Juicy: The Iconic Velour Tracksuit

Before Lululemon was the uniform for trendy moms and it-girls everywhere, there was another “Queen Bee” of leisurewear. Made of velour, and complete with a rhinestone bejeweled backside, the Juicy Couture tracksuit is one of the most iconic styles of the 2000s. Made popular by socialite Paris Hilton, the tracksuit became the outfit of the decade and was featured in magazines, on celebrities, and in movies like 2004’s Mean Girls. With a price tag of $200, it allowed the masses to emulate the lifestyles of the rich and famous, or to use a more appropriate term, the rich and lazy (Duggan, 2014). As fashion trends changed, Juicy failed to evolve the tracksuit, effectively leaving the style in the 2000s.

Paris Hilton was impacting the American consumer long before Instagram influencers dominated social media. Christened “New York’s Leading IT Girl” in 2001, she was plastered all over the media (“Paris Hilton,” Biography). When she received her first velour two-piece from Juicy Couture’s publicist, Paris immediately fell in love (“Paris Hilton on Juicy,” 2019). Hilton’s infatuation led her to ask Juicy for the entire collection, the beginning of a love story that will forever be ingrained in fashion history. Her reality show “The Simple Life,” was released in 2003, and she is seen wearing a tracksuit in nearly every episode. The show made her a household name, and “Juicy” appeared bedazzled on the backsides of teen queens across the country.

Professor Lee Barron stated: “The right celebrity endorser enables a fashion brand to reach global markets, position or reposition a brand, and generate considerable PR activity, and can animate a brand clearly for consumers” (2019, p. 11). Though Paris was never paid (not that she needed money) to endorse the brand or the tracksuit, consumers bought Juicy to embody her and her lifestyle. Hilton herself said, “I just fell in love with the brand and it basically became my uniform… I think that they [Juicy Couture] loved that I was kind of the face of the brand” (“Paris Hilton on Juicy,” 2019). Though not monetarily connected with the brand, Paris Hilton and the Juicy tracksuit will be linked together forever. 

With the tracksuit being worn across the country, it was only a matter of time before it reached the silver screen. Its position in pop culture history was solidified when it was featured in the cult classic film Mean Girls. It focuses on Cady Heron, a girl who transitions from being homeschooled in Africa to entering public school in Evanston, Illinois. When Cady upgrades from the “loser” crowd to the “popular” clique, her style changes as well. She begins to wear tracksuits just like Regina: a symbol of her new popular status. Regina’s mother also wears Juicy, as she is desperate to be seen as a “cool mom” (Gilligan, n.d.). Though Mean Girls is a fictional movie, the representation of the tracksuit in the film reflects how it was viewed in society. Journalist Leeann Duggan wrote:

““One word separated the popular girls from the wannabes, the haves from the have-nots, the spray-tanned Regina Georges from the wan Janis Ians. And, that word was frequently found rhinestone-spangled and scrawled in Gothic script across the butts of teen titans everywhere: Juicy.” ”

— https://www.refinery29.com/en-us/2014/06/70125/juicy-couture-stores-closing

The movie exemplifies the tracksuit’s role as a status symbol for women during the time. Anyone who was anyone had to have one, as it represented a high social position.  Not only does Mean Girls display the tracksuit’s influence on popular culture, but it also shows what the tracksuit represented to women across the U.S. and the world.

Juicy Couture’s rise to popularity was immense. Its fall has been monumental as well, despite efforts to revive the brand. The founders, Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor sold the company to Liz Claiborne Inc for 53.1 million in 2003. By 2007, Juicy Couture’s net sales had increased 49 percent, up to $493.8 million (Lutz, 2014). However, the recession in 2009, as well as a changing contemporary market, hit the brand hard. Juicy was pulled out of many department stores, the largest part of its business. The contemporary market had become more mature as well, no longer just a place for t-shirts and tracksuits. These factors led to deeply declining sales, and in 2013, Fifth and Pacific (formerly known as Liz Claiborne Inc) sold Juicy Couture to Authentic Brands Group for $195 million. Almost immediately, ABG signed a deal with discount retailer Kohl’s to sell Juicy Couture beginning in 2014. A far cry from the luxury department stores it was once sold in, this deal marks Juicy’s fall from grace. 

Today, it’s rare to see Juicy Couture anywhere except on Halloween. In fact, the tracksuit was deemed as a relic of the past by London’s Victoria and Albert Museum, when they announced a 2004 version would appear in the exhibit “Undressed: A Brief History of Underwear” in 2016 (Schlossberg, 2015). The brand attempted a comeback with a Fall Ready-to-Wear line at New York Fashion Week in 2018 but ultimately failed due to its inability to evolve and move on from the past. Fashion writer Farra writes, “The strategy might not have worked if it weren’t for the parade of tracksuits at the end” (Farra, 2018). The Fall line, which relied on nostalgia, ensured that Juicy Couture, and the velour tracksuit, would remain, for the time being, only in museums and in Paris Hilton’s closet. 

Though gone from the wardrobes of teen queens and affluent moms, the Juicy Couture tracksuit will live on as a symbol of the 2000s fashion era. Who knows, the tracksuit could make a comeback. I have a feeling it will - fashion is a cycle, after all. And hey, if it does, Paris Hilton will be ready for her next close-up.