Athleisure for your feet (and, no, it’s not just about sneakers)

There’s a lot to love about athleisure — and the good news is that it’s not going away anytime soon. Blurring the lines between regular clothes and your gym kit, athleisure is not just a trend; it’s basically how we all get dressed these days. It’s no wonder that ‘athleisure’ was added to the dictionary in 2016, and it’s just been made an official word in Scrabble, too.

What exactly is athleisure?

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, athleisure is “casual clothing designed to be worn both for exercising and for general use”. What does this mean in real life? Well, it’s a great excuse to team your sneakers with everything, and to add hoodies and tees (although perhaps not joggers) to your office rotation.

More importantly, though, it’s a question of comfort. Instead of simply wearing your workout clothes to work, athleisure is all about taking their best bits and applying them to your everyday wardrobe. Think stretch khakis with all the ease of movement of your favorite sweats, or an office-appropriate polo shirt that wicks away sweat as effectively as a gym tee. 

The athleisure shoe styles to try

Here at Dockers Shoes, we’ve been thinking beyond the sneaker to merge gym-grade comfort with casual and dress shoes you can wear anywhere. With a mixed-media upper, the Hayes casual oxford has an outsole made from EVA — the shock-absorbing material often found in running shoes. Elsewhere, you’ll find sports-style razor soles on the Smart Series Hawking oxford, which mixes athletic comfort with dress-style wingtips on the toes.

The bottom line? Maybe you don’t actually break into a run all that often when you’re outside the gym. But it’s good to know that you could if you wanted to.