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.)

Lululemon for $19—yes please

Once a year, Lululemon has an online warehouse sale where you can get Lululemon at a steep discount. Lululemon doesn't really go on sale so this is kinda awesome.

I bought too much.

Here's what I got:

• Shan't Surf Hipster, $19
I love my Lululemon bikini. It is so awesome. Meaning, it really works for my athletic body type.  I've been looking for pieces to mix and match with it. This will work perfectly. Huzzah!

• Groove shorts for $24
I wanted another pair of shorts. I had my eye on these, then last week they were in We Made Too Much last week for $39 or so. They disappeared quickly—before I could decide if I wanted them. For $24 I'll take them.

• Find Your Om scarf, $34
I wanted this scarf since the day it came out (but didn't want to spend $59). I have a budget for workout clothes and by the time I could make another purchase, this scarf had disappeared. I'm happy to get it at a sale price. I love black and white and love scarves. I can't wait to wear this.

• Wonder Under Crop in black and regal plum, $39
I love my Wonder Unders and have wanted another pair. And $39 is a steal price for crops of any brand: Nike, Under Armour. I love this purple so I'm excited about these (normally $82).

And I should have been done after that, but they mark items down as the sale progresses, so after some price cuts I bought even more. (I need a support group).

$9 the small towel.
I already have one. It's great for my gym bag. I wanted another one, so I could have a towel while I wash my other towel.

• 50 rep bra for $19
This is a great price for a sports bra. I already have this bra in black and white stripe and like it. And I'm always washing my sports bras. I could definitely use a few more.

• Sweat to Swim Fast Bra, $19
Hybrid Sports bra/swimsuit top—works for me. I had my eye on this and when it dropped to $19, I snatched it up.

• Yin to You Sweater, $34
I watched this sweater in January/February in We Made Too Much. It got marked down to $59 and I could never quite bring myself to buy it. They marked it down to $34 and I decided I needed it. I got the blue and am hoping it will fit.

• Stash it crop for $34
I can always use another pair of crops. This is a great price (normally $88). I opted for the black animal print, though I'm worried I should have gotten plain black or the ones with the reflective transformers decal.

I'm pretty excited about my purchases. I would have liked a few tanks or tops, but they didn't have a lot I was interested in.

A lot of people were complaining about how underwhelming the sale was. And yes, a lot of these pieces were previously marked down, but I got a few things I'd been looking at at significant discounts. These are good prices for workout clothes—period, regardless of luxury prices. I just hope I love most of them.

But that's my Lulu budget and then some for the month. So just hoping they don't sell out of anything new and cute in the coming weeks.

Lululemon Mail Day

This is my Lululemon haul for the week. I need a support group and a 12-step program.

1. What The Sport Tee *Mesh
I'd been eying this since it came out. I love black T-shirts. I went to the showroom and they were out of my size. It finally came in. I tried it on. Super comfy. I can't wait to wear it. I'm a 4 in this shirt, so it runs a tad big. (I wear it every weekend. Love it.)

2. Stuff Your Bra
I'd been eying this for a week because I love black and white stripes. I went to a Lulu trunk show and the bra was there. The store manager was super nice to me (after my all sport bra malfunctioned in their class) so I bought this bra and will be returning my defective all-sport bra. (Which should only be worn for sitting, no sudden movements.)This bra is super comfy. I need it in a few different colors. I wore it to run in Friday. Stuffed my car key, my gym card and my phone in the bra and didn't need a locker. The iPhone 6 is a clunky fit. Smaller phones would work better, but I had it with me in case anyone called. I thought it would track my run better, but I think I need a better app.

3&4. Crossback tanks in navy and black
I have the crossback tank in regal purple and love it. I wear it every week. It's my go-to shirt for flying trapeze. Because it stays in place, isn't bulky and I LOVE the mesh back. (The mesh is right where I sweat. Perfect). I wanted another tank. Preferably navy. The black went to We Made To Much and the navy wasn't there so I figured it was sold out. I ordered the black one. Friday, the navy shows up in We Made Too Much, a full 24 hours after everything else. And that's the color I wanted (to wear with black crops) so I ordered it too. Now I have to get some padding for the cups. I just took the cups out of bikini tops for my other top and that worked. (For that much money, they should come with removable padding!)

5. Black and white crops
I've been wanting a pair of white or light colored crops for about a month now. The last white crops Lulu made sold out super fast (while I was driving to the beach) and had bad reviews so I've been looking around. These came to mark down. I have them in black and I like the black butt to these. Perfect. I already wore them.

Here's a picture of me in two of my new purchases.

So this is my lulu budget for the month and then some. I'll have to be more careful with my grocery budget or something.

10 things I've learned after 10 classes of Pure Barre

1) Grippy socks are important. Wear them.

Pure Barre sells $12 black socks with colored grips on the bottom (pink, grew, purple, yellow, turquoise, blue)

It's hard to hold plank on carpet in normal socks. Wear the grippy socks and you've got a better chance of staying up.  Also, you can tell the new people by who wears their own socks. All the pros will be in black pure barre socks.

2) Everyone wears LuluLemon.
Pure Barre's unofficial sponsor of overpriced barre classes. Seriously, everyone wears Lulu. I see a girl in a super cute girl in a top that fits her perfectly and sure enough I see the little horseshoe. It's great advertising and the clothes are ridiculously cute.

3) Chair position while holding on to the barre is the worst. 
Okay, everything on the barre is the worst. The mirror might be there so you can see your grimace of pain.

4) Calf cramps are real. 
This is normal after your first few classes.
(Trick: You can roll out your calves with the red Pure Barre ball. Sit on the floor, weight on your hands, and place the ball under your calves and roll on it.)

5) Get to class early if you want a specific spot, in the back or in a corner. Usually the front has a spot or two, but the classes are full or close to it.

6) Seat means butt or ass.
The instructors won't say that a movement should come from your ass, she'll say seat. It's more zen that way, I guess.

7) They really want you to have fun with the hip thrusting at the end of class. And it gets really dark in the evening classes when the turn the lights out.

8) Pure Barre is full of pretty young things. The girls are (mostly) all 20-something, perfectly put together and beautiful. The instructors are all former dancers or cheerleaders and are drop dead gorgeous.  I don't know why more guys don't go just to ogle the girls in lululemon yoga pants.

9) It's a 10 count, not 8 count for a lot of the exercises. And I have never been so glad to get to 10 in my life.

10) It's OKAY if you get a correction from a teacher. That way you can do it better next time. It is not the end of the world. You want to get corrections so you do the exercise right and work what it was intended to work. 

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.