Review: Rese Activewear

I first heard of Rese Activewear from a girl at my barre class. She had on the cutest yellow tank with petal detail on it. I loved it. She said Rese. I looked them up online and loved their mesh inset crops and some of their tuxedo crops.

Then, my barre studio started carrying Rese leggings with the cool mesh detail. And I had to have them. I found myself eyeing the mesh crops online again.

Rese will send you a 20% coupon to use on the first order. Note: You have to use it within the first 48 hours.

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I bought the Natalie crop in Imperial Violet. I have enough black crops and wanted another dark color. I bought it because I just love the color. I didn't spend $100 so I ended up paying $8 in shipping. I did get the crops in two days though. (Note: I was never sent a tracking number, which I thought was odd.)

I really love the color on these crops. It's a rich dark purple. I wore them to barre crop the day after I got them. (I was that excited to get them.) They did not show sweat, which I was really worried about. (Also, everyone always wears black bottoms to barre class. I was the only one in purple. Yippee!)

The crops were comfy, hit my calves at a good length! (without cutting into my legs likes some brands do). They were pretty classic crops: a solid color.

Downside: The fabric wrinkles easily and does show underwear lines, like some of my thinner crops.

No bells and whistles on these babies, though. I was looking for a credit card pocket like so many crops have. These have no pockets. Which, if you're going to be similar in price to Wunder Unders (These were $68 before the coupon, and Lulu is $72) then I expect a similar quality.

I think these were a little pricey for what they were.

That said, if I could get a 30% off sale I'd try some of their other crops. I really wanted their Mia Capri, but have a few other mesh inset crops and couldn't justify buying them. I still have my eye on them and a few others.

Sizing: Runs true to size.

I got a small. I'm 5'5, 130. I wear a 6 in Lulu and small in Fabletics, Under Armour, Nike, most other brands. These small fit and were identical when held against a pair of Victoria Secret crops in small.

I also bought a white tank. I've been on a hunt for a white tank lately. I do flying trapeze and you get chalk all over you. I figured a white tank A) wouldn't show chalk and 2) might show up in pictures better for night classes.

The problem is I hate white clothing. I tend to spill a lot and cannot keep it clean. Also, I've tried on a ton of white tank tops. They are all see through. Can't someone make a nice think white tank?

I was perusing the Rese page and decided to take a chance on a white tank in their sale section.

Bonus: The 20% coupon does work on their sale.

The Stacey tank was on sale for $21 (from $70.) That minus 20% and I figured it was worth a shot.

I like the tank more than I thought I would. It's a nice thick material. It does have a shelf bra—but I'd still have to wear a padded bra under it so my headlights wouldn't be on display (A yoga bra wasn't cutting it.). And it does show my abs through the fabric.

The tank is indeed long. I'd probably tuck 1-2 inches under. But this is great if you're tall or have a long torso. It's definitely on the nicer side of tanks and a pretty good quality. The small fit as expected and similar to other brands. Also, it did not make me look lumpy. Lulu CRB's aren't cut right for boy-shaped girls like me (my waist isn't waspy) and I thought it looked flattering from behind.

The downside was there weren't preview colors of all the tanks on the website. So this really was a blind leap. I'll chalk that up to Rese being a relatively new company.

Overall, I'm happy with my purchases. If I come across another sale or coupon code, I'd buy from them again. (Pockets would be a nice addition though.)

$60 T-shirt? Thanks Lulu

I've officially become one of those people who buy $60 T-shirts. What is wrong with me?

My mother, who raised me on thrift store skirts and yard sale T-shirts, would be horrified. With that money, I could buy a week's worth of groceries, pay a doctor's bill—do lots of necessary and less frivolous things that don't make me a yuppy (one of my dad's derogatory words of choice.)

Yes, the T-shirt is too expensive. But did you try it on? Does it make you look like you just rolled out of fashion magazine?

The T-shirt, of course, is Lululemon, which I'm obsessed with. I love wearing their clothes. I look forward to 5 p.m. rolling around so I can put on my High Times tights with mesh inserts, and go to Pure Barre. I'll get compliments on the tights. And I just feel good wearing their clothes. They make the best workout clothes period. I love wearing my Wunder Under crops because they're super soft, opaque and just awesome to wear. The clothes fit me well, are well made and give me some magic boost of happiness and self confidence. I'm a pretty self loathing girl, so it's worth it to wear something that makes me feel like I can do anything.

The T-shirt is a black crew neck. Dark deans and black T-shirts are my weekend uniform. And at $60, the T-shirt is equivalent to 3 or more of the black cheap T-shirts that I already have. To me it's worth it to have something that well made that will be worn every weekend. It pays for itself. Of my sale T-shirts, there's one that's neck is too small, one that's pilling, several that are covered in permanent dog fur and few that stay perpetually wrinkled. I don't need more shirts like that. That truly would be a waste of money. And I do need to get rid of these T-shirts I won't wear anymore.

I've always spent too much on clothes. I've tried to stop buying clothes I'll never wear. I'll return dresses that aren't flattering. I don't need anymore. I want to focus more on buying quality pieces. I have some dress pants that have been with me since my college days and Calvin Klein dresses that are older than my house, but still look great.

This winter I purchased one Lululemon sweater and two pullovers. It was all I wore on the weekends. It was my weekend uniform. And there's something beautiful in the simplicity. I knew what I was wearing. Off to a gymnastics meet, dinner with the husband, lunch with the inlaw, I'd wear the herringbone or the grey pullover. And it was soft and warm enough and looked great on me. The sweater I could wear to work. Heck the herringbone pullover looks fancy enough for work. It's just made so well made that it looked like a dressy shirt.

Can I afford it? Not really. I set myself a strict $100 a month budget for clothes, and then spend way more than that every month. This month it's been:

$58, Lululemon tracker shorts. Hands down the most comfortable run shorts I have ever tried on. The fabric is silky and light. There's a fun key pocket too.
$39, Lululemon crossback tank. I wear these for handstands and flying trapeze. They're form-fitting, down fly up and have a mesh panel on the back to keep you cool. I have one in purple and I wear it once a week. I needed another one and this one was on sale.
$58, Lululemon T-shirt
$69 Lululemon Easy Breazy pant. I've been wanting a pair of Lulu pants I could wear to the office. These went on markdown for $30 off and I snagged the last pair in my size. Lulu to the office? Yes please.

So that's $224 that I shouldn't have spent. I'd like a fitness tracker, so many other things but I do try to be semi conscious of my spending.

But yes dad,maybe I'm officially a yuppie. I drive a Subaru, have put my dog in doggie daycare where I can watch him on a web cam, I've eaten $14 salads at lunch. I'm not frugal with my money, and sometimes it's really fun.

Workout Wear Wednesday: New Crazy Pants

I've gotten bored with black capri's, my gym uniform. So I've been on a hunt for super crazy pants to work out in. The really colorful ones can be hard to come by. Either they're super pricey or not in my size (apparently I am not the only one whose tired of black.)

I've gotten four pairs, which is more than I need.

The first two were purple Puma print capri's from 6pm.com. One's a small and one's an extra-small. I figured only one would fit and I'd send back what didn't fit, but they both fit and I liked them.

The lighter pair is a tad bit see through, so I'll just wear a long shirt or maybe shorts underneath, but both are super fun.

I ordered these capri's from Fabletics. I'm worried about signing up for their service, but I had to have these pants.

They came in a look fabulous. The fabric is thick and all-around they seem like high quality pants. They're a tiny bit tight in the thighs, but I suppose they fit (they are compression pants. I haven't worn them to work out in, but we'll see.

I thought I was done with crazy pants, but I found these Reebok color blast capri's on the clearance rack at Dick's Sporting goods for $19.99.

All of these pants are super fun. I like clothes that make me smile when I put them on. I can't wait to wear these. I might wear the Reebok pants to TRX tomorrow.