Once upon a time when I was single and had nothing else better to do with my time I watched a lot of Oprah and gave much energy and thought to stuff like “self-improvement.” I read Oprah books, jogged every day, tried to eat healthy. During one of her skinny fit phases she did a show about sports fashion and how you should look and feel good because you’re important and you deserve it. At the time a bunch of cute new workout clothes were starting to come out and you really could look adorable while working out. My idea of workout wear consisted of baggy old T-shirts and cheapo cotton “Huskies” jersey shorts. “You know Oprah, you’re right!” I thought. I went out immediately to the Bon to look at these super cute sports coordinates. When I found out they were about $60 a piece I laughed/cried, turned back around and went back to jogging in ratty old T-shirts.
Fast forward 15 years and I am still wearing old T-shirts (now instead of “Huskies” shirts it’s Mariners shirts they give out for free at the games) and jersey shorts purchased at Fred Meyer. I really would like to graduate to being a little more cute now, please. So, where to start? Why don’t you sporty people tell me where you get your gear (I’m speaking at you, LH)?
I’ve had really limited success with sporty wear. I like going to Lucy to look at what’s new and what’s in but I always just end up buying non-sporty animal print T-shirts or hoodies and never actually get anything I work out in. Furthermore, you can find some of these same cute shirts (like Splendid or Charlotte) at actual fancy clothes stores. What gives, man? Are these things actually for sports or are they merely clo that just makes you look athletic? Are they just “athletic-inspired” clo like those athletic looking shoes that aren’t really for sports? I always wonder who wears those sporty dresses (You know the ones. Lucy always has 100s of those at the sidewalk sale and strangely enough, not so much during other times of the year) and for what sport? My friend L recently pointed out a trend she has been noticing: Skirts for jogging. What? Hello? Excuse me? Since shorts tend to ride up your crotch while running, these people have come up with a kind of skort for running. That’s crazy, preposterous! Do we really need sport skirts? Sport dresses? What is going on? Discuss, please.
you all know where this is leading, right?
i’m totally going to buy one of these skirts. they were actually TOTALLY comfy.
also, robin, did you notice? i left justified the shoe/edgar photo. i’m starting to get this formatting thing. sort of.
Running skirt, I loved em. Basically like wearing snug, wicking boyshorts as far as comfort went, but just more socially appropriate and even kinda cute. I also have a theory the swishing of the skirt creates a nice airflow. In any case, more streamlined than your average running short which I’ve always found a bit blousey.
I bought my cutest workout gear at Super Jock n Jill in Greenlake. Brooks, Moving Comfort, Saucony, Pearl Izumi, Adidas. They have a good buyer there. I asked a year or so ago, it’s actually a guy, but he has a great eye for women’s workout gear – cute and uber-functional.
Go during the middle of the day during the week for best service because they can get busy during the evenings/weekends.
Short answer: I don’t know.
Long answer: My favorite workout is Jazzercise (TM). My sister was a Jazzercise (TM) instructor in 2006, and as required per the J(TM) franchise agreement she bought an entire wardrobe of J(TM) tops and bottoms. Then she got her awesome teaching job where she hikes into rural Alaskan village schools to do science experiments with kids who don’t speak English, so she wasn’t doing J(TM) so she gave me all the clothes! So that’s what I wear. It’s fun because when I go to J everyone luvs my adorable J clothes.
Then, last year I was looking for “cute travel/activewear” to wear to France, and I went to Title 9 and was so amazed by the cute and the colors I bought a bunch of stuff. It turned out it didn’t quite fit because my shoulders are too narrow (bad for tank tops) so guess what, I traded my sister for the Jazzercise stuff! She wore them in Mexico and looked super cute in the pictures. Other stuff, like a skort, I really liked but then it “shrunk” and doesn’t fit anymore.
Yes love the alignleft. it works well with smaller photos! And I love having a picture at the top, it’s very eye-catchy.
Anyway, I’m all about being cute when you exercise. Baggy t-shirts impede my movement, so I’m not a fan. A lot of the Title 9 clothes are good for a hike or rollerblading around Greenlake with cross-country ski poles or whatever it is you do. But they would also be cute for a bopping around day at the Zoo or Mall. So there’s definitely overlap.
But unless it’s super cute and designed for overlap, I follow the rule, “If the clo is for an activity, wear it only for that activity.” Like no visor or swimsuit if you are not near water (or serious tanning), no visible sports bra. No wearing running shoes day in and day out. Wear striped track pants for running (reminds me of the scene in Back to the Future where Michael J. Fox is wearing his nylon vest and all the 1950’s people think he’s from the Coast Guard?) I had to stop myself from doing this when I saw a picture making fun of Mom clothes: Turtleneck, jeans, and running shoes — it was EXACTLY what I was wearing and it looked bad, real bad.
But I might be in the minority. A lot of people really like running around in their sportswear, either because they like the look or might be struck with the desire to exercise at any moment. Neither of those things hold true for me.
oh title 9! jessica and i went to the warehouse sale at magnuson park last year. we found out that it’s a GREAT deal if you already shop there. but if it’s new to you then the “sale” prices are still kind of expensive for thrifters like me. she bought some capri pants i think, and a skirt. i bought a bag for like 60% off but i don’y use it anymore… so yeah, i wonder about these sporty skirts. i guess you can wear them hiking and camping?
i agree about exercise wear being for exercising. though it’s tempting to run around in track suits day in and day out i have not succumbed to that yet so i’m still saveable.
and where does one find jazzercise clo?
I agree. Gym pants are for the gym (and housecleaning).
I need new gym shirts, though plain t-shirts will work fine, as long as they’re long enough. I’m still using my pregnant lady ones, and I hate it.
Other than that, I don’t care what I look like while exercising and wouldn’t spend more than 20 bucks on a shirt for that purpose.
Pants another story entirely, though. It’s all about the length, and only expensive Lululemon ones are long enough for me.
Jazzercise shirts are only on the Jazzercise website. They are expensive, too. Do you want mine?
Skorts are good for parades, because you sit on the sidewalk. Or watching T-ball. I don’t get track suits. I DO get elastic-waist knit pants and hoodies, for a comfort thing. but I don’t want mine to have stripes on the sides or other non-functional sport detail. It feels dishonest when I do it. And there are SO MANY CUTER things to wear!
I feel more confident exercising if I feel cute, but I don’t see nice exericse wear (or any wear) as just an appearance thing. Fit, comfort, support, durability, washability, those are all things you pay for. Often can find it in a $20 shirt but then sometimes not.
Also for the record, I’m thinking “cute” for me isn’t like high-end print or fancy anything. It’s mostly “Not my tummy hanging out,” which is my big problem if something is cheap or shrinks.
oh another good discussion. again the problem of working practicality with fashion. i’ve been walking/running in the same adidas running tights for shoot 10 years now? talk about getting my bang for my buck. i’m finally sick of it and even with the synthetic threads, it’s finally starting to wear out around my thighs. the main function i need out of athletic bottoms is to prevent my thunder thighs from rubbing together. but ya, incorporating fashion into it might be a fun new challenge.
usually i go out walking in our neighborhood trail with nobody around, so i don’t care how i look. but after entering a few 5Ks and a half, it’s opened up a whole new industry. i was amazed at the fitness event they have before the marathon how much clothing is catered toward walking and jogging. i totally want aki to get a skort, but i just can’t see myself with my body type in one. i usually accomplish the covering the crotch area with a long t-shirt. but like tonight, i met up with a friend to go for a happy hour and a walk at mill creek town center. and hello, how do you dress for that occasion? i ended up wearing my regular shorts and a shirt, but would have been nice to have something a little more upscale and athletic.
i want to go check out super jock n jill at greenlake. i saw some cute wears at the fitness event, but my only worry is that they seemed to have only really skinny people size. has anybody gone there?
Title Nine has regular women’s sizes up to 10-12 . . . for 14+, Junonia.com has a lot of different kind of clothes. A lot of the real “performance” wear gets expensive because of the quality of materials and workmanship, but if you find stuff you like there you might be able to recreate the look from Target or Macy’s sales at lower prices.
The walk + happy hour is a good question. Ideally your “going out” clothes can be comfortable enough to walk in, and your walky clothes can be cute enough to go meet up with a friend in.
I haven’t looked at thrift stores for sporty things yet. I think that’s the next step. I think I’ll get myself a skort when i actually run the marathon i said I would. Til then I’ll look for target quality sporty stuff. Once I do something sportily justifiable I’ll get more serious gear. Otherwise I’d feel like a fraud. I will start by wearing more form fitting shirts instead of my usual mariners shirts. I wear those to bed now so I think I want to stop doing that anyways cause I’d just feel like I’m exercising in my pajamas.
I hate men’s t-shirts because the crewnecks are constricting. Not comfortable for exercise or anything else.
Maybe I just have a fat neck and a skinny husband, now that I think about it.
You’re right about men’s T-shirts and those horrible crew necks. I do not have a fat neck, and the men’s T-shirt (medium?) I wore on Sunday felt awful. I wanted to pull it out to stretch it off my neck. I have no idea how men put up with that shit.
I just remembered that men don’t have bosoms so maybe that gives them more room in the chest and therefore neck. Hmm.
i forgot jennie was a cute runner! well that does it. if skorts are good enough for jahara then it’s good enough for me. i’m going to work up to it though.
robin: good point about bosoms! yeah i hate crewnecks. ugh. blach!
i was just at greenlake so stopped by jock n jill. i guess when i mean “cute” i just mean something that’s not a baggy mariners tshirt. i think my basic look would be the same thing on the bottom (black shorts/skort, socks, shoes) but maybe just have a few rotating tops. i don’t think i need any real performance wear until i’m more serious about the stuff i do. so i guess i’d start with target or fred meyer or somewhere first.
lucy was having a sale on those skorts but not the black one. white, and pink and in wrong sizes. of course. sigh
I’m sure you can find cheap t-shirts that fit you, in a cute color (or with something nice on them like a little bird).
Fred Meyer has Columbia sportswear, and it often goes on sale for 30% off.
I’m a little late to chime in here but I have a pair of nike capris and lululemon capris I wear for jogging and yoga. I don’t really care about which shirt I”m wearing (usually just whatever is long enough) but I do require that I look “cute” by Robin’s definition – tummy is tucked in!
I just loaded up on workout clothes. I found great stuff at the Bali/Hanes outlet. Tank tops with shelf bras in them (that I still need to wear a sports bra designed by the Army Corps of Engineers under) with coordinating shorts/cropped pants. I accidentally bought a skort (mesh with sort of bike shorts underneath), but I think I like it.
I used to workout in mens t-shirts and I have no idea how I did that. SO uncomfortable. My favorite is tanks with shelf bras, definitely. I got some mesh v-necks at the the outlet but haven’t tried them out yet – they felt good on, though.