You Don’t Have to Be Rihanna to Pull Off Track Pants

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The adoption of track pants as normal clothes by celebrities isn’t all that new (some might argue it’s old news). But if you’re anything like me, the concept of dressing up the comfy bottoms for any place other than the gym has felt like a luxury reserved to the likes of Rihanna and “off-duty” models on Instagram — until now.

Lately I’ve felt as though I, a normal person, am actually allowed to dabble in this cozy style hack, probably because track pants have teetered past peak “Fashion” and landed in normalized territory. You can buy them pretty much anywhere at this point, whether you’re looking at the obvious suspects like Adidas and Reebok, mall brands like Express, or, if you’ve got thousands of dollars to blow, designers like Gucci and Chloé.

It is possible to wear them outside of your workout without looking sloppy; it just requires a bit of creativity in the styling department. Mix and match with elements on the polished side if you want to try and get away with them at the office — like a loose blouse (or chunky knit in the fall) with a block heel — and mellow them out over the weekend with a fun graphic T-shirt and ballet flats or slip-on sneakers. And for a night out? Grab your favorite crop top and heeled sandals, and voila! Cozy-slutty is still a strong look.

Here, eight pairs of track pants to buy if you’re finally ready to give them a go outside of the gym, starting at $18.