Not Sweats Sweats and Favorite Workout Brands

This may come as a surprise to you but..... wait for it......

I live in my workout clothes.  I know, shocker!

I really, really despise having to wear "real clothes". I will do just about anything to avoid wearing them including wearing athletic wear and disguising it as street wear.  No one will ever know and I don't have to deal with the annoying "my clothes won't stay where I want them to" feeling.  Ya know, you stand up and the first thing you do?  Pull your pants back up and your adjust your shirt.  That never happens with (the right) athletic wear.

And the honest to God truth is, I really do think I look better in athletic clothes.  I feel more confident and of course comfortable in lululemon athletica than J.Crew.  Although, don't get me wrong I do occasionally like to get dressed up.  Once or twice a month is plenty for this sporty gal.

A few weeks ago I was surfing Pinterest and found super cute outfit pinned by lulumeon.

image from http://guestetc.tumblr.com

My first thought was, "oh that's cute if I actually wore stuff like that." and then I thought, "why is lululemon pinning this?"  Come to find out, that little lady up there was wearing this:

That there is the lululemon elongate burnout long sleeve top (sold out of course).  Turns out, there is a blog dedicated to posting adorable, fashionable outfits centered around athletic wear.  

How cute is this?  Her tank and jacket are both "athletic wear" 

image from http://guestetc.tumblr.com

It got me thinking about what athletic wear I have in my closet that could pass as street wear.  The first thing that came to mind was this tank John so thoughtfully got me for mother's day.  Does he know me or what?

image from: lululemon.com

Who says I can't put this with cute skinny jeans and some fun jewelry for a hot summer's night out!? I'm totally gonna try mixing my athletic wear in with my street clothes for a cute but still comfy look.  

On a related note, because I really do live in sweats I get asked a lot where I shop.  I have a philosophy when it comes to buying workout clothes.  Because I wear them to the gym I want them to be functional.  I expect that they keep me cool/warm, dry, look good and stay put.  However, I also wear these bad boys all day long.  I wear them to the park, to the mall, to work, to clean the house in, and do yard work.  I'm not kidding either.  I get a lot of use out of each item and I'm hard on my clothes which means they breakdown, get holes, fade, and just plain fall apart fast.  I avoid spending lots of money on one item because I want to be able to wear it, tear it up an toss it out without wasting a lot of mulah.  *Remember the lulu top above was a gift.  

The majority of my workout clothes come from three places: Old Navy, TJ Maxx and GapFit.  

Old Navy is one of my favorite places to shop for athletic gear (specifically pants and sports bars).  It's cheap, cute, and it performs.    Their compression wear fits amazingly although I don't really know if it can/should be labeled as true compression.  I can't wait to check these capri's out soon!  

I have to say, I've tried a fair amount of different sport bra brands and their Active Sports Bars are just as good as any Moving Comfort, Under Armour or lululemon bra I've tried.  They come in adorable patterns, are a great price and have removable pads.  

GapFit is a close second.  I would rank their athletic wear a little below Old Navy because they are more expensive and in my opinion are cuter than they are functional.  I wear a lot of GapFit when I don't I want to wear "sporty" clothes but don't really need to do anything "sporty".  

These Breathe T's are hands down one of my favorite items.  They feel like your favorite t that's been washed a thousand times.  They look cute with yoga pants and jeans alike.  

Finally, TJ Maxx.  A wonderful place for everything right?  I always seem to have great luck finding great athletic gear at TJ's.  The downside?  You have to check often, otherwise you might miss it.  This winter I found a few racer back tanks that I live in.  I should have bought more colors!  

Of course, if I wasn't on a budget I'd love to visit places like Sheels and lululemon athletica more often but until then I'll stick with my Old Navy!  

Ok share- where do you shop for workout clothes?  And, if you didn't have to go to work would you really get out of your sweats?  Tell me the truth.