I bet retailers are having quite a time classifying women’s clothing these days. Consider these categories: loungewear, activewear, athleisure wear, sleepwear, joggers, leggings. There’s even something called “fleggings” (fleeced-lined leggings.)

Here is the vocabulary list:

Loungewear – casual, comfortable clothing suitable for wearing at home. (Not so fast…see below.*)

Activewear – clothing designed to be worn for sports, exercise, and outdoor activities.

Sportswear – clothing that has been designed especially for sports purposes.

Athleisure – (a combination of athletic and leisure) includes clothes designed for workouts and other athletic activities, but are not limited to being worn at the gym or while exercising.

Sleepwear – pajamas or other clothing suitable for wearing in bed.

Can you classify these casual outfits?

Which outfit(s) would you wear OUT of the house?

The Doorbell Test

Jenny Glassburg’s article on “Decoding Comfort” gives us some suggestions on when to wear loungewear as opposed to PJ’s:

“*Loungewear used to be taboo if you were thinking about leaving the house, but now you don’t have to think twice about going out in it…When deciding between sleepwear or loungewear, try “the doorbell test.” If you were hanging around at home and the doorbell rang, would you feel comfortable opening the door in what you were wearing?

When you’re chilling in the house, that’s really the one time you’re getting dressed 100 percent for you, in whatever makes you happy.”

There really are no right answers when it comes to casual wear. It all depends on your “comfort” level–and I don’t mean how stretchy the elastic is in your pants. If you feel comfortable wearing PJ’s out of the house–go ahead.

But, don’t be surprised if you get a few sideways glances.

Gone are the days of stringent style rules on leisure wear.

But, we might be happy some leisure wear is gone forever.