With it being an Olympic year, and with interest in women’s sports at an all-time high, it’s only natural that team jerseys have entered the mainstream fashion world.
For the past few months, we’ve seen street-style icons like Rihanna, Beyoncé, and Bella Hadid seamlessly incorporate jerseys into their wardrobes, pairing them with baggy cargo pants, bedazzled camo boots, micro booty shorts, and layers upon layers of diamonds.
I am a minimalist, so this trend in particular has been difficult for me to embrace, as I have always found the often colorful sports tees either too loud, busy, or branded to mix into my everyday wardrobe. They also, frankly, held a decidedly unfashionable connotation for me. They reminded me of nerdy dads (like mine) cheering for their teams at soccer stadiums, or finance bros at a Hoboken sports bar on a Friday, or lovestruck teens (like my middle-school self) watching their boyfriends play football—wholesome, fun, but not elegant and not fashion.
That admittedly snobby perception was entirely altered late last year, when jerseys made their way into the high-fashion realm, becoming one of the coolest trends spotted in Paris, Milan, Copenhagen, and New York City. It has helped that designer labels including Balenciaga, Celine, Lanvin, Comme des Garçons, Martine Rose, Rabanne, and Wales Bonner have released their own jerseys, and that athletic brands like Adidas and New Balance have placed a bigger emphasis on design and silhouette for their new lines.
Once the millennial and Gen Z Fashion Week crowds got in on the sporty movement this year, we started seeing designer jerseys tucked into denim maxi skirts, paired with tutus, worn as minidresses, and cut up into crop tops to be styled with baggy pants. The sky, it turned out, was the limit. Finally, I was noticing styling choices that felt like me.
So this summer, I decided to champion the trend in my own quiet way—all to prove that a jersey can become a hot staple for even the least sporty, least maximalist of girlies. Ahead, all the outfits I wore on my jersey exploration journey. (Special shout-out to the Harper’s Bazaar office bathroom mirror.)
One of the greatest things about this trend, in my eyes, is that you can own 15 jerseys from 15 different teams or sports or countries, and it doesn’t have to be that deep. I’m sure a die-hard sports fan would argue that qualifies as betrayal—but all is fair in love and fashion. Here I’m wearing the 2024 Los Angeles FC jersey tucked into wide-leg wool pants from Banana Republic and styled with the Adidas × Bad Bunny Campus sneakers in brown.
The millennial urge to tuck in every top has not left me, which is why stepping out in this oversize jersey by multimedia artist Joe Freshgoods was a real first for me. The piece, in baby blue and candy-apple red, was inspired by R&B fashion from the ’90s and early 2000s. The artist specifically referenced the sky blue jersey minidress Mýa wore in the music video for her Y2K song “Best of Me, Part 2,” featuring Jay-Z. The look became iconic for an entire generation, Freshgoods said, and suddenly “everyone wanted to buy their girl a baby blue jersey.” I wore the jersey over stretchy black capri pants from Guizio, and finished the look with the Tory Burch kitten-heel thong sandals I cannot seem to stop wearing.
Joe Freshgoods Un-American Dream Jersey in Prom Blue
A monochrome moment is always a good idea. For this look I paired Rabanne’s super-lightweight blue jersey (the number is on the back) with Saint Art’s silky charmeuse pants in navy and Pharrell’s Humanrace × Adidas Sambas in white and blue.
For a 90-degree day in New York City, I French-tucked New Balance’s tennis mesh polo top into a pleated black Alo Yoga skort, and finished the look with black leather ballet flats from M.Gemi. Tennis-core isn’t over just yet!
New Balance Mesh Tournament Polo
Because Mexico is home, I had to throw the brand-new national team jersey—in vibrant red, deep maroon, and green—into the mix. Sticking to the autumnal color scheme, I wore it with chocolate brown pleated trousers from Lululemon, Nike’s InfinityRN 4 Blueprint sneakers in white and orange, and a green enamel and diamond De Beers necklace.
Adidas Mexico 24 Home Jersey
The final look was my personal ode to the end of summer—and what place gives brighter summer vibes than Miami? For this particularly beachy fit, I styled Miami’s fresh sky blue jersey (with hints of sunny orange) with loose white trousers from Stella McCartney, matching sandals from Bruno Magli, and silver triple-hoop earrings from Agmes to add some yacht-party energy.
Adidas 2024 Inter Miami CF Archive Jersey
Rosa Sanchez is the senior news editor at Harper’s Bazaar, working on news as it relates to entertainment, fashion, and culture. Previously, she was a news editor at ABC News and, prior to that, a managing editor of celebrity news at American Media. She has also written features for Rolling Stone, Teen Vogue, Forbes, and The Hollywood Reporter, among other outlets.
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