the.com/tracksuit

Athletic wear for people whose only sport is leaving the house.

means A matching two-piece set of loose jacket and pants, designed for athletes to wear while warming up or cooling down — and adopted by everyone else for maximum comfort with minimum effort.

from Straightforward compound of 'track' (the running track, the athletic sense that goes back to the 1800s) and 'suit' (a matched set of clothes). The garment itself emerged in the 20th century as sportswear worn to and from the actual exercise — loose, zippable, easy to peel off before a race. The irony of its name was baked in early: it was always more honestly a 'sitting around near the track' suit than a running one.

origin
designed in 1920s France for actual runners
status flip
became luxury streetwear by 1980s hip-hop culture
peak irony
zero correlation with cardiovascular activity today
mafia stereotype
unofficial uniform of Eastern European tough guys
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