A Terry Cloth Summer
How Juicy Couture’s Original Tracksuit Turned Comfort Into a Lifestyle
The year was 1995, and two women in Los Angeles had a pretty simple idea. They couldn’t find clothes that felt both elevated and comfortable, so they set out to make them. Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash put $200 behind it, and before long, a new kind of uniform was everywhere. Juicy Couture and the athleisure movement were born.
Tracksuits with “couture” attached felt funny, aspirational, and just wrong enough to work. You couldn’t pick up Us Weekly without seeing a celebrity “sporting” Juicy Couture. Gas stations, Melrose Avenue, LAX. Paparazzi capturing starlets in the same candy-colored ensemble at the highest highs and the lowest lows, long before social media.
At the time, Juicy wasn’t the only brand doing sweats, but it was one of the first to make them feel desirable. It turned something purely functional into something aspirational, shifting how people thought about getting dressed. The business got big, changed hands, and went through its cycles, but the idea still holds. For a lot of people, it was the starting point, the first time comfort and fashion didn’t feel like a tradeoff.
There were many iterations of the suit. Velour. Cashmere. Solids. Prints. Rhinestone logos. But no one forgets the original. The mothership. Terry cloth.
My Juicy tracksuit is long gone, but over twenty-five years later, I’m craving it back. I’m not talking about an exact match from eBay, but a new matching set for today that’s still soft, breathable, and easy. Five minutes in and I’m clicking through dozens of terry sets, each cut a little differently. I’ve narrowed it down to the best of the best. The terry sets worthy of your own paparazzi shot. Stars, they’re just like us.
To the Beach
An outfit that starts with a morning walk by the pier and ends with a spicy margarita by golden hour. Suzie Kondi terry sets hit that sweet spot between nostalgia and polished. I own this Capri striped tee and matching pants, and reach for them constantly. And since half of my set is already sold out, I thought we could do one better with a full beach look.
Dressed in the colors of a Slim Aarons photograph, this turquoise terry set feels equal parts vintage postcard and California ease.
To the Dog Park
Not all terry sets need to scream poolside, and Kule’s striped set proves it. An outfit built to withstand ‘I’ll just take him out for ten minutes,’ and suddenly you’ve walked from Thompson Square Park to Bryant Park, iced latte melting in hand.
The mesh tote handles the heavy lifting, full of dog treats, a stranger’s tennis ball, and completely dead AirPods rolling around at the bottom.
To the Airport
Comfortable enough for a cross-country flight. Strategic enough for an aggressive AC situation. Pulled together enough to survive an unexpected delay without completely giving up.
The Great’s navy terry set handles all of it. An outfit ready for a 6 a.m. boarding group and a lukewarm airport latte.
To the Hotel Resort
Bold in the best way possible. Tombolo’s lobster terry set was made for martinis, an overordered seafood tower, and lingering way longer than intended at the hotel bar. The kind of outfit that works just as well at a dockside lunch as it does inside a five-star oasis.
You don’t need rhinestones across the backside to see the influence anymore. Terry sets have fully settled into their next chapter. The good ones never stay in stock for long. For starters, Sporty & Rich brings it back every season, and somehow, there’s never enough of it. Nearly every style is already sold out, and we haven’t even hit Memorial Day. Juicy may have laid the foundation, but everyone else has been iterating ever since.
Ok wait, I need to stop in the first half of this and talk about how Juicy really set the stage for where we are now! Like… wow… I never noticed the through line until now. Elevated comfort is sort of THE look now and it started in 1995. I love a history lesson.
I’ve been terry-cloth-curious and this really sealed the deal for me! Such great takes, I love that Kule set!