At some point in our lives, we’ve all worn something that in hindsight, made us cringe. When it comes to fitness outfits however, we may have more than one terry towelling skeleton in the closet.
Who can forget terrycloth shorts, exercise bloomers, pleated skirts, leg warmers and Velcro runners. Then there were scungies, Jiffies, scrunch-socks and a whole variety of velour outfits we’d rather forget about. To take you back in time, we’ve put together our favourite crimes against fitness fashions…
1. Parachute tracksuits
At Expo ’88, Aussies that wanted to keep up our sporty image donned brightly coloured tracksuits made from parachute material to impress international visitors. It worked – we won the Olympics in 2000 and parachute pants made a comeback.
2. Leg warmers
The dance-crazed 80s brought us amazing shows like Fame! and films like Flashdance – and with them, brightly coloured leg-warmers so we could pretend we were maniacs on the dancefloor at any given moment. We were so cool.
3. High-cut fluoro leotards
The meteoric rise of aerobics and Jazzercise in the 80s brought its own eye-watering fashion trend with it – high-cut leotards and leggings in bright clashing colours that made us all feel like we were exercising in a Jane Fonda workout video. We all breathed a sigh of relief when this trend ended…
4. Tiny terry towel shorts
If you were going for a bike ride, a game of tennis or just popping to the shops for some milk, these tiny shorts were the activewear of the 70s. Terry towelling was also made into fabulous tennis dresses that when paired with thongs, made you feel beach-ready every day.
5. Plastic sun visors
Popularised by 80s fashion models and sports stars, sun visors made us look more like turn of the century bankers than Christie Brinkley. However when paired with a lemon-based hair lightener it turned our mousy locks golden – and our hair-parts red from sunburn.
6. Terry towelling sweatbands
Whilst sweatbands have survived many iterations over the years, the terry towelling style that emerged from the 70s with the popularity of gyms, holds a special place in our hearts – and in many charity bins.
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