Yes, It’s Possible to Wear Track Pants to Work — A Stylist Explains How

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With temperatures dropping and it getting harder and harder to crawl out of bed in the morning to get ready for work, I’m all about comfy dressing. I want to kick off my doona and slip into a roomy, soft-feeling pair of pants to then do whatever I need to do that day.

This got me thinking — can I just wear track pants to work? Is that acceptable? If so, how would I even style them?

I tapped Nicole Adolphe, Head of Style at The ICONIC, for her answers to these questions and more. Ahead, everything you’ve wanted to know about how to style track pants for work (because yes, turns out, it is totally fine to be wearing trackies in the office).

Go For Fitted Track Pants

“Fitted track pants are the perfect way to elevate your loungewear look to a sleek sports luxe or smart-casual fit,” says Adolphe.

“A fitted track pant with an elasticised cuff looks polished and pairs well with a sneaker or slide. The wide-leg track pants are also on trend this season but best saved for the weekend as they look more casual.”

Consider Styling Them With a Blazer

“To avoid looking underdressed, you can pair your track pants with more fashion-forward pieces like a boyfriend-style blazer. Note that track pants don’t quite work with a slimline blazer — single or double-breasted is great.

“Black blazers keep it polished and make you look sleek. If your pants are coloured or marle, I would pair them with a tonal blazer and if it’s neutral e.g cream or tan, I’d pair them with a similar muted tone. You can also go tone on tone, eg. shades of blue or green if you work in a more creative office space.

“Blazers are trending in our Workwear Edit, and another wardrobe staple growing in popularity are black workwear trousers in a mix of wide, skinny and tapered styles. With footwear, flats are dominating in the workwear space for comfort, which also have a multipurpose use for weekend wear.”

Pair Them With Heels

“Heels elevate the look. I’d opt for a classic point toe pump like this Work To Play Pump from Manning Cartell ($449) or this season’s hero shoe, a padded strap style with either a lower kitten heel or more of a block heel, I recommend the LMS Aimee heel ($220).”

Keep the Rest of Your Outfit Minimal

“Aesthetically, this keeps the look minimalistic and effortless, keeping it looking luxe and more high-end.

“Also, the rest of the outfit doesn’t necessarily need to be fitted. The effortless baggy look is having a moment and, depending on your work environment, loungewear (sweats with a sweat top or hoodie) underneath your blazer is also very fashion-forward right now.

“But if wearing track pants to work is already a stretch, you can opt for a more fitted top underneath the blazer. Since the track pants will be on the baggier side, a top that can be tucked in works best. Bodysuits are perfect for this or a loose tee that you can tuck in.

Don’t Wear Them With Runners

“Runners have their own place this season and they pair nicely with the wide-leg pants and casual dresses, along with your gym gear. The trend is towards dressing down your suiting and dressing up your track pants.”

Scroll down for three of our favourite pairs of track pants you can wear to work this winter.

Willit Quick Dry on the Fly Women’s Sweatpants, $45.99

Libin Women’s Cargo Joggers, $53.99

JH Lounge JHL Slim Trackpant, $379

Lululemon Luxtreme Slim-Fit Mid-Rise Jogger, $179

Tommy Hilfiger Icon 2.0 Lounge Track Pants, $129