Saturday, 20 April 2013

Sportspiration



As soon as the sun comes out in the UK, the parks turn into, what can only be described as a semi-nudist beach (and not in a good way) - its 17C, keep those bikinis in the dressing room and your feet well out of sight! Obviously, same as the next psycho The BFF and I got over excited about the sun and sat in the pub on a Sunday afternoon, wearing not very much, shivering from the chilly wind and switching the usual bucket of Red (so A/W) for white wine with ice-cubes (the S/S option. Pah!). This was the fun part. The not so fun part was realizing that when it gets to about 23C (and not only it’ll be socially acceptable but also obligatory to wear Levi’s cut-offs and tank-tops with no underwear (ha!)), we will have to endure the task of trying on our summer wardrobes and see what actually fits. So I thought I’d man up and do it...well, all the sandals look great!

Anyway, deciding what to take off/booking a holiday/wearing denim cut-offs wet to stretch them out is not as fun as it sounds. I know, a little self-loathing never hurt anybody, but Victoria’s Secret in London finally have swimwear section, which can only mean one thing - exercise. With exercise comes the chic sportswear we can all shop for - it’s neon, its stretchy, and sneakers are the footwear of S/S013 - even the shop assistants at Dover Street Market are wearing Nike runners teamed up with Alexander Wang and Celine ensembles.

When deciding which work-out route to embark on, we all want something that is fun to do, while burning as much calories as possible and toning at the same time. I’ve been a runner for as long as I can remember, but running on its own is never going to get me the results I want in a relatively short period of time. So this is one of those situations where you wish for something and miraculously it comes true - my flatmate introduced me to Reformer Pilates. She did warn me it’s addictive, especially for someone who has an addictive personality...Well, what do you know - three classes in one week, not bad going. Plus, the studio is right across the street - win/win! The workout is brilliant - it’s fun and the instructors are amazing and I know it works because most of the time during class I lose my breath just a little bit and sometimes start tearing up from the pain. It also hurts to walk, breath, lie down, shower for days afterwards, so yes, definitely working! 

Now splitting my time between the Pilates studio, the running track in the park, the dog walking in that said park and working from home, I can embrace the chic sportswear trend, because a) it’s neon b) it was all over the S/S013 runways c) I feel a little (ok a lot) smug for working out so much.

So, if like for me the line between sports and fashion has become a little blurred for you (in my case the line is more like a dot really) and now you live your life in sportswear, here are few cool options to rock to and from those Pilates/Bikram yoga/regular yoga/spinning classes (because let’s face it, no one wants to be a bag lady carrying a tote AND a sports bag) - because the only accessory you need is a carton of Vita Coco (and may be some cool headphones). 


Nike is and has always been my go-to store for workout gear. Their trainers are awesome - they come in super-cool colors and you can get away with wearing them in a skinny jean/runner shoe combo and still look cool. If you're not actually working out but still want to embrace the sportswear trend, try Fendi at Harrods, Adidas by Stella McCartney at net-a-porter or Moncler sweatshirts and pants. For cool sneakers obviously Nike (and everyone must own at least one pair of Nikes), but also Balenciaga, Jil Sander, Rupert Sanderson, Lanvin and Pierre Hardy at www.matchesfashion.com are your go to options. 

Word of advice though: Please, please, please DO NOT wear wedged Isabel Marant sneakers to work out. It's an eyesore, it's selfish to force that sight onto other humans and frankly that's something Kim Kardashian would do, and no one wants to go down that dark route.

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