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Sunday, November 6, 2011

Sportswear: choosing allegiance

Alexander McQueen

When it comes to sportswear or the ever so popular term I eschew performance wear a regular dinner conversation can quickly turn into a furious battle.

Adidas!
.
.
.
Nike!

I've always been an Adidas girl myself. I find Nike's marketing strategy too pushy.  Btw: did you know the company "stole" their name from the Greek goddess of victory?
And their apparel is steadfast becoming something I would expect pole dances to wear. Seriously, when did it become de rigeur that I now must look sexy when I work out?!

Well peeking over the fence, Adidas isn't much better either. Their collaboration with Stella McCartney is still going strong. All the pieces she designs for Adidas sell at an alarmingly fast rate. Which teaches us another important lesson: not only do I need to look sexy while I work out, now I must also be stylish and fashionable while I do my laps on the track

For the record: I work out in my 5 years old Adidas fitness ensemble (the one and only I have) and my 1 year old Nike track shoes. I'm neither sexy nor fashionable. But I'm having the greatest time.

9 comments:

  1. Sportswear? I don´t have anything. I used to have a pair of Aigle footwear, good for walking on different surfaces, good for doing long walks. But since they finally got worn out, I have not found similar ones.
    Naturally I have my riding pants ( Eurostar ). That´s it.
    I don´t need special sportswear, as I can wear my ordinary clothes for that.
    Sure, clothes designed for jogging, etc., could be more practical, but since I have managed till´this age without them, I think. I´ll manage in the future too.
    And finally, I am not liking sports, I only move myself around to perform my daily activities.

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  2. Mette: By definition any sport you take up can end up costing as much money in "absolutely necessary" equipment as you're willing to pay. For example I used to love to ski. Very much so and it's taken me years to put together a decent equipment. These days I don't ski much. First of all it's outrageously expensive and a sad excuse for rich people to parade around in the latest winter gear looking down on the rest.

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  3. Ana, correct.
    Guess what: Dr. M got a pair of riding pants in 1990. She wore them daily, and I " inherited " them in 1999. I have been wearing them d a i l y since. Last year I reluctantly put them aside. They were by Eurostar, sensibly priced - but think of the cost per wear, daily used for so many years!!
    P.S. This was no ad ; )

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  4. In the U.S. we call it "activewear". I do realize that the rest of the world calls it sportswear. :) To see what we call "sportswear", google Michael Kors. He is the quintessential American sportswear designer. I'm not sure why or when the definition changed here.

    For workouts, I wear cheap clothing. I haven't found a great difference between $10 yoga pants and $60 yoga pants. And even the expensive brands are easily found on sale or at outlet stores. I usually wear cheap cotton t-shirts, too; although I do have a few favorites by Adidas (bought for the great fit, not the logo.)

    I go through shoes very quickly, regardless of the quality. I'm pretty faithful to Adidas for shoes, mainly because I know I can order any pair in my size and they will be comfortable regardless of the design.

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  5. Mette: I have a few of those "refusing to die" items as well ;-) The trick is to be bullied into feeling ashamed of owning old battered items. In Slovenia the consumerism trend is airborne it wold seem and obsession over new and shiny as well.

    Ms. M: A funny misnomer I guess, like bathroom and toilet.
    I can't wear cotton for running or fitness. I sweat profusely and have gotten ill in the past because I wore soggy clothing. Adidas Clima cool is worth every penny, dries fast and doesn't wrinkle in the washer. I "bullied" Mr. C to buy some for himself because I got tired of ironing his fitness t-shirts.

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  6. I don't buy sportswear. For working out I wear old tee shirts and shorts and ok a pair of brand sneakers but I don't even know which brand, I'd have to go downstairs to look :).

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  7. Susan: Basically sneakers and a good sports bra are the essentials. The rest is for comfort and sexiness. Like I replied to Paula's comment I sweat a lot and I hate ironing hence the Adidas ensemble which based on the use in the past 5 years was money well spent.
    As for shoes I had Adidas before. Pink and girl's size. Now it's purple Nike's adult size. I basically tried a bunch of them in the store and bought the ones that felt right.

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  8. No wonder they call walking the cheapest sport...good pair of walking shoes open the door and away you go. Ida

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  9. Ida: hi, hi, you're definintely on to something here. Walking is cheapest, I use my old running shoes.

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