Top 10 active wear purchases this year

I bought way too much active wear this year. I did focus more on good pieces that I would actually wear—and tried to buy less that I'd never wear. Here are some of my favorite purchases of 2015—based on how much I like them and how much I wear them.

1. Lululemon Run Stuff Your Bra.
This sports bra is cute, comfy and it has pockets for your phone and keys. I like to keep my iPhone with me when I run so this is perfect. I'd get three more if I could—but Lulu isn't selling them in the U.S. Every other country, but not the U.S.

Think I'm wearing Stash It crop, the Run
Stuff Your Bra and the UA tank in this photo.

2. Lululemon Stash It Crop.
I bought these in Lululemon's online warehouse sale this summer. I wear them once or twice a week because—THEY HAVE POCKETS high on the hips. I've gotten others with lower pockets and then your phone just knocks against your leg.  And when I run trails I need to keep my phone and keys on me.
I need 2 more pairs of these.

3. Werkshop dragon crops
These are my badass crops. I usually wear them to flying trapeze. They're just awesome.
(I need more Werkshop in my life in 2016. They have the best designs.) Still available. Werkshop panther is next on my list.

4. Lululemon Wunder Unders
I got a pair of plain black Wunder Unders for my birthday and I just love wearing them. They're so soft and I look forward to wearing them and always feel like a million bucks when I wear them. I have a black and regal plum print that I love and a grey jacquard pair that I wear weekly. I love these. Especially the ones that feel like cotton.

5. Lululemon neck warmers
I'm asthmatic and keeping my airways warm and happy is a big part of my life. Cold constricts my airways so I need to keep my throat warm—and my nose and mouth covered when it's especially cold. These neck warmers are amazing. They're soft and lightweight and exactly what this cold sensitive girl needs. They're like a fashionable version of a neck gaiter. They have a drawstring where you could keep it above your nose if you wanted.

Think I'm wearing it this photo. 

6. Victoria's Secret Seamless Long Sleeve Tee in green space dye.
I have a soft spot for green and I love this long sleeve T. I bought it New Year's 2015 so it barely makes the cut. I wear it all the time and would get more but I bought it on clearance and they don't make it anymore.

7. Lululemon tracker shorts
I don't like shorts. I didn't wear shorts for years because I'm WEIRD about my thighs. I have huge quads (running, barre, trampolining you name it) and most shorts make my thighs look like tree trunks. These are the shortest shorts I've found that work. And they're super soft and comfy. Even better than the Nike tempo short.

8. Lululemon Jet Crop Slim
I saw these pants in the Lululemon show room and thought I could dress these up for work. They're super soft and passable for work with heels and a flowy top. Love. I wear them on the weekend after working out. They're a dressier version of a sweatpant.
I'm not crazy about the baggy crotch, but I still tend to wear these pants ALL THE TIME. Every weekend.

9. Lululemon Cool Racer Back in Raspberry Glo Light
I wasn't originally a fan of Lulu's CRB. They just made me look like I had a muffin top. I dropped three pounds from running and the size 6 looks much better on me. This neon tank is amazing. I want to wear it all of the time. I can't wash it often enough. I know I'm super late to the neon party—but this made me like neon—for runs when the sun is setting or to just feel like an athlete. I since went out and bought more neon.

10. Under Armour Fly-By Stretch Mesh
I have a few of these because they are so awesome. The back is mesh—they're light and perfect for sweaty workouts. I like that they're long too. I wear my purple and black ones the most, but also have hot pink and probably a few more colors.

Yes, there's a lot of lululemon on here. I promised I tried other brands. These are just what I LOVE most.

Honorable mentions from other brands
• Athleta Ponte pant. Dress pants made of yoga pants material. I bought these in December and think I'll wear them a lot in the coming year.
• Glyder Cardio Freek Crop. I LOVED these for about two months and now that they're broken in, I'm not crazy about them. They showed some crotch sweat at tumbling one night and I haven't like them the same since.
Brands I tried: Rese, Beyond Yoga, Alo Yoga, Splits 59, Onzie, Trina Turk
I continue to loathe Fabletics.

Lulu honorable mentions
1) My reversible black and white stripe bikini. Someone invite me to a pool party so I can wear it.
2) Runderful half zip. I need colder weather so I can wear this again ASAP. (Love my think fast pullovers from 2014.)
3) Running socks. I've been all about fancy running socks lately.
4) 105 singlet. This top is so soft. But they stopped making it :(
5) Align pant. Super soft. Love wearing these.

Review: Splits59

How I wore it: Black and white crops + neon

Splits59 is a brand I first heard about in barre class. It's one of the brands the teachers wear and the studio sells.

I've been drooling over these black and white crops in a numbers print since the summer. (1. Love black and white. 2. Love mesh cutouts.  3. Love numbers. I obsessively count things.) I didn't want to pay $116 for them so I waited for a sale. And waited, and waited. I think I waited four months for these crops.

Finally, I gave in and ordered them with 10% off and free shipping from Splits59. (Not a deal. I did find them 15% off with shipping elsewhere and I don't like to pay shipping so I went with the Splits59 retail store.) And the crops took 10 days to get here. My plan was to get them before the Black Friday sales so I would know what size to order when there were sales. Unfortunately for me, the crops arrived the Tuesday after cyber Monday. (Seriously, clothes I bought Saturday from California with free shipping got to me faster.)

When the crops finally got here—I didn't really want them any more because it took so long. And they were too small.

Splits59 Sizing

I'm 5'5, 130 pounds with an athletic build. I don't have a narrow waist. I'm kind of boy shaped—straight up and down, but have narrow hips for my build.

I'm pretty solidly a size small (Victoria's Secret, Under Armour, Fabletics.) I wear a 6 in Lululemon bottoms. (Have fit into a 4 before.)

I had no idea how Splits59 sizing ran. I went by their size guide that said 27" waist and 37" hips is a small. (My hips fall in the XS range.)

But overall, they run WAY SMALL. In fact, I wear a medium in Werkshop, but their website does explicitly state to order a size up. Splits doesn't do this. Their website even says true to size. I say their sizing is a full size small. (Lululemon size 6 = Splits59 medium.)

Size small shown over a Lululemon size 6.
The small is much smaller than a 6 through the whole leg. 

Small above, medium below. 

An inch smaller in the waist.

Splits59 medium has the exact same waist
as a 6 in Lululemon. 

I did email customer service about sizing and got a response 3 days later with a link to their sizing guide (that I'd already looked at.) By then, I'd already ordered. In this instant world, that's too long.

Pros
Splits59 does ship in a pretty box.

The print is cool and has a sexy mesh insert.

Cons
Their return policy is you have 7 days to make a return and you can't return sale items of 30% off or more. I ordered with 10% off so I could return.

And you have to email from an RMA, which didn’t take that long. It was relatively painless, but not as easy as an Athleta return.

Meh
Also, I do like the look of the crops, but they're very cottony. For that much money I was expecting super technical racing fabric, not something that felt slightly more like sweat pants than cotton Wunder Unders. Seriously, they look like they have a sheen online.

Verdict:
I do actually love these crops. The print is amazing. They're fun to wear :)

I ended up buying a Medium from ShopBop during their Black Friday sale for $30 cheaper than what I paid from Splits. And Shopbop has a better return policy.

I'm not sure I'm in love with this brand. I bought an overpriced Splits 59 tank this summer and wore it once and hated it. I didn't like how low it draped in the front. I know I would wear a sports bra under it, but the back was so narrow, it looks tacky to wear even a racer back. I think on sale the tank ended up being $64, which was too much money, but I think I just handed my card blindly over thinking the tank couldn't have been more than $40 on sale and didn't realize the price until I was out of state.

If I order a Splits59 product again, it will be from another online retailer. They're sold at ShopBop, Revolve, Bandier, Nordstrom, Carbon38 and more.

(Note: They clearanced this style on black Friday and I think it's sold out. Bandier still has a few pairs of the full length legging with just a numbers print at the bottom.)

Really loved this outfit. Black and white + neon. I thought white would have been too obvious a choice and my hot pink tank was dirty. Loved the neon green. I paired it with a pink Athleta half zip. I think any super saturated color would go with these crops. I can't wait to match them with something else.  

Lululemon order mix-up

I really need another pair of crops with pockets. (Especially since Lululemon won't restock their sports bras with the pockets!). I ordered a ton hoping I'd get one pair that worked.

Ordered
1) Fabletics Curacao crop. The pocket is too deep and the crops show a ton of pet fur. They looked cheap when the came out of the wash.

Trying to shorten the pocket with duct tape! Didn't work :(

2 )Fabletics Curacao crop II. Sent back this pair since I wasn't happy with the first one.
3) Lululemon Rebel Runner
4) Lululemon Kris Kross Crop
5) Tried on: Lululemon Pace Rival Crop

Kris cross crop

I ordered the two Lulu crops in one order with a clearance sports bra. The order partially shipped with the bra and the Rebel Runner. A week passed and the Kris Kross Crops were never charged to my card and never shipped. And when I searched for them in the store, they weren't showing up.

I finally live chatted with the Lulu customer service, who didn't know why they didn't ship. The rep said they were in stock and I ended up buying them again. (Their website was clearly having issues. If you searched the crop, they were showing as out of stock. If you found them from the running page, they were showing up as in stock).

I probably shouldn't have bought them again. It was the universe telling me I spend too much and don't need them.

It was a weird chat. I think he was trying to make conversation asking me:

What are you going to use these crops for?
Do you know about our return policy?

Dude. You have my order history. Do you not see weekly orders dating back an entire year.
And asking me about the return policy makes me think that these are crops that will fall apart and I'll have to take them back.

They never apologized or tried to make it right. The guy offered to overnight them to me. They shipped 3 days later. I got them in four days. I've gotten markdowns in two-days with regular shipping so I'm not impressed. BAD CUSTOMER SERVICE.

I had planned on sending one of the crops back anyway.

Here are my thoughts, and what I returned and kept.

Rebel runner

I really liked the way these pants felt. The fabric was great and sucked me in the right places. I wasn't crazy for the high waist. And the deal breaker was the ankles.

I'm 5-5 and the ankles on these look like high waters. And because there's a zipper, you can't hem them. Or maybe you could before the cuffs, but that defeats the purpose. For $100, I want crops that don't make me look silly.

And honestly I think I need to look at
1) An Ivivva crop with a pocket
2) North Face sports bras with pockets

I returned the Rebel Runners. The educator showed me the Pace Rival crops that also have pockets, so I tried them on. They were sheer.

The fit was a little weird though. The tag said hugged sensation, but I felt like I could have tried a 4 on in those pants. The waist especially felt loose. I didn't feel any compression at all. (The Rebel Runners felt infinitely better in this department.) I did fit in a 4 in the Align pant (but kept the 6).

I ended up keeping the Kris Cross Crop, which still aren't on the website in black. My iPhone 6 fits in the pocket so I can use it for trail runs. My one gripe is that the pocket hits too low on my thigh. The phone falls practically to my knee, which I noticed for the first mile of my run and then got over it. The pants were clearly designed for taller girls. I'd love it if the pocket was up a little higher so my phone isn't hitting my knee when I run. Oh well it has a pocket.

New brand for activewear: Werkshop

Mastering the awkward picture. 

Dragon crops. OMG. I'm in love.

I really like to have workout clothes that standout and when I saw these Wekshop dragon crops I knew I had to have them. They are so bad ass. And dragons! I love dragons. 

I got these in the mail and immediately wanted to wear them. But I decided the girls in my barre class weren't bad ass enough to appreciate them, so I wore them to flying trapeze, which seems like the most appropriate place to wear dragon crops. Hello flying?

Blooper real from flying trapeze. Keep your feet together and don't ball up your fists. Maybe I just felt like Super Man? 

I tried them on and my first thought was SQUISH. They are very compressive. But not too compressive to move in. They were fine for flying trapeze—a lot of piking and balling your body up. I had no issues.

These are a light colored and I had no issues with opacity, because the detailing around the butt is dark. I had black underwear on and it didn't show through and didn't show lines. The inside of the pant is white. 

And I really liked the detailing on the butt—the horns. I thought it made my butt look cute, but dangerous ;) 

And apparently, you can wear these with a swimsuit for SUP yoga. (SUP yoga classes were sold out when I tried to sign up recently.) 

Fit: Runs small. I'm a 6 in Lulu and ordered a medium in these. They fit quite snugly. I've never worn a large in my life, but I might try one on to see how it fit. That said, the medium is the right size.

My husband said he wanted a pair. An XL would probably be too small for him. The owner of trapeze said he wanted a pair too. I think he needs a pair.

Verdict: I love these crops. On my budget, I can almost afford a new pair a month ($88 plus $5 shipping). I want the panther ones, and the octopus one. Who am I kidding? I want them all. Werkshop does a great job of making appealing prints: Hearts for Valentines Day, butterflies, fruits, kale—all sorts of themes. 

Fingers crossed for a Labor Day sale. 

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.

Add caption

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.)