When fashion and sports intersect, I am usually on the sidelines. Aside from a leisurely dance class or a quarter-century crisis-like half-marathon, yes, I am what high school would call a NARP (non-athletic generalist). But even I, however, have noted this summer's emergence of the athletic shorts trend from the gym bag to street style.

Swooshy running shorts and the iconic Adidas basketball three stripes are everywhere in non-athletic contexts. It doesn't feel like #spon, courtesy of the U.S. Olympic Committee ahead of the Paris Games. Outside the Paris Couture show this week and on the streets of New York City, fashion insiders are channeling the sporty spice in a simple way. Athletic-look shorts with non-jersey tops, and avoiding cleats and sneakers on the bottom.

Celebrities have become some of the biggest proponents of running shorts for running around. And unlike their wearing of exaggerated dresses and leather gloves in 80-degree heat (like Jennifer Lopez) or coats with near-naked cutouts (like Rihanna's recently), these feel like outfits that anyone can emulate. There is enough juxtaposition to feel like a fashion statement, but not so much that it is unapproachable. The dressed-up track and basketball shorts are the moments when the stars really become like us.

Haley Bieber is the reigning gold medalist of the athletic shorts trend. Before and during her pregnancy, she layered vintage Fila shorts and Alo Yoga micro shorts with oversized leather jackets and tailored topcoats. Speaking for my fellow city girls, I once wore an outfit along these lines and ran to a nearby bodega for a sweet treat.

Track, basketball, and running shorts don't stop once you start wearing them off the court or field. For editor (and runner) Emilia Madden, Adidas sports shorts and Alex Mill button-downs are her "go-to uniform." She tells me, "I'm casual enough to wear Birkenstocks and a baseball cap when I go out for coffee, but with fancy shoes like these, it's unpretentious yet dressy, perfect for the ambiance of my favorite wine bar."

Lauren Chang, a New York-based model, writer, and entrepreneur, grew up wearing basketball shorts and hasn't quit them as an adult. She says, "Now I'm making them part of my wardrobe by elevating them with collared shirts--I'm dying to wear a double polo shirt soon--as well as heels and Mary Jane moments."

Chang adds that there is more to the look than just a nod to the basketball games of her youth. She says, "I think this trend and similar ones, like the low-rise baggy denim bermudas, are growing in popularity as women turn against the male gaze and gravitate toward what they feel is cool and powerful in the female gaze." Amen.

While much of the athletic shorts movement has come out of actual sportswear, there are a few brands that are taking varsity stripes and nylons in a direction for women, by women, in line with Chan's styling approach. Relax Lacrosse, for example, was the "MVP" sporty shorts of Marie Claire fashion features editor Emma Childs. (By the way, she "never once held a lacrosse stick.") "I've always been ridiculously bad at sports, pictured, and my high school team was the newspaper club," she tells me on Slack. Relaxing has inspired her to embrace her inner athlete.

"The New York-based sportswear brand, a favorite of the editors, uses unexpected color combinations-cherry red and bubblegum pink, for example-and girlish details like rosettes and ribbons to give the bottoms a cute, fashionable vibe.

The brand recently partnered with Lisa Says Gur to launch a limited edition line featuring two giant bows on the waistband. It's the kind of thing one imagines Sandy Liang, the queen of girlie aesthetics, would wear if she were a volleyball captain.

There are certain fashion investments that can only be worn for certain occasions. Drop-waist dresses are only for Lake Como packing lists, and bubble skirts are purely for the summer wedding circuit. Athletic shorts are a little more flexible (and not just because they're stretchy, breathable, and made of fabric that can win a 400-meter hurdle race). They can be used for workouts, a quick errand, a casual dinner, and fit for any creative-minded office, Olympic athlete or not. From now on, I'll be wearing them while lounging on the couch with a button-down like Chang and Madden's.