Category Archives: Sweat Pants Addict

RSPAC: When the dress code calls for sweats.

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lululemon items:

The Huff and Puff Vest (no longer available)
Run Jet Pullover in Black (no longer available, current model here)
Wunder Under Tights in Black (available here)
Striped Wrist Warmers (no longer available)
Savasana Socks

Non-lululemon items:

Jeans Jacket: Buffalo by David Bitton
Hat: H&M
Sunnies: F21
Boots: Rocketdog

There are times when wearing sweat pants is needed. When you go to the gym. Out running. To yoga. Or, as evidenced by today’s Recovering Sweat Pants Addict Challenge outfit, when out skating with friends.

But just because you can get away with wearing sweat pants doesn’t mean you shouldn’t think about your outfit, how to style it, how to pull everything together. I knew that my friends and I were just going to be having fun, then maybe getting some mini-doughtnuts and hot chocolate, and I wanted my outfit to reflect that while still being über functional for skating. The bright hat, aside from being lots of fun, is easy to spot in a crowd, making staying a group on the river much easier. The striped wrist warmers, eye catching and interesting, also gave my hands some protection in case I fell down. And wearing head to toe stretchy, comfortable athletic clothing meant that I could move in anyway I wanted and not worry about discomfort or pinching.

Because really, my feet were in enough pain from the skates. I didn’t need any help in that department from my clothes!

Photos by Aarron!

Sweat Pant Addict Recovery: The Sweater Dress.

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Necklace, Something Different (gift); Cardi, lululemon athletica; turtleneck dress, Frockstar Out of the Blue; Tights, Lupo; Boots, Locale.

Sweater dresses are a big deal. No, really. They are made of sweater, and they are dresses. It might be the all time perfect combo garment.

As you can imagine, this makes it the perfect item to wear as a recovering sweat pants addict. Feels like sweats… But this dress looks nothing like a pair of sweats.

I’ve worn this dress to so many events – it really is a wardrobe workhorse. To the symphony with killer heels and earrings, to a BBQ with a jeans jacket and motorcycle boots, to dinner parties with ballet flats and coloured tights, to work with a blazer or cardigan… I knew that it would be versatile when I bought it, but I have no idea how versatile it would be.

Have you ever added an item to your wardrobe, and been surprised by how frequently you wear it? How truly versatile it is? Tell me about it in the comments!

Photos by Aarron!

RSPAC: Black out

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lululemon athletica items:

Black 5 Year Tee (no longer available, current version here)
Black cool racerback tank
Black Wunder Under Pants

non-lulu items:

Sunnies, F21; Scarf, Etam; Blazer, Luigi Bertoli; Key necklace, Tiffany; Boots, Town Shoes.

This week’s Recovering Sweat Pants Addict Challenge outfit is all about the black. Anyone who owns yoga pants probably owns a pair in black. This matte black fabric (called luon when the pants or tops are from lululemon) was a huge boon for fitness apparel companies, because you can pair matte fitness apparel with regular clothing, instead of looking like you forgot your work pants after you went to the gym.

This was the outfit I wore when I went to work on Sunday for a Super Bowl event. It was the weekend, so I didn’t feel the need to dress up overmuch, and let’s face it… Super Bowl isn’t the paragon of fancy (unless you’re Madonna, of course). But, I was going to work, so I wanted to make sure that I looked sufficiently pulled together and professional. The easiest way to do this is by wearing black. While an all-black outfit isn’t an instant recipe for an amazing outfit, there is something about a head-to-toe black outfit that has a level of chicness that you just don’t get with any other kind of colour combination – monochromatic or otherwise. And wearing a hot pink scarf also let the rest of the outfit exist in the background, making the focus my face, not my yoga pants.

Pictures by Aarron!

Sweat pants addict recovery: Step Two, the swingy skirt.

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Earrings, Ten Thousand Villages Edmonton; Sweater, Esprit; Dress, Cori; Boots, Locale.

A simple, easy outfit with a bright pop of colour. This is a never-fail combination for me: black shirtdress, cardigan or sweater, a pair of heels. There is nothing groundbreaking about what I’m wearing, but it looked nice, pulled together and was very comfortable.

My first step in recovering from my sweat pants addiction was to find a pair of jeans that felt like sweats. This dress was part of step 2. This dress feels like a pair of sweat pants. The fabric, with incredible drape and movement, is called Malha Fria in Brazil. It feels very similar to modal with lycra added to it (you’ll note that most of my recovery tips revolve around lycra). I love shirtdresses, but those made of cotton can pull and pinch and don’t move with you as much as this one does.

Sweat Pants Addict Recovery Step 2: Find a basic, casual dress that feels like sweats but is work appropriate.

I always suggest that people look to wrap dresses to find that look and feel, as they are typically the most comfortable and universally flattering style of dress (be warned, however, that ladies with a generous serving of boobs will have to take special care with finding the right dress: try it on, and bend at the waist to see if the top stays put, or make sure to layer a camisole underneath to prevent any possibly embarrassing clothing mishaps). And there are a ton of fantastic wrap dresses available in stores right now, many made with jersey. Go basic with black or have some fun, and pick a print.

My favorites right now?

This wrap dress from Banana Republic would be so much fun to wear to work, then out for drinks on a patio in late spring. And this dress (also from BR) is so bright and cheerful, it would be perfect for a summer wedding, or worn on a date with a jeans jacket. I love this basic black wrap dress from the Gap, it would be great on its own, dressed up or down, worn with statement jewelry, or nothing at all.

Photos by Aarron.

RSPAC: Walking on Water (Now with more yoga!)

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lululemon athletica items:

Run: Jet Pullover in Alarming (no longer available, current model here)
Black Cool Racerback (available here)
Grey Pique Wunder Under Pants (same style and fabric, different colour here)

non-lululemon items

NYC Street vendor hot pink faux-Wayfarers
Hippie fair artisan feather earring
Sarong, worn as a scarf, from a beach vendor in Bahia
Buffalo, by David Bitton Jeans Jacks from The Ruby Slipper Vintage
Town Shoes boots

For this week’s Recovering Sweat Pants Addict Challenge photoshoot, Aarron and I took to the frozen river. I was really craving colour, colour, COLOUR with this outfit, especially to contrast with the bright white snow. I started building this outfit with the brightest item of lululemon I own, my Run: Jet Pullover in Alarming Orange, a super soft pullover designed for running. I love it for its softness and its brightness. When I wear it running, you can see me coming from miles away.

I was originally going to wear my yellow Renner scarf with this outfit, but stumbled across this sarong from the Praia do Forte in Bahia, Brasil. Designed to look like Bahian lembrança ribbons, this sarong is such a riotous collection of colour, I’ve never considered it as a scarf before. Sometimes, really bright, busy prints work as the lodestone for a bright, busy outfit. This particular scarf looks best surrounded by a variety of incredibly bright colours, so I added the sunglasses and feather earring, just to pull everything together.

Yoga on a frozen river is a treacherous and fun experience. My inner thighs hurt like crazy, because I had to engage my thighs to keep from slipping into the splits. Worth it for the nearly unbroken expanse of white snow, though. My city is pretty (awesome).

Photos by Aarron!

RSPAC: How to dress for volunteering.

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lululemon items:

Remix lulu hoodie*light (no longer available, similar)
Scoop Neck L/S Top (no longer available, similar)
Black 5 year Tee (no longer available, similar)
Wunder Under Pants

non-lulu items:

Necklace: Desart
Boots: Town Shoes

It’s back! The first Recovering Sweat Pants Addict Challenge of 2012!

I wore this outfit to volunteer at the hospital. I never know what I’m going to be doing that day until I arrive, so I always try to dress for anything. Could be cleaning, could be hanging out with patients, could be running errands, could be doing handy work… When I’m getting dressed for volunteering, I always make sure that I could kick ass in a game of wheelchair basketball and still look pulled together.

Choosing what to wear to volunteer can be challenging. Some volunteer positions call for short shorts and flip flops (holla, water stations at races!), others professional or business casual attire, and many a “use your best judgement” dress code. When I am deciding what to wear for volunteering, I imagine the “fanciest” and “dirtiest” activities I could be getting up to, and try to dress somewhere in the middle.

Really, though? The most important thing to remember when dressing for volunteering is that your clothing should take a backseat to the work. You can still look awesome and create an amazing outfit, as long as while you volunteer you think about the work and not the clothes. Remember, volunteering isn’t permission to dress poorly, but neither should it be a fashion show.

In other (exciting!) news, Roomie Aarron has acquired a new camera! I’m super excited, and can’t wait to see what kinds of shots we can get with something a bit better than two Android cellphones (all pictures on the blog are taken with either a Samsung Galaxy or Nexus). Depth of field, what?

Photos by Aarron!

RSPAC: French Cuff Denim Duty.

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lululemon items:

Non-lululemon items:

This jeans jacket has become a huge wardrobe staple for me over the last year. I wear it frequently – if you read this blog even semi-regularly, you’ll probably have seen it worn here before (here, here, here, here, here, here… to name a very small few). I always wind up being sad when it gets too cold to wear it in the winter. Happily, this year I’ve been able to wear it longer than I normally do as we’ve had such a mild winter so far (well, not really so happily, I don’t love a mild winter, if only because it is such a dramatic shift from the temperature norms in winter), but this weekend, I decided to layer my jeans jacket under this puffy vest after watching an introduction video of Katie, the lead accessories designer at lululemon athletica, who layers a denim vest under a puffy vest over her lululemon hoodie.

I don’t have a denim vest (yet… I might wind up turning this jacket into a vest in the spring). I opted to create French Cuffs on the jacket under the vest to add a bit of a different look to a jeans jacket. I really like the look, both of the French Cuffs and of the denim jacket layered under a puffy vest, and this will definitely be making it into a regular outerwear pairing.

For today’s Recovering Sweat Pants Addict Challenge outfit, I entertained myself by wearing two of the same pieces as last week, but styling them completely differently. Such basic pieces are great to own for total wardrobe basics. The perfect tee shirt and a good pair of legging can be the basis for many chic looks, and many funky looks, feminine looks, sexy looks, athletic looks… Basically, a wardrobe blank canvas.

How would you style your tee shirt and legging combo?

Photos by Aarron.

RSPAC: Let’s take a trip to Caribe Bay

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lululemon pieces:

  • Sport cardi in Heathered Bruise, no longer available, similar available here
  • 5 year tee in Caribe, no longer available, similar here
  • Wunder Under Crop in black, available here

Non-lululemon pieces:

  • Mother of pearl wooden ring, Epochs (Ottawa)
  • Bracelet, gift from a friend
  • Scarf, M
  • Boots, Town Shoes

I knew the moment I saw the colour of the tee shirt I’m wearing for today’s Recovering Sweat Pants Addict Challenge that we were going to have a long and healthy relationship. During my three years working with lululemon, I accumulated a serious collection of Caribe clothing. Sweaters, tee shirts, tank tops, shorts, crops, bags. You name it, I probably had it. Now, after two years of spreading my Caribe pieces around – specifically to my mom, as Caribe is one of her favorite colours also – this tee shirt is all that remains in my collection. Aside from it being Pima Cotton (my favorite fabric of all time), the colour just brings a smile to my face, and the length of the tee is perfect for wearing with leggings as there is ample ass-coverage. I’ve never paired the Sport Cardi and this tee together before, and I really love how the bright greeny-blue of the tee shirt pops against the more somber coloured dark purple cardigan.

I didn’t realize it at the time as I was dressing, but this turned out to be the ultimate video game outfit. lululemon clothing is perfect to wear for sitting on the couch for long periods of time – especially when you play video games the way that I do, jubilantly and enthusiastically. I really like to celebrate when we do well on a level…

Photo credit to Aarron!

RSPAC: I stomp on you!

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lululemon pieces:

Non-lululemon pieces:

  • Sunglasses belonged to my mom in the ’80s
  • Thin knit cashmere scarf from Club Monaco (no longer available)
  • Argyle socks from Filene’s Basement
  • Red rose ring from Out of the Blue
  • Black graphic Converse All Stars

The beauty of the inbetween phases of the seasons is trying to find the right outfit to wear for the weather and then nailing it. I’m not much of a vest girl, only upon very rare occasion do I pull on a puffy vest, and generally it is specifically for hiking or walking a dog, or similar. But this was one of those “warm arms, cold chest” kinds of days, and I knew my puffy vest was the only option. It is challenging to make a vest look chic, especially when that vest is puffy. They can hide your shape, make you look sausage-like… Challenging to style.

The vest is kind of shiny, and the stitching on the vest is very angular, so I wanted to create soft lines with the accessories. The cashmere scarf, the rose ring and the knit brim toque were all chosen because they make the outfit look softer, more feminine. I mimicked the angularity of the vest’s stitching in the argyle socks, and chose the All Stars because their graffiti inspired print, while not angular, is spiky and jagged. I think the combination of line and texture created an interesting casual outfit for the weekend.

Photos by Aarron!

RSPAC: Ugg, Ugg and AWAY!

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This Recovering Sweat Pants Addict Challenge (RSPAC – the world is powered by acronyms!) outfit is actually from before my first RSPAC post. It has even been on the blog before (but not as an “Official Fashionflirt Outfit”).

The versatility of yoga clothing – or more specifically, the potential versatility – is my favorite thing about stretchy pants and tank tops with built in sports bras. This was the perfect outfit for deconstructing a TV in the garage. It was also the perfect outfit for running errands around town. I felt funky and pulled together while popping into stores, but also comfortable (and supported) while drilling and ripping apart large electronics. I would have also been able to wear this outfit to a yoga class, and then brunch with some girlfriends.

lululemon pieces:

Non-lululemon pieces:
  • Jeans Jacket: Thrifted from the Ruby Slipper, brand Buffalo by David Bitton
  • Cropped grey sweater: Hope
  • Scarf: Random Boutique in Brasília
  • Boots: Knit Uggs

I opted to wear one non-lululemon item of clothing in this outfit, this cropped grey sweater from Hope. I found it really helped to pull together the layered effect of the tops I wore, and added a bright and much-needed flash of colour to this otherwise monochromatic outfit. The blue long-sleeved tee is made of Pima Cotton, my favorite fabric that I enthusiastically laud here, here and here – where I’m wearing the same blue top as I am here.

I’m not loving my Uggs with this outfit, to be honest. I wish, in retrospect, that I had thought to put on a pair of ankle boots, preferably my short motorcycle boots from Rocketdog. The footwear I see most frequently paired with yoga pants in Winnipeg are Uggs boots, often dirty and salt-stained. Victoria, a Vancouver-based fashion blogger, writes frequently (and entertainingly) about her dislike of “FUggs” on her blog DemiCouture. She’s offered stylish alternatives to Uggs (men’s alternatives here), searing commentary on Ugg x [designer] collaborations (here, here, and here), PSAs about the fugliness of Uggs (here), and warnings against the negative potential health effects of Uggs (here).

I don’t dislike Uggs to the same degree as Victoria, as I am willing to wear mine. To and from yoga, for instance. Or to the gym. They are warm, easy to pull on, and you don’t have to wear socks with them (I don’t love wearing socks). There are many functional, warm, comfortable and stylish alternatives to Uggs, but sometimes laziness takes over, and Uggs wind up on my feet.

So why did I wear them? Laziness. Lack of planning. Being rushed and leaving things to the last minute. Not too surprisingly, becoming a sweat pants addict was rooted in that same combination. As such, an addendum to the rules of the Recovering Sweat Pants Addict Challenge has been added: No Uggs. The outfits from this challenge are intended to be a thoughtful combination of athletic apparel and personal style. Uggs do not fit in, so they are out!

Photo credit to the awesome Afoat!