My Real Fall Uniform: Living in Athletic Wear
Updated: 3 days ago
Summer me lives in linen dresses. Fall me lives in leggings. Here's my real-life uniform, my Lululemon favourites and the budget dupes I've been loving.
I have so many beautiful dresses, mostly linen and in a whole range of colours, and a pair of sandals to go with every style and every vibe. Come summer, I finish a workout, shower and change into a sundress or a pair of shorts and a tank, and I feel completely like myself.
And then fall arrives.
Fall Me Lives in Leggings. I go to my local gym four times a week, and every weekday morning I walk Maggie, my labradoodle. So from September on, I basically live in my athletic wear.
My fall uniform is simple: leggings and a workout tank, with something cozy thrown on top for grocery runs or a lunch date. An oversized turtleneck. A soft fleece. A plaid button-up. Done.
This is both good and bad.
Good, because it makes the transition from the gym to the rest of my day completely seamless. No outfit changes, no decisions, no fuss.
Bad, because after a few weeks of living in leggings, pulling on a pair of jeans can be a rude awakening. Leggings are forgiving. They stretch. They politely ignore the few pounds that crept on while I wasn't paying attention. Jeans do not. Jeans have a button, and that button tells the truth.
I've decided to find this funny rather than tragic. Mostly.
The Shoes I Actually Wear
I own a lot of shoes, with options for every workout outfit. And yet, nine times out of ten, I reach for my Converse, low tops or high tops depending on the day.
There's a practical reason, too: the flat sole gives me a stable base when I'm lifting weights. And they go from the gym floor to the grocery store without missing a beat.
My Lululemon Favourites
Most of my go-to leggings and workout tops have come from Lululemon, the tried-and-true Canadian brand. The pieces I reach for again and again:
Lululemon leggings hug you in all the right places and feel like a second skin. They wash well, and they don't roll down. I love a high waist.
The only thing that holds me back is the price tag. One pair is an investment; a full week's rotation adds up fast.
Lululemon vs. CRZ Yoga: My Honest Take
Which is why I recently started buying CRZ Yoga. I first discovered the brand on Instagram, and I've since bought pieces both from their website and on Amazon.
My favourite CRZ leggings are the Secretsculpt Butterlift and the Butterluxe. Both have that same second-skin feel I love about Lululemon. The Secretsculpt is my top pick, for two reasons: there's no front seam (goodbye, camel-toe nightmare), and the invisible scrunch gives your backside a little lift. It truly is invisible. I usually go for a size small.
The best part? The price. CRZ leggings cost about half as much as Lululemon, and they genuinely feel like a Lulu dupe.
The honest part: one of my pairs has already started to pill. So while the price is half, the quality may be too. My tip: never put them in the dryer. Air-dry your leggings, always.
A few CRZ tops I love, too:
Soft Embrace Fitted Short-Sleeve Top: it hugs you without feeling restrictive and moves easily with you.
Pima Cotton Crop Deep Armhole Tank: lets the air circulate during sweatier sessions.
Pima Cotton Racerback Ruched Side Tank: light, airy and a little bit feminine.
My verdict: Lululemon for the pieces you'll wear to death, and CRZ Yoga for filling out the rotation without the price-tag guilt.
Embracing the Fall Uniform
I'll always miss my linen dresses. But there's something to be said for a wardrobe that keeps up with my real life: walking the dog, lifting weights and running errands in between.
Summer is for linen. Fall is for leggings. And I'm okay with that.
Comments