Juicy Couture

The Juicy Couture tracksuit is the height of haute in L.A., a uniform for starlet and wealthy wannabe alike.

LOS ANGELES -- On a recent episode of "MTV Cribs," Hugh Hefner and one of his numerous bottle-blond live-in girlfriends (Hef: "I'm in my platinum period ... like Picasso's blue period") walked the cameras through the Playboy Mansion's closets. Hef's boasted a climate-controlled glass chamber just for his smoking-jacket collection. This Playmate's matching cabinet, however, was filled entirely with pink velour Juicy Couture tracksuits. In fact, she wore one -- paired with a sequined bra -- as she conducted her tour; it was her uniform for clubbing, lounging, partying, working out.

The Juicy Couture tracksuit materialized in Los Angeles at some point early last year; by the fall, it was de rigueur attire for every trendy starlet, socialite, stripper, waitress and fashionista wannabe in town. Those with deep pockets (or, in the case of Hef's girlfriend, proximity to deep pockets) don't own just one: Tori Spelling reportedly has one in every color. Nelly Furtado and Jennifer Lopez have worn them in music videos; Lopez loves hers so much that her J.Lo line knocked them off, as did Banana Republic and Old Navy.

The item is, for all intents and purposes, a sweat suit, unless the intent and purpose is to wear it in Los Angeles. Here the best-dressed wear warm-weather casual, appearing as if fresh from a sunny afternoon at the beach. But there are rules: The flip-flops should be Stuart Weitzman ($200), the slouchy patchwork shoulder bag made by Hogan ($795), and the kicky khaki military jacket thrown over the shoulder designed by Marc Jacobs ($650). (Local fashion police also require hair highlights to get that natural sun-bleached look, routine pedicures for those exposed toes, and, of course, pricey skin peels to rid the visage of the acne from all that smog.) In other words, West Coast low maintenance was never so high maintenance, and the Juicy Couture tracksuit is a perfect example of how the comfy casual can go so very wrong under the influence of fashion consciousness. Read more...