) and know that whoever you chose was well thought out.

I will be living in these pieces all spring and summer long!