What to Wear to Pilates: 30 Best Pilates Clothes and Accessories 2024 | Vogue

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Few workouts have amassed a devout fanbase quite like pilates. It emphasizes core strength, flexibility, and overall body awareness, making it ideal for all fitness levels. And despite the workout’s low-impact controlled movements and precise postures, the results are iconically high impact (let Lori Harvey’s now-viral clip on TikTok serve as context).

Though pilates has been around since the early 20th century, its popularity has been notably revived in recent years. Celebrity fans like Hailey Bieber and Jennifer Aniston sing its praises, new pilates studios and instructors with cult-like followings have surged, and several athletic brands are now centering activewear for the practice into its collections.

Los Angeles-based certified pilates instructor Kim Carruthers explains that pilates was created by Joseph Pilates in the early 20th century for rehabilitation—centered around the core principles of balance, precision, and control. The targeting of small muscles and emphasis on form plays a defining role in the workout’s effectiveness. “Pilates lengthens and strengthens your muscles for a longer leaner physique,” Liana Levi, founder of Forma Pilates, the referral-only studio, says. For this reason, it’s also a strong complement to a variety of other workouts, if you’re not willing to part with your running ritual or yoga routine.

Taylor Phillips, a yoga and pilates instructor who helped design the Equinox Pilates Rise class, explains that pilates is meant to be a vigorous full-body workout that strengthens your core and leaves no muscle overtrained or undertrained. “If your goal is overall strength, flexibility and mobility it can be your main workout though I always advocate for adding in some walking or light cardio in addition to your Pilates workouts,” Phillips says.

Carruthers also emphasizes that pilates isn’t just a workout, but rather a discipline. “It’s a mind-body exercise practice,” she says. “When you think ‘practice,’ you understand that it’s something you should be able to do for a lifetime.” An important mindset to have, as experts note, pilates is suitable for everyone regardless of gender, age, or body type. Even more: she says the practice can aid in various forms of rehabilitation from post-op recovery to pre-and post-pregnancy healing.

“Once you start taking [the practice] consistently, you’ll begin to feel a deep connection with the body on and off the mat,” says Jacqui Kingswell, founder of The Pilates Class online platform. Essentially, regardless of what method of pilates you’re practicing (mat and reformer pilates are the most popular), Levi notes you can see comparable improvement in core activation, flexibility, strength, posture, and overall body awareness. “Performing the movements on a reformer can require more stability and you also have access to the machine itself that introduces more resistance than doing a mat workout,” Levi says. “With that said, you can mimic exercises and movement patterns from the reformer on the mat by using resistance bands and light weights.”

Ready to try pilates for the first time or reintroduce yourself to the practice after a hiatus? You’ll be needing a few essential styles. “Pilates fashion can be fun as you have more versatility in wearing fun styles since the workout is not as high impact like a high-intensity class,” Levi explains. Here, we break down what to wear—along with the fitness accessories that might come in handy.

A lightweight sports bra is great for low-impact workouts like pilates. Try the one from Free People if you like a cami style; otherwise, we’re fond of Beyond Yoga’s super-soft style. Consider your trusted workout tops great pilates clothes too—just try to avoid something overly flowy or anything that might limit your range of motion. Ideally, you select a top where form meets function—specific to your body type and comfort level. While you can certainly opt for a sports bra, you can also pick something that feels more like a T-shirt or crop top.

spacedye tank top

BERGDORF GOODMAN

Alo

cropped tank top

ALO

FP Movement

all clear cami

FREE PEOPLE

Varley

Bea sports bra

NET-A-PORTER

Lululemon

align racerback tank

NET-A-PORTER

Girlfriend

Colette halter bra

GIRLFRIEND

performance t-shirt

NET-A-PORTER

Lululemon

hold tight ribbed t-shirt

NET-A-PORTER

Live The Process

taurus two-tone crop top

BERGDORF GOODMAN

Sporty & Rich

drink more water t-shirt

FWRD

Splits59

airweight crop

SPLITS59

Tory Burch

racerback tennis tank

TORY BURCH

“You don’t want anything too tight or low-waisted,” notes Kingswell. “It’s all about feeling comfortable.” A high-waist legging design in a soft fabric with a stretchy fit would be ideal for medium-to-high impact workouts. (Phillips points to Alo leggings as a staple in her pilates wardrobe.) Not into a pant legging? Short styles are excellent for pilates, too. Look for compressive and lightweight styles that won’t ride up during your workout.

peached logo leggings

MYTHERESA

Year of Ours

v'd waist biker shorts

SAKS FIFHT AVENUE

caught in the midi leggings

NORDSTROM

Live The Process

v high-rise leggings

BERGDORF GOODMAN

Lululemon

align high-rise shorts

NET-A-PORTER

LULULEMON

Alo

Airlift leggings

ALO

Instead of activewear separates, you could select a onesie to take the guesswork out of exercise dressing. With the rise in fitness and lounge apparel in recent years, we’ve been seeing plenty of iterations of the workout unitard that emphasize comfortability with effective movement. Those who typically workout in a legging might opt for jumpsuits that crop right at the ankle. (Phillips counts Year of Ours as a go-to for a beautiful jumpsuit.) There are also romper styles designed in biker-length silhouettes, many with buttery soft fabrics and a built-in bra.

Soraya onesie

REVOLVE

spacedye jumpsuit

BERGDORF GOODMAN

Lululemon

align bodysuit

NET-A-PORTER

Girlfriend Collective

café bike unitard

GIRLFRIEND

Splits59

airweight jumpsuit

BERGDORF GOODMAN

Nike

zenvy playsuit

NIKE

If you’re headed to a pilates studio or simply prefer not to workout barefoot, Carruthers recommends having a pair of grippy socks on hand. From Alo Yoga, Pointe Studios, or Bombas, these ensure you won’t slip during your workout thanks to performance grips lining the bottom of comfortable, breathable fabrics.

WellBeing + BeingWell

striped tube grip sock

REVOLVE

Alo

pivot barre sock

ALO

Pointe Studio

love grip socks

ANTHROPOLOGIE

Lululemon

powerstride no-show socks

LULULEMON

Arebesk

phish net ankle socks

NORDSTROM

Sweaty Betty

pilates socks

SWEATY BETTY

Unable to head to the studio? Our experts say you can easily practice at home using just your body weight or with an assortment of fitness accessories to enhance your workout. “First, you should invest in a good mat,” says Carruthers. “This would preferably be something non-slip and thicker than your traditional yoga mat.” Phillips also points to props such as the magic circle, light weights, and resistance bands to elevate your moves. “These accessories give a similar feeling to being on the equipment and can be extremely effective at building strength and increasing mobility around our major joints,” she says. That said, no pressure here—oftentimes, your body weight is sufficient, particularly for beginners. For those who need music to power through a workout, wireless headphones or a mini portable speaker are great to have on deck—especially if you like to workout outside or want to take your accessories with you on a trip.

Bala

pilates ball

FREE PEOPLE

Gaiam

pilates ring

FREE PEOPLE

Alo

warrior mat

ALO

Hydro Flask

wide-mouth water bottle

AMAZON

Bala

weighted bangles

FREE PEOPLE

Bala

resistance bands

FREE PEOPLE

Sonos

aceheadphones

SONOS

Sonos

Roam 2 portable speaker

SONOS

All of our experts agree that pilates seamlessly complements other exercises too, for those not ready to part from a beloved cardio workout, weightlifting, or yoga. For an intensive workout, Kingswell recommends practicing pilates four to five times per week; otherwise, incorporating it two to three times is amazing for beginners. As for how long you can see results: “Within a week, people are starting to feel muscles they may not have felt before and it just gets deeper from there,” Kingswell explains. Per Carruthers, after 30 sessions, you can expect to literally feel that your body has increased mobility—or what she calls having a different body.