Are you an athleisure junkie? Well, I certainly am. Whether you live in a small town or a big city, I’m confident that if you were to do some people watching from your local café that you’d see at least a handful of people in what’s colloquially called “activewear”. Long gone are the days when wearing skin tight leggings was considered “inappropriate”. I still remember when I was in college and my father tell me to “put some clothes on” when he saw me in public wearing black leggings, lol.
Nowadays it’s considered socially acceptable to wear leggings in public (maybe even the office…) and they often cost $100+. It’s not just leggings either. From underwear to outerwear, the athleisure market has exploded in recent years and everyone (even my boomer parents) is buying the stuff up. Here’s some crazy facts for you: according to Morgan Stanley, the sports apparel and footwear market [aka activewear] grew 42 percent, to a value of $270 billion from 2009 to 2016 . It’s expected to be worth around $80 BILLION this year*. Um, woah.
Regardless of whether you don activewear to actually be active or just can’t be bothered to put on a more traditional outfit, the fact is people are wearing a lot of athleisure. And they’re also spending thousands on it.
So do I love activewear? Hell yes! I spend at least half my time in leggings and t shirt. What I don’t do though, is spend thousands. I mean, why would I? Why would anyone? I’m being serious: why spend thousands when you could spend a couple hundred and then go do something else with that leftover cash?
Since I like looking chic but also don’t like being broke, I turn to the sales and secondhand market to find trendy pieces from brands like Lululemon and Patagonia.
Enter one of my favorite places to source sweet deals: the buy-sell-trade stores. These places buy selected stuff from you and give you either store credit or cash. The value of store credit is always higher than cash and I usually take the credit because I just turn around and by something new I like. It’s exactly the same thing as trading in your used car for part of the cost of a new one. Only with clothes (and shoes and bags).
I recently had some trade credit left over and decided to visit a local buy-sell-trade because they were having a 20% promo. Since I’m a sucker for a bargain I couldn’t resist. I also couldn’t resist buying another Patagonia Re Tool fleece. They’re so warm and cozy plus they’re super trendy ever since Kendall Jenner wore one to an NBA game last year.
Photo Credit: Getty Images
My challenge was picking pink or purple. (First world problems, I know…). So while lamenting over the hard decision I realized that at $24.50 and $32.50 respectively, I could actually have both. Since I’m also generous I decided to give one to my mom and keep one for myself. Is there anything cuter than twinning with your mom?
Going back to leggings, I also couldn’t say no to a practically new pair of Lululemon Inspire Crop II in full on Luxtreme. I really love the hugged sensation of luxtreme and the re-design added pockets on the legs (win!). The classic black color means I can pair them with pretty much anything. They retail for $88 but I only paid $24.50 (cha ching!).
The last thing I bought was a Lululemon Pace Rival Skirt. Yes it’s February and I’m literally wearing Uggs and a puffer while writing this. But I love wearing skirts to the gym. Lulu skirts seem to fit me really well and are super comfy so naturally I couldn’t say no when it was only $24.50 for this skirt that is nearly 60% off retail.
Photo Credits: L, Alex Olijnyk; R, Lululemon
Did I score a bunch of great and comfy deals? Heck yes. Was it even better that the purple Patagonia was 20%? Oh yeah. The best part though? Between my trade credit and a $10 rewards program voucher, the total out of pocket cost for the bundle was TEN CENTS. Two nickels was all that this haul cost me instead of spending nearly $450 if I’d paid full price.
I never pay retail and as such I sort of expect to fill my closet via great deals and sales. Nonetheless, even I was struck at the massive bargain I got. 99.999% off? That might be a new low for me. Ha ha, get it? Ok that was a bad pun but it was definitely a good haul. I hope you’ve enjoyed the recap of my latest shopping spree and are inspired to never pay retail again.
As a parting thought and some humor, I wanted to share one of my favorite Youtube videos by Skitbox about “activewear”. Enjoy!
* https://digiday.com/marketing/designer-sneakers-200-leggings-luxury-stepped-rise-athleisure/
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