9 reasons why the Juicy Couture tracksuit is officially a style staple
This piece was originally published in February 2016 (yes, babes, we are just that good at predicting trends).
What started as a tongue-in-cheek Vogue slideshow and culminated in a post on Kim Kardashian’s app might just turn into a full-fledged fashion movement.
We’re talking about the return of the Juicy Couture sweatsuit. It was first popularized in the 2000s by women like Kim Kardashian, Paris Hilton, and Jessica Simpson. And today, we’re confident the suit is not only back, but here to stay.
First, a little Juicy suit backstory for the uninitiated. Every Juicy suit consisted of a zip-up hooded top and a pair of flared sweatpants (you read that right: flared sweatpants). Short-sleeved tops and shorts were also available.
Back in the day, Juicy suits were virtually identical but came in a variety of colors to suit your unique personality. The coloring of your suit was crucial. Like naming your baby “Ashley” but spelling it “Ashleigh” or “Ashleah,” your Juicy suit’s color, material, and sleeve length were the perfect way to tell the world, “I’m exactly like everyone else but also I am such an individual that I strongly prefer maroon velour over orange terry cloth.”
Juicy suits were the ultimate status symbol. There were two kinds of girls in the 2000s: those who owned Juicy suits and those who didn’t. And if you did own one, chances are you were contractually obligated to wear it on the same day as the rest of your clique once a week, “Mean Girls” style. Also, chances are you were just the teensiest bit basic. But “basic” wasn’t really a thing back then, so we’ll let you off the hook.
And despite being a little premature, nostalgia for Juicy suits is real. Just ask anyone over 23 what she thinks about a Juicy suit. She might first react with the disgust of anyone remembering clothes that were popular seven-ish years ago, but chances are, she’ll start wistfully remembering the outfit’s comfort and versatility within minutes.
Juicy suits were trendy and ubiquitous for the same reason why everyone’s currently graphic-tee-obsessed: they’re easy to pull off and fun to wear and above all, comfortable. Here are 9 reasons why we wouldn’t hate it if the Juicy suit officially came back.
1. It makes your boobs and butt look bomb
The best way to wear a Juicy suit was with the zipper undone to just below your bra strap. This created the illusion that your boobs, even if they were mere A cups, were simply bursting out of your jacket. Hubba hubba.
Meanwhile, the velour or terry pants perfectly skimmed your derrière. And is it just us, or was the extra-thick waistband super handy for nipping in your stomach? Not to mention some of the pants’ back pockets had flaps — the 2000s’ best butt hack for making your ass look massive. All in all, a Juicy suit conjured an hourglass effect for curvy and stick-thin girls alike.
A photo posted by Juicy Couture (@juicycouture) on
2. It’s comfortable
Wearing a Juicy suit was like wearing pajamas all day, but still looking put-together enough that your grandma wouldn’t scold you if she knew you’d left the house like that. You could even pop the hood up for extra coziness and still look sleek, cute, and über-feminine while also looking exactly like every other girl in your age range within a 10-mile radius.
3. It’s versatile and mix-and-match friendly
Short-sleeved top with long pants? Fine. Long-sleeved zipup with shorts? Why not! And then there was the possibility of foregoing the zipup altogether for a super chill look. Or this crowd favorite: pairing a velour zip-up with a shredded denim Abercrombie skirt and chestnut Uggs. Rawrrr. As long as your color scheme was consistent and you weren’t mixing terry with velour, the combos were endless.
Happy Birthday #EmmaWatson! #JuicyTrack looks good on you. 😘🎈🎂
A photo posted by Juicy Couture (@juicycouture) on
4. It fits in perfectly with your jet-setting lifestyle
A Juicy suit is the perfect look for traveling (most likely to Cancun for spring break or a cute study abroad locale like Rome). In a time before the word “athleisure” had been invented, the Juicy suit combined the comfort of sweats with the chic-ness of… well, virtually any garment that isn’t sweats. You wouldn’t work out in your Juicy suit, but it was so comfy that you could sleep in it — basically the most strenuous calorie-burning activity a Juicy girl would ever participate in anyway. Next time you’re flying and you’re sick of your default leggings-and-oversized-sweater look, throw a curveball and wear a Juicy suit.
5. It’s warm
Girls who wear Juicy suits truly live lives of leisure. Not only are they indoor cats; they’re also surrounded by state of the art air conditioning everywhere they go, including the family Escalade. Even in summer months, a Juicy suit wearer is the type to pout “I’m always cold” every three seconds while dutifully sipping a venti Frappuccino. So as you might imagine, the suits’ hoods and pockets came in handy.
Happy birthday, KK! Hope its fabulous. Xx cc: @kimkardashian
A photo posted by Juicy Couture (@juicycouture) on
6. You can wear one of those incredible built-in bra camis underneath
Speaking of flattering and cleavage-enhancing garments, the hell happened to built-in bra tank tops?! Remember them? They were so tight up top that they created unparalleled levels of cleavage. If they were around today, combining one of them with the innovative “add 2 cup sizes” Victoria’s Secret Bombshell bra would render breast implants totally unnecessary.
And in colors from beige to of course Tiffany blue, they looked incredible with Juicy zip-ups. Then one day, all built-in bra camis disappeared from the face of the earth and were replaced by lacy bandeaus and strappy Ilana Glazer-style bralets.
7. It’s a pop culture artifact
The Bush years (2001-2009) were the best era to be blonde and basic, and the Juicy suit’s matchy-matchy sorority-girl glamour epitomized the era perfectly. Nowadays even the most basic of girls can come out of left field with at least some knowledge of alternative culture, so we kind of miss when “Mean Girls” types were unabashedly mundane.
Deck the halls with #JuicyTrack! #JuicyCoutureZA
A photo posted by Juicy Couture (@juicycouture) on
8. It’s delightfully corny
Is it even possible to say something ironic or sarcastic when you’re wearing a fluffy head-to-toe purple or pink matching outfit? Nope. The coolest thing about a Juicy-wearing girl is that she’s definitely not trying to be cool. She has no idea what cool even is. And sometimes that’s refreshing.
9. It’s unexpected
Remember when normcore broke into the mainstream in 2014? No one was ready for curvy-brimmed baseball caps to be cool, but we accepted it and worshipped the people who were ahead of the curve.
The same thing could happen now with Juicy suits (and Ugg boots, which is a whole ‘nother story). So if you’re perusing eBay and a head-to-toe velour number catches your eye, why not go for it? 2000s nostalgia could be the next normcore.
