Tips for Keeping Your Workout Gear In Style (and what Clothes to Toss)

With the change in seasons comes time to reshuffle your workout gear closets, especially for those of us who don’t live in warmer climates year-round. But sometimes determining what stays, what gets stored—and what gets tossed—can be a time-consuming conundrum.

For men and women, when do you need to put away your favorite workout shorts or leggings till spring—or do you? For those of us who refuse to toss out that old pair of favorite sweatpants or that overworn hoodie that’s kept the stench of your summer HIIT sessions, there comes a time when it’s time to let go, especially if our closets and drawers can’t hold another pair latest and coolest workout gear, and you don’t want it to get that level.

So then, how is the best way to keep the necessary items and when to say goodbye to those out of style items? Better yet, what’s the best strategy to replacing your gear with new styles and brands that will actually fit–especially if you’re buying online?

We asked Dylan Osborne, head of design of Australian activewear brand LSKD, how to best rotate your activewear for the fall and winter months.

What’s the first thing you should be thinking about when it comes switching from summer to fall and winter clothing?

There are pieces in your training wardrobe that you can obviously wear year-round, like shorts or T-shirts. When the seasons start to change, just make sure you have a good collection of layering pieces that you can add or remove when the temperatures begin dropping.

When the weather does get cooler, outerwear such as our Functional Training Jacket is going to quickly be essential. It’s lightweight and ultra-stretchy so you can easily wear to and from the gym and also keep it on while you’re warming up. Once you’re into your workout and the blood starts pumping, you can just pull it off. It’s that easy.

Are there any telltale signs that it’s finally time to get rid of your favorite old sweats?

Everyone has that favorite pair that you always reach for when you’re getting ready. Honestly, you can get away with a lot these days, but once you start getting small holes in the fabric of your pants, they’re finished. The last thing you want is to be in the middle of a squat or lunge and having your pants split in half in front of the entire gym!

How many seasons should you get out of your workout wear?

It really does depend on product type, as some things will wear out quicker than others. But if you buy high-quality products from the right brands, they should last a long time. I still have one of our products that I’ve been thrashing around in for years and are still going strong.

How do you know if something is still in style?

Trends will always come and go. Every season there’s going to be new colors or graphics, so it’s always fun to give your clothes a little freshening up! A good pair of all-weather training shorts, like our Rep 7″ Performance Shorts never really go out of style, so a good tip is to stockpile as good arsenal of colors with your shorts, then just keeping adding new tees or hoodies and pair them up.

What still remains then as seasonal wear?

There is certainly still seasonal wear that you are going to need in different climates. But what’s exciting thing now is advancements in technology have made more and more training gear wearable year round. Things like thermoregulating fabrics that adapt to your body temperature are going to change the way we look at clothing in the future. Does staying in style have to be expensive? Not at all! Building a good wardrobe is like building a good house; you want to make sure you start with good solid foundations. If you build out a good collection of essential pieces (high-quality training shorts, socks, etc.) you won’t need to constantly update those to stay in style. But it is imperative that you buy quality products if you want them to last. LSKD doesn’t have a whole lot of sales; but there are a few key events every year (such as Black Friday and Cyber Monday) to keep an eye out for where you can pick up some good deals.

 What fabrics make the best workout gear?

For me, great active fabrics need to be three things: highly stretchy, durable, and lightweight. You want the fabric to elevate your workouts, not get in the way—so we are constantly on the lookout for innovative new technologies to incorporate into our range. For example, our new release of VapourFLX products that work to wick sweat and reduce odor through the addition of Polygiene technology. This is something we work really hard on at LSKD; and take great pride in the fact that all of our fabrics are tested to really high standards to make sure they pass the test.

When it comes to online shopping, what’s the best tip for getting the right fit?

Any good brand that sells their products online should have a size guide that will steer you in the right direction. One thing I definitely recommend is taking your time when online shopping. Be sure to read the size guides and using the measurements before checking out. This will limit—but not guarantee—the chances of ordering the wrong size. Also, after checking the online size guide, I would study the brands imagery to see how the products fit on their athletes or models. That should give you a pretty good idea how the product will fit you. At LSKD there’s no digital trickery or enhancements to our product imagery. What you see online is what you will get!