Today on the blog I am super pleased to bring back Alice. Alice has previously shared her basic steps to cycling which was a great article and today she is back to talk about Fitness Sportwear. Alice will tell you all her secrets of where she likes to buy her fitness assessories from and also shares with us some great websites. Thank you Alice for sharing with us this great post.
More from Alice…
Today I’m going to be writing about some of my favourite places to buy sports and fitness clothing.
A recent study by Fitness First found that 53% of people interviewed avoided working out because they hate the way they look in gym clothes…..This is not ok!
I get it, it might seem that a lot of fitness clothing is all dull colours and clingy fabric, but I would like to share with Boho readers some places I’ve discovered that aren’t your usual Nike or Adidas, to buy fitness clothes that won’t make you want to avoid all mirrors. In fact I hope that you’ll feel so inspired you’ll be reaching for your trainers and hitting up your favourite exercise pronto…
I know this is branding itself as yoga clothing, but I’ve always assumed sports wear is multi purpose and never just for one kind of activity. Plus I have to include them because they have the single greatest collection of sports leggings I have ever seen. The website is worth a visit for them alone. If it were socially acceptable to wear gym kit to work and within every day life I would have a different pair of their leggings for every day of the week. Also, if like me you believe Sunday’s were made for lounge wear you should check out their selection of sweat pants. I’m really in to the Spiritual Gangster Playsuit, which is in the photo below; its comfy and cute and has Sunday style written all over it
I thought I’d died and gone to heaven when I found Hip and Healthy. Their website has everything; it’s a shop, magazine, and social media platform which also provides a healthy restaurant review guide, fitness and wellbeing advice, workout planner and also acts as your own individual motivator and personal trainer. I love that the clothes are all handpicked by the Hip and Healthy team, so they’re the highest quality most exclusive and sought after brands, but without a major designer price tag. If you need some news shorts or a bit of ‘Fitspiration,’ get on here, I promise you wont regret it.
Lorna Jane for House of Fraser is a fairly recent find of mine. Lorna Jane is an Australian brand and until very recently you couldn’t buy their stuff over here. However, the ever brilliant and always evolving House of Fraser now stock a huge selection of the LJ lines and I honestly couldn’t love it more. I’ve bought quite a few items, and I have a never-ending wish list of new pieces I’d love. Well, it is my birthday soon… *massive hint to my family.* I just can’t get enough of the colours, the inspirational slogans, the amazing patterns and the exceptional fit. I’ve worn my LJ leggings and ‘Strong’ sports bra to lots of CrossFit sessions recently so they’ve taken a pretty good beating and they still look like new and go through the wash beautifully.
I don’t have a huge amount of experience with Sweaty Betty but I’ve included them because I know millions of people love them, and they’re a really chic and classic alternative for ladies who aren’t as mad about colour and print as I am. I also really love that Sweaty Betty totally product test their clothes for all disciplines of sport and that their website features a ‘knowledge’ section with training advice, breakdowns on all the different fabrics used and even workouts you can try at home. I’m currently lusting after their divine new cycling clothes collection. It’s print-tastic and doesn’t compromise on the technical fit.
I kinda ought to apologise for putting this company on my love list, because currently I’m still figuring out if you can get their products shipped to the UK. However I saw model Lauren Vickers wearing some Mahiku leggings in a picture she posted on Instagram and had to look them up. THEN I discovered they made SHARK leggings and I was sold. I mean, I need shark print fitness clothes in my life. The cool thing about Mahiku Active wear leggings is that you can wear them in and out of water, so they’re ideal for beach workouts. Check em’ out, the colours and unique patterns are so badass it’s unreal.
Cheeky Matalan getting a mention, proving it’s not all big dollar pieces. Matalan do some really awesome kit; leggings, vests, sports bras, they’ve got it going on. The fabrics don’t feel quite as high end as you would expect from the others I’ve mentioned, and they probably wont last a lot of long term washes in the machine but for £8 a top there’s nothing to stop you buying a whole load and not caring if they break at the seams!
I am a long time fan of Victoria’s Secret undies (just ask my now financially ruined husband to be!) but I hadn’t really sat up and taken notice of their active wear until about six months ago. Annnd ohmygod have I been missing out. Their stuff is beautiful. Pricey, yes, but really, really gorgeous. Given that Victoria’s Secret are so well known for their undies, it makes sense they should really know how to get a sports bra right, and they do. Amazing styles and fit, which are broken down into traditional bra sizes so you can get an exact fit for your body shape. Their leggings, shorts and sports tops are great too. The major downside? There aren’t currently many VS shops in the UK so the chances are you’ll be ordering online and they sting you on the import tax. Still, it’s a great excuse for a shopping trip to Manchester, Leeds or London.
Finally, I also wanted to mention Soactive because they stock all the really well known more high street brands you would instantly recognise as masters of fitness clothing. This site is basically a one-stop shop of everything you could possibly need in fitness clothing so if you’re gym wardrobe is missing something they may well have what you need.
I get it, it might seem that a lot of fitness clothing is all dull colours and clingy fabric, but I would like to share with Boho readers some places I’ve discovered that aren’t your usual Nike or Adidas, to buy fitness clothes that won’t make you want to avoid all mirrors. In fact I hope that you’ll feel so inspired you’ll be reaching for your trainers and hitting up your favourite exercise pronto…
If you’ve got a favourite place to shop from, or a brand you love that I’ve missed off, leave a comment below or please drop me an email or tweet. I’m always on the lookout for new active wear, and the jazzier the legging the better in my opinion.
About Alice
She has recently sent up a cycling club for women and novice riders in Somerset, and also writes for Hello Velo – her women’s cycling blog.
Alice has a wealth of knowledge about all things cycling and fitness; from what bike to buy, to how to stop your bum from hurting (*answer is padded shorts*) so if you have a question or fancy a chat drop her a line at [email protected]
www.helloveloblog.com
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Great and useful list! Good job 🙂
Hi Alice, I see that you know what you like in regards to your yoga clothes , please checkout BabsisBoutique.com would love your opinion