How to Choose the Right Training Set for Everyday Life

The right training set shows itself when you stop thinking about it. You find the right training set by starting with the construction rather than the colour: a waist that stays, a top that leaves room across the shoulders, and a fabric that looks the same after twenty washes as it did after the first.

A set makes the wardrobe simpler. Two pieces that already belong together remove a decision in the morning and hold the silhouette together for the rest of the day. The requirement is that both parts can stand on their own. The tights should work under a knitted jumper, the jacket should work over a pair of jeans. If they cannot, you have bought a uniform rather than a set.

Start with the waist and the shoulders

The waist decides whether the tights work. A high, shaped waist holds you in without cutting, and it should not ask you to pull it up between exercises. The test is simple. Sit down, stand up, do a deep squat and walk ten steps. If the waistband is still where it started, the fit is right.

Size is a starting point. Two pairs in the same size can sit differently depending on how the fabric is knitted, how wide the waistband is cut and where the panels meet. High waist training tights give a collected impression and a little more coverage over the stomach and lower back, which many prefer when the session involves a lot of bending.

The top is judged upwards. It should give room across the shoulders and chest without losing its line. The Iconic Training Jacket G2 is sewn around a contrast: a wide elasticated ribbed waist that shapes the lower back and the waist, and a looser fit over the torso. The effect comes from the cut, not from hard compression. Check the sleeve length too, and whether a thin layer fits under the jacket when it turns cooler.

The fabric decides how long the set holds its shape

A fabric feels soft in the hand long before it has proved anything. What decides is the recovery, the ability to return to shape after an hour held stretched. Stretch the fabric gently and let go. If it looks slack or wavy as it returns, the knees will bag within a few months.

The fabric should match the use. Edge Stripe Training Tights are sewn in 78 percent recycled polyester of the ECO Circle type and 22 percent elastane, with four-way stretch, a hidden pocket at the back of the waistband and a back cut in a heart shape. They are squat proof, moisture repellent and quick drying, which makes them as useful on the gym floor as on a long walk.

One thing is worth keeping apart. Casual Zip Set is sewn in 77 percent polyester and 23 percent spandex, micro-brushed and with gold-coloured zips. It is not recycled material and not ECO Circle. The trousers have a high shaped waist with a removable drawstring and straight cut leg openings without cuffs. The top has zips at both shoulders and narrow sleeve openings. If you want recycled polyester in your set, choose a training piece where the material is stated in the product text.

One set, several days

A set that only works at the gym is worn once a week. A set that also handles a trip, a lunch and a pick-up is worn four times. The difference lies in how pared back the pieces are. The fewer logos and contrast colours, the more contexts they carry.

On the page with our training sets the parts are already paired, jacket with tights or skirt, so that colour and material agree. If you want to put together your own, stay within the same tonal range and let the material vary instead of the colour. A matte fabric against one with a little more sheen gives depth without breaking the whole. We have written more about it in the piece on how to wear a training set.

For travel, choose by how the pieces behave when you sit still for a long time. A fabric that does not crease and a waist that does not press after three hours weigh more than how the piece looks on the hanger.

The details you can feel with your hand

Zips, seams and waistband tell you most of what there is to know about quality. Pull the zip. It should run evenly without catching. Feel the seams from the inside. They should lie flat against the skin and not sit where they chafe under repeated movement.

Pockets are a question of use. A hidden pocket in the waistband is enough for a key and a card and does not disturb the line. If you take your phone on the walk, you need a proper side pocket. Training jackets for women with zipped side pockets solve it without adding volume at the hip.

Gold-coloured details carry repetition as long as they stay few. One gold zip on an otherwise black jacket does more than four scattered details. It is the same principle as in the rest of the wardrobe: one clear accent, not several.

Try at home before you decide

The mirror image standing still says little. Move in the pieces for a few minutes. Stretch your arms above your head, sit down in a chair, bend forward. The jacket should follow the shoulders without pulling back across the back, and the tights should stay put.

Look at the set in daylight. Colour, coverage and surface look different in window light than under ceiling lighting. Try the top both open and closed, and combine the tights with a jumper you already own. A set that carries three combinations is worn more often than one that carries a single one. More on the trade-offs is in our review of training sets for everyday life.

Wash gently from the start. Inside out, laundry bag, low temperature and line drying. The tumble dryer is quickest to ruin both the surface and the elasticity. A couple of extra minutes at the laundry basket extends the fit by months.

Common questions

Should the tights and the top be in exactly the same colour?

No. The same tonal range is enough and is often softer on the eye. Two black pieces in different materials read as a set, while two pieces in almost the same shade but with different undertones can look unintentionally mismatched. Choose either exactly the same colour or a clear difference.

How do I know whether the tights are squat proof?

Go into a deep squat in front of a mirror in daylight and look from behind. If you see skin tone or the colour of the seams through the fabric, the material is too thin or the size too small. Edge Stripe Training Tights are stated as squat proof in the product text, but the test is worth doing on every pair you own.

Can I wear a training set to work?

It depends on the pieces. A set in micro-brushed fabric, with clean leg openings and gold-coloured zips reads more as everyday clothing than as gym clothing. Swap the sneakers for a simple boot and add a leather bag, and the whole carries further.

Anything but ordinary.