Hello dearies! I hope y'all had a wonderful weekend! Let me begin by saying that in case you did not know it is officially crazy weather season. After weeks of arctic temps, the past two days it has been in the 60s. Do not get me wrong I am not complaining whatsoever. Just not sure how dress from one day to the next. You should see my Jeep; I'm carrying layers and extra clothes just in case.
This weekend it was actually pretty interesting. If you remember last week, I gave yoga a try for the first time using a yoga home exercise DVD and while interesting I knew I needed to attend an actual class to learn proper form. My friend Kelly invited me to attend a class with her at our local yoga coop and I am so glad I did because it was a great class and I left feeling totally relaxed and energized. I did learn a few things about myself during the class though:
- I have been breathing the wrong way all my life. Sometimes I have a hard time taking really deep breaths probably because I am a chest breather. In yoga the way of breathing is different and so much more deeply.
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I have better balance on my right side than my left side. Right side is my dominant since but I have always thought I was balanced equally... I'm not.
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While I am strong, I am not that strong. And this is where I think yoga will help me. Between the stretches and thee balance required by the poses, I think this will help me gain strength overall.
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| at the doggie park, trying to do a pose on a hill. That was very hard! lol And don't you love how this shirt makes me look 5 months pregnant? But it is so comfy! |
After yoga class, we went to the doggie park and started clowning around while thee dogs played to their hearts content (that's me above clowning). And found out that doing yoga poses does not work on an incline. And yes, that is me wearing a tank top. The day was so gorgeous that I decided on a little trip to The Plaza in Kansas City, which is an area with about 6 blocks full of stores and it is all outdoors. While it was an impromptu visit, I sort of also had a mission... and you will probably laugh.
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As you know from previous posts, I am a 100% Athleta girl. I love everything they make. I am just sorry I am not independently wealthy to buy one of each piece of clothing in that store. Anyhow, my friend Brian and I were talking about best fitness clothing lines, and I was telling him that for me, and after Under Armour (my favorite) it is Athleta. He was pretty surprised... actually shocked that I did not mention Lululemon. I am going to be honest, I do not like Lululemon; I just don't. Now bear in mind that I only visited Lulu once and the experience was so bad that if refer back to my post about the Age of the Fitness Snob, you will understand why. When we had this conversation, I was telling him that I think the prices for the clothes quality is not worth it. I am also turned off by the yogaesque niche atmosphere of the stores. In comparison, I love Athleta for many reasons but the main one is that when you walk on that store you know that here you will find fitness clothing for the woman who wants to look good while getting her sweat on. Maybe is just me but that is how I see it.
I am a full believer in getting what you paid for. I do not mind paying for something as long as it will last me for a long time. I have wanted to give Lulu a try so during my trip to Kansas City I stopped by the Lululemon store. And I was actually very surprised by what a completely different experience it was for me. Everyone was so nice (especially because before I went there I had been at Athleta and had a bag with me) and very helpful. It was pretty funny but they were actually really awesome probably trying to make me see how Lulu is better that Athleta. But I took it all in stride and once I got rid of that snobbish perception, I realized that thee had some cute stuff! And that was a problem because I ended up buying some pieces there but I could not help myself. This is what you need to know: when a 6'1" girl sees TALL sizes in front of her SHE MUST HAVE!
So after the experience at both stores what do I think? Lululemon is a good store/brand BUT I still love Athleta more. It is not just brand loyalty people. Here are my other reasons:
No. 1 Better prices. In this economy I like good clothing at great prices. And while price wise they are similar, Athleta clothing is better made and better quality. My mom was a seamstress; I know my seams and fabric quality.
No. 2 Better selection for the tall girl. Yes I can go online and buy tall sizes BUT Athleta has always had great in-store tall sizes available. A big plus for me!
No. 3 More versatile. Lululemon's style of clothing seems more geared towards those practicing yoga while Athleta seems geared towards other types of fitness disciplines. The guy at Lulu kept explaining how some of the clothing was made for high impact activities but I am not convinced after trying some of them. Although I have to admit that the Lulu running shorts are super cute!
No. 4 Transition into daywear. Ok, many people would not pay attention to this but here is why I mention this.
I live in my gym clothes. When you wear an Army uniform everyday for the past 15 years, you like comfortable clothes when you are off duty. It so happens that in the past few years gym clothes have made a transition into "everyday wear". Brands have come up with lines within their brands that can go from "great to wear to the gym" to "could work when you go out for errands or to lounge comfy around the house". And this is a high selling point to me (there is a reason I have the Bettona boyfriend pants in every color). These pics above are totally my style so when I see clothes that can go either way, they normally get my attention.
So tell me, which one are you? Team Athleta or Team Lulu? Why do you like it?
Athleta because they are are not just for one style of fitness but more of an active lifestyle brand. Plus I think their clothes are higher quality. I still am using my swimsuit, a tennis dress, and running skirts that I bought a couple of years ago!
ReplyDeleteAha, an Athleta girl! I completely agree. Even the feel of the fabric feels more durable.
ReplyDeleteWhat an honor to be added to your list of favorite blogs, lady. Thanks a lot! And I am so jealous of all you fitties living in lululemon-land - no lululemon here in Europe :( I feel like I am miss out.
ReplyDeleteWell, why I am not a huge fan I have a friend who lives in Germany and she orders her Lulu clothes online. Just saying :-D
DeleteWe don't have either store here, which may actually be a good thing, I don't generally like to buy things that pricey unless I can try them on first. I do have a couple Lulu running skirts that I love and a pair of Athleta tights that I also adore. Just looking online I think I would rather have an Athleta store here.
ReplyDeleteChristy I hear you. I am just oh so glad that to go shopping I have to drive 45 minutes which makes me think twice about driving there so this does not happen very often. I am more of a house stuff kind of girl than buying clothes for me. :-)
DeleteI love Athleta! Although I do also have some Lululemon. I just like the Athleta selection better. I have had a couple bad experiences at Lulu as far as the salespeople:/ I don't need a girl 20 years younger than me telling me how my running pants are supposed to fit;) I have been running longer than she has been alive:) Thanks for stopping by my blog!
ReplyDeleteI did hot yoga for this first time today and it kicked my butt! Yoga is a whole different ball game compared to running that's for sure! I've never owned anything from Athleta or Lulu but I love dreaming of all the clothing I would buy from both if I was rich :)
ReplyDeleteCourtney, on Sunday I was sore from yoga. There were a couple times during the class when I thought I would have muscle failure in my arms.
DeleteI sadly can't afford either, but I sure do enjoy drooling, LOL!!!
ReplyDeleteMichelle, so funny story. I have been saving for like a year and then when I finally went for my "big shopping spree" I couldn't find a way to spend that much money. So I ended up just buying a pair of pants because again: they fit this tall girl! :D
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