Whether you’re running errands or womens fitness clothing, your workout wardrobe has a major impact on your physical fitness. But while sportswear for outdoor activities has a long history, clothing specific to indoor exercise has only recently come into its own. The “fitness craze” began in the 1970s, but it wasn’t until the 1980s that fashion finally started to have an effect on women’s activewear.

In the early 1980s, Cosmopolitan urged readers to “enhance their shape-keeping clothes” with fashionable leotards in bright colors, patterns, and fabrics. The editors also encouraged their readers to pair their new gear with leg warmers and a sweatband. A few years later, Good Housekeeping pictured thirteen new workout ensembles, including leotards in the form of tank tops and full-skirted jumpsuits, crop tops, suspender-tops, and even unitards. These outfits were available in a range of colors, from light pastels to bold primaries.

Elevate Your Fitness Game: Must-Have Women’s Fitness Clothing for Optimal Performance

These days, the selection is a lot wider and the styles a lot more fashionable. Lululemon’s buttery-soft and stretchy leggings, for example, flatter almost any figure. And its workout bras are thoughtfully designed to fit and support a variety of sizes, including many plus-size options.

Other activewear subscription programs—like Girlfriend Collective, which offers a hefty range of inclusive sizing, and Alo Yoga, whose leggings are beloved by TikTok influencers—have some very cool designs that you won’t see anywhere else. You can also shop more fashionable, performance-ready outfits from contemporary brands like P.E Nation and FP Movement, which includes a ski line that works just as well on the mountain as it does in your Soul Cycle class.