When it comes to outfit formulas, we’re all familiar with jeans and a nice top. But this winter, a different look is making an unlikely play for the position of go-to pub uniform: low-slung joggers, a vest top, and around 10cm of midriff. Think of it as the choreo look – a style more at home in a dance studio, but one I have also spotted amongst the Guinness-drinkers of east London.
If it could be lumped in with low-effort hangover dressing, this is actually a tried and tested outfit when it comes to the “look how hot I am, even dressed down” approach. These pint-swillers are no doubt enjoying the comfort of this pyjama-adjacent outfit, but they’re also paying tribute to their pop heroes, old and new.
Think of All Saints in the mid-’90s, Girls Aloud in the early Noughties, Mel C a few decades before her JW Anderson glow-up. Or – away from the nostalgia-drenched scroll that is Instagram – there are the pop girlies of right now. FKA Twigs looks like she’s rarely out of a dance studio – she recently posted videos of rehearsal with star choreographer James Vu Anh Pham, wearing this look – while up-and-comers ranging from Dexter in the Newsagent (real name Charmaine Ayoku) to girl band XO are wearing it, too.
Michael Cragg, pop journalist and author of Noughties pop history Reach for the Stars, thinks the choreo look appeals for these stars because it is relatable. “I saw XO live and one of them was wearing an outfit like this,” he says. “I think it’s a ‘we’re just starting out, we’ve gone straight from the house to the stage’ kind of vibe.”
He credits the rise of this look to “the ’90s/Noughties nostalgia loop that we are still in, and are maybe never going to come out of. Those pictures that people are always seeing on Instagram.” But it’s also a reaction to what came between then and now: “The Kardashian vibe. This just looks – to me, as a man – much more comfortable and relaxed. [You’re] owning it in a way that isn’t dictated by trends or fashion houses or designers. It can be replicated on the high street.”
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And, crucially, it’s everywhere on social media. This look is familiar to pretty much anyone with a FYP. The hashtag “choreo” has been used almost 300k times on TikTok, a universe dominated by dances – typically being performed by regular people in their living room wearing exactly this sort of outfit. And then there are the choreographers who have become stars in their own right: Addison Rae’s BFF Lexee Smith, or Zoi Tatopoulos, the woman behind FKA Twigs’s Eusexua, who have close to 700k Instagram followers between them.
So, what do choreographers and dancers make of people with far less co-ordination suddenly dressing like them? Kloe Dean, a choreographer who has worked with Little Simz and Giggs, has noticed it and is on board. “I think it’s a lovely nod to the era of girl bands and pop artists, with a new energy given to it,” she says. “For me, it’s the influence of streetwear and [a look] I would consider quite ‘road’ – as a proud girl from South London.”
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Saul Nash is particularly well placed to weigh in on the debate – as a designer, who shows at London Fashion Week and dresses the likes of Tems and Lewis Hamilton, but also as a choreographer who works with brands including Diesel and Mercedes. He believes people take influence from “these forms of dance [because they] are often perceived as elegant and effortless. They blend seamlessly into the hybridity of day-to-day life.”
Both Nash and Dean confirm the vest and joggers look is a ubiquitous among actual dancers – albeit for more practical reasons. “Most definitely,” says Nash. “These are breathable pieces, and in a studio or closed environment it’s important to wear clothing that doesn’t make you feel self-conscious about sweating.” As Dean adds: “Baggy fit bottoms are definitely the go-to at the moment. With a tight fitting top and sometimes a shirt or top tied around the waist, or a T-shirt half on, half off, or styled to suit the dancer’s figure.”
Nash’s fashion work – like the Core line of elevated basics, which includes takes on those vests and joggers, as well as SLNSH, his collaboration with Lululemon – partially takes inspiration from choreography. It is always rooted in movement, but in a way that could mean doing a TikTok viral dance or, equally, taking a trip to the pub. “As a brand, we think about motion in a broad sense,” he explains. “It’s not always viewed strictly through a choreographic lens, but rather through an understanding of movement as a way of life.”
As for those pop stars, Cragg thinks this most low-key of looks might point to where we’re at with glamour, as we head into 2026. “I think big flashy pop stars doing big choreography and ridiculous clothes is maybe a bit cringe for people of a certain generation,” he says. “I wonder if at least doing [dances] in your leisure wear brings a certain level of casualness, [because] you’re doing it off the cuff, not trying so hard.” And, if nothing else, you’ll certainly be comfortable.