ALO Yoga High-Waist Moto Legging in Performance Leather. $114 YUM.
ALO Yoga Flow Tank – Happy Baby $48. Sweet.
ALO Yoga High-Waist Align Capri in Juneberry $82. Disco.
New Balance En Route Jacket $130 Spiffy.
Sweaty Betty Lagoa Poncho $165 Schnazz.
new balance
New Balance x J.Crew
J. Crew now has a workout wear line, in collaboration with New Balance.
- Because, of course.
- Because everybody else has one and they’re the only two brands left.
- Because NB makes retro 80s preppy runners that J.Crew does sell, so it’s actually a totally organic pairing.
Real talk? J.Crew having a workout wear line is funny, and don’t think I’m not going to call their shit out for it. There has never been a single muscle on a single female model in all of J.Crew, and the preferred workout program of the waif prep schooler is anorexia/bulimia, not Crossfit or even barre. Maybe her mom went to a barre class once, but she joked the whole time about how she needed a martini to get through it. Yes, I know J.Crew is an aspirational brand that true East Coast Wasp folk with Old Money and Important Art don’t really shop, but I’m a middle class girl from the midwest, so that’s as far as my actual knowledge of/ignorant assumptions about true prep go.
Deep breath. Focus. OK. J.Crew x NB. Let’s seewhatchagot.
Highlights/ Actually Useful Sport Pieces
1. Seamless Hoodie 2. Softshell Jacket (Practical, cool, athleisureness.) 3. Perfect Tank Top (Love the thick stripe, perfectly sea-preppy.) 3. Performance Color Block Leggings (Get the blue and orange, not the blue and grey b/c they’ll chop you off and make you look thicker in the thigh.) 4. Polka Dot Running Short (So cute they look like PJs.)
And the Ehhhhhhh, not so much-es.
1. Seamless Capri Leggings (pro: they’d be super comfortable. con: they come in three shades of hell no, super unflattering if you have any bumps and also they will show all of the butt sweat.) 2. Performance Capris in Color Block Polka Dot (Light grey? For the back panel? That’s not gonna work. For an-y-body.)
That’s it. I don’t have time to go through it all. Overall: it’s brand-appropriate in style, patterns and colorways. But none of it is anything you can’t find anywhere else. Conclusion: they’ve checked the obligatory “we have a fitness line now” box, it all makes sense for them, but it didn’t push anything, and it’s definitely not a “holy shit did you see what J.Crew did in fitness???” Which is kind of a shame because I think there’s a lot of potential there… I have ideas….call me Jenna. 😉
I see you, New Balance.
The Derek Lam 10C Athleta Collaboration is here!
Yes. Of course I know there’s a Derek Lam / Athleta collab. Of course I do!!!!
And I was super excited because I buy tons of Athleta. SUPER EXCITED I SAY!!!
Until I saw it.
WAH WAH.
Here, you can judge for yourself: http://athleta.gap.com/browse/category.do?cid=1038258&mlink=46650,10188358,HP_DL_Main_9_9&clink=10188358
But I think it’s a little basic and boring. And it sometimes makes the model look like a court jester or a character on Star Trek or someone from a really old Old Navy shoot. Not simple and chic. Sigh. These here are the pieces I do like (below). But you’ve been able to find leather joggers (If you wanted to) for a few years now, so…*yawn*. Maybe they’ll do it again and the next collection will be better. Sorry Derek Lam. Love you. But not this. 😦
This is the good….
And this is the bad and the ugly…I mean, I get that the color blocking on the tanks is meant to follow that of a sports bra, and that’s good and flattering, and I get that the vertical stripe is there so it’s not just a baby doll color blocking situation. But something about it just falls really frat boy from the 80s-flat. I wish I didn’t feel that way. It’s much better on the tighter tops.(see below). 
And I’m not sure how I feel about these. The location of the bust line feels fresher on these… And the cut is good ….
But still, grey and white are kind of the two worst colors to use for active wear because white will show your nip-nips and grey shows sweat in less than one second. Hey, Athleta! I know things! Maybe we should do a collab… 🙂
New Balance
Saw a couple of cute things from New Balance on My Habit (amazon’s “buy it now short term sale!” thing.) The Boylston top and capris. I like the contrasting texture idea. Keep going, New Balance, keep going.
pretty-sweaty 