The other day, I began my aerobic exercise class in what I would have expected to be standard aerobic clothing. I arrived at the gym dressed in soccer shorts, a ratty and faded t-shirt (something that I would not mind getting sweaty), and trainer sneakers. But from the moment I stepped into the aerobics class, I was completely shocked. My dress style, far from being commonplace, was seen as so unconventional and slovenly as to draw one or two open stares from the high fashion denizens therein. Sensible is not the style anymore, even in workout. Soccer shorts and t-shirts is not what is seen as appropriate aerobic clothing.
Part of this aerobic clothes thing, I am sure, has to do with where I live and workout. Manhattanites, even when going out for a walk in central park, are a particularly fashionable crowd. This is not San Francisco where anything goes, and divergent or even exotic fashions are praised by the masses. This is a city that feels decidedly ill at ease when the weather is too warm for overcoats. I suppose, signing up as I did for a trendy Manhattan health club, I was naive to respect any less silly vanity from my home town than I saw anywhere else, but I could not help it. After all, this was the gym. You get sweaty here. You pant here, as your face turns red from exertion. Surely, there is no way to look good all the time in Manhattan, so what is with the nice aerobic clothing?

Not only did people wear fashionable aerobic clothing, but there was not a single person in the class who looked like they needed it. If I were a little overweight, in addition to wearing dorky aerobic clothing, I would have been twice as embarrassed at my appearance. What do the fat people do? Is it a choice between wearing the right aerobic clothing, being slim and perfect, or dying from a cardiac arrest swilling pork rinds in your stained trousers? And where did I fit in amongst the unitards and high-tech composite shirts? I don't want to give into the aerobic clothing trend – I do find it silly – but I do not like being stared at as if I were some bum who just walked in off of the street either. If they wear 80 dollar aerobic outfits, what do these people sleep in, anyway?