The Athleisure Movement — Like the Comet

I am a strong believer/supporter/advocate of athlesiure.

Everyone has career goals and one of mine is to work for an organization that allows me to wear athleisure everyday because, let’s be honest, nothing stumps creativity or a good mood more than starchy dress pants that don’t allow you to bloat like your lunch intended.

Let’s get one thing clear too. Athleisure does not mean your bag-lady sweat pants that you should have thrown out years ago because you can hear the elastic crackle a little bit, but have also developed an emotional connection to, so you keep them in your drawer anyway. Nor does it mean your old college sweats and tee shirts (unless they’re in good condition. Clearly, subjective guidelines).

Athleisure is the quality joggers, leggings, sweatshirts, etc. that are comfortable to wear, can be dressed up with non-athleisure pieces such as a jean jackets, heeled booties, etc. Honestly, when I’m not being an extreme introvert acting like I’m 85 vs. 25, I opt for wearing athleisure to social events like the bar. Yeah, I said it. I wear athleisure to the bar. Hell, I’d even wear athleisure on a date. It’s cute, it’s comfy - when are you not taking a W by wearing athleisure??

Benefits of athleisure:

Comfortable yet fashionable.
Relaxed fit - won’t ride up
Can be worn at the gym and in the streets - meaning you can wear it for more than just one setting/occasion (side eye to bridesmaid dresses)
Flexible - will stretch with your bloat or whatever else you’re doing.
Moisture wicking and breathable - nothing is more uncomfortable than when you’re pitting out in a cute top, so you have to just make sure you’re keeping your arms down as much as possible to try not to draw attention to the GIANT sweat circles forming in your underarm area.

As an athleisure connoisseur, I’ve tried my fair share of brands over the years and have built a pretty solid roster of reliable favorites. So, if you’ve been interested in adopting the athleisure lifestyle but aren’t sure where to start, I recommend the following brands.

Note: I’m a pretty frugal person, but I’m also an impulsive buyer (retail therapy ¯\_(ツ)_/¯), so some of these brands I stumbled upon by chance and others I’ve found at my go-to stores.

MPG SPORT

WEBSITE: www.mpgsport.com

PRICE: $$ - Their regular-priced items can be a smidge pricy depending on how much your budget allots. For example, most of their leggings (WHICH MOST ALSO HAVE POCKETS, HELLER?) range in price from about $54 - $70. However, they often have sales/clearance items that bring down the price quite a bit and make this brand quite affordable. Highly recommend following MPG Sport on Instagram because that’s where they promote their sales.

WHAT I OWN (examples below): several pairs of leggings (the coach and roster 7/8 leggings with pockets are my fave), four pairs of joggers, two sports bras, a couple pairs of shorts, two or three pairs of nicer pants that I can wear to work or out with friends, and a winter coat (not technically athleisure but worth mentioning).

HOW I FOUND THEM: About a year ago, I bought a pair of leggings from TJ Maxx that I found myself wearing pretty regularly. Then one night, it dawned on me that I didn’t know what brand had created my new favorite leggings. Thus, my love for MPG Sport was born.

WHAT THEY OFFER: They have a variety of options for both men and women. As I mentioned above, they offer more than just workout-related items, I have about 2-3 other pairs of pants that are made of an athleisure material, but are dressy enough that I can wear them to work (see below). They also offer a ton of cute tops, jumpsuits and dresses (depending on the season), sweaters and cardigans, jackets and coats, and select accessories.

CONCLUSION: This brand has quickly become my go-to and a staple in my wardrobe. As Ms. Norbury once said, “I’m a pusher, Cady.” I literally push all of my friends to try this brand because I love it so much, and one who actually bought leggings texted me, verbatim, “Nike who? Lululemon who?” after receiving hers in the mail. So, like, yeah - highly recommend giving them a try.

Left: the athleisure material pants that I can dress up enough to wear to work. Right: some of my favorite leggings.

90 DEGREE BY REFLEX

Website: 90degreebyreflex.com

PRICE: $-$$$ - I have never purchased anything directly from 90 Degree by Reflex because TJ Maxx carries this brand which makes it substantially more affordable and why I gave the price point rating a range. Scrolling through their website, it looks like regular priced items are between $25-110 - depending on what you’re buying - but their sale items cut those prices down to anywhere from $15-40. Plus, as I just mentioned, you can usually find this brand pretty easily at TJ Maxx, Marshall’s, etc., for hella low prices, so I recommend starting there if you’re interested in giving this brand a try.

WHAT I OWN (examples below): various types of leggings and a couple pairs of shorts. I also found a really nice cowl neck sweatshirt that is one of my favorite “fancy” sweatshirts to wear if I’m going to lunch with friends, shopping, etc. There’s only a few pairs of 90 Degree by Reflex leggings that I own that I will actually wear to work out - the rest I just wear casually.

HOW I FOUND THEM: Just like literally any other girl who is balling on a budget, but wants to find a quality pair of leggings that won’t break down quickly nor turn see-through, I discovered this brand at TJ Maxx when I was in high school. Though that was light years ago, I’m pleased to report that they still carry it in 2020.

WHAT THEY OFFER: 90 Degree by Reflex offers a variety of options for women and men (and kids if you have those lol). Most of what they offer is what’s in your typical athleisure line-up: leggings, shorts, joggers, sports bras, tanks, sweatshirt pullovers, etc. They also offer plus size options in leggings, shorts and some jackets.

CONCLUSION: This is a great brand to have as part of your athleisure artillery as it’s good quality and will last quite a few years. It’s also super accessible if you’re a frequenter of TJ Maxx. Initially, I didn’t necessarily go actively looking for this brand, but 90 Degree by Reflex has become pretty dominant in my athleisure apparel.

Left: a pair of my tried and true 90 Degree by Reflex leggings. Right: the light gray cowl neck sweatshirt ft. Sunday morning groutfit.

BALANCE ATHLETICA

Website: www.balanceathletica.com

PRICE: $$-$$.5. I’m giving this brand a little tougher of a rating (two dollar signs to two and a half dollar signs lol) because although their leggings range between $75-80 - which isn’t much different from the two brands above - they have shorts and sports bras that are priced between $45-53, and to my cheap ass, that is just a little lofty.

WHAT I OWN (examples below): three pairs of leggings, but two are definitely some of the coolest leggings I own because they’re leopard and snake skin print. The seams on their leggings are also incredibly flattering because they cut down in a V on the butt to help accentuate the curves of your booty. The waistband also comes up pretty high which holds in everything you need them to without rolling down.

HOW I FOUND THEM: This is kind of a long story, so I’m going to try to make it short, even though brief storytelling is not in my skill set lolz. In 2018, I reconnected with an acquaintance from college who introduced me to this high-quality supplement brand. This person got free shipping for being an affiliate of sorts, but communication ended between us. Therefore, I searched for other people on Instagram who were also affiliated with this brand, so that I could continue to get free shipping (lol) and found a fitness influencer named Taylor. She, her husband and sister had been developing Balance Athletica for a few years, and when I discovered her Instagram was around the same time of their first collection launch. The end. Boom. 125 words or less. In your face, brevity.

WHAT THEY OFFER: Balance Athletica offers a variety clothing for both men and women. Since it’s a newer brand, they don’t have an endless supply available on their website at all times like bigger brands. Instead, they start sharing information about the new collection about a month or so in advance and have a limited stock available prior to the launch. The launch date is usually announced on the Balance Athletica Instagram and then leading up to the launch, they feature all of the pieces of the collection on various body types, in different settings, etc. That said, there have been collections that were so popular and sold out so quickly, that Balance Athletica did an additional pre-order launch to give people a second chance if they weren’t able to order from the initial launch. Although I only own leggings, you can also purchase joggers, shorts, tanks, sports bras, sweatshirts, cropped compression shirts, zip-ups, etc.

CONCLUSION: Though it’s a newer brand and you have to keep an eye on when the next collection launches, the quality and style of Balance Athletica’s pieces make it totally worth it. I feel like I’m seeing more women my age following this brand on Instagram, so it’s definitely growing quickly in popularity - I’m sure the fitness influencers who are also brand ambassadors for them has something to do with that awareness. If you’re looking for some unique pieces to add to your athleisure wardrobe, I highly recommend taking a peek at Balance Athletica.

Left: black Balance Athletica leggings. Notice the high waistband. Right: the leopard print leggings I bought from the Kingdom Collection.

Though my athleisure wear is full of other brands, MPG Sport, 90 Degree by Reflex and Balance Athletica have quickly become my favorite. Hopefully, this helped you realize the level of comfort missing from your life that is athleisure. Especially if you’re one of those serial killer types that can take a NAP IN JEANS and PREFERS to wear jeans when you’re just hanging out with friends. Like who are you and why are you the way that you are…???????

Let me know your favorite athleisure brands or if you give any of the above a try!

Pz.