Awesome Athletic Wear on a Budget

This conversation happens multiple times a week:

Stranger: Headed to the gym?

Me: I was there this morning.  Why?

Stranger: Oh, you just have gym clothes on so I thought.....

Last May I wrote this post on wearing your sweats on the street and included my favorite athletic clothing lines and received a ton of support.  Turns out I'm not the only one who wears their gym clothes to the gym, the grocery store, school, the movies, around the house, doctors appointments.....well everywhere. 

To be honest, my workout staples haven't changed a lot.  I have many brands that I enjoy but there are two in particular that I absolutely love and would recommend to anyone - GapFit and Old Navy Active Wear.  

Full discloser, I do work part-time for a Gap Inc. brand and do receive a discount at these brands.  However, even if I wasn't an employee I would totally take advantage of numerous coupons floating out there for Gap and Old Navy and still shop there. Really, don't pay full price.  Sign up to receive emails online and/or make friends with in-store employees to get the heads up on promotions and sales. I live on a budget and have to stretch my money as far as possible.  I've found that I can get both quality and quantity when I shop these stores.  

Ok, let's talk about Gap.  I love the GapFit Breathe line.  I promise you I'm wearing at least one GapFit Breathe top at any given point in time, sometimes even two.  (First two in top row) They are breathable, moisture wicking, shape retentive, and complete with thumb holes.  They stretch with you but don't stretch out.  

Their breathe v-necks were actually a favorite when I was nursing.  I won't get into an explanation, nursing moms will understand why.  :)  

I also love the GapFit Motion tops (top right).  I think they have a lululemon vibe to them, without the lululemon price tag.  It looks great on but it's not my favorite for high intensity exercise as it rides a little on the hips.  It could also be my large hips but I'd rather blame the top, duh.   

The bottom row are two of their great hoodies or "third pieces" as we call them in the retail world.  Throw one on for coming/going to the gym or use for chilly temps.  

Finally the scarves.  These are actually from the Women's department at Gap but their bright colors and soft knit fabric was just too perfect to pair with a hoodie for gym wear.  I can't accessorize for crap with "real clothes" but I won't be outdone with athletic wear!  

You may have noticed that I didn't mention anything about GapFit Pants.  There is a reason for that.  I don't like them.  The material has that nasty shine to them when they're stretched and they don't fit my lower half well.  I did see GapFit was marketing some new improvements made to their pants which may have resolved these issues but I have not yet had a chance to try them.  

Now onto Old Navy.  Pants, sports bras,and more pants.  I love their cropped compression pants.  I have probably eight pairs of these bad boys, some of which I bought years ago, and are still going strong.   

The length is perfect.  It hits me mid-calf (I'm 5'9'' but have short legs).  I despise cropped pants that hit right below the knee.  Those always make my thighs looks bigger and I really, really don't need any help in that department.  

They wash up well, don't pill, wick sweat just as well as any other high end athletic pant, and they aren't see through- even when stretched to the max like some other brands ah-hem.  They also have some rad prints in black, which I love.  I like playing with pattern but I will not wear color on my butt for many, many reasons.  

I have only two complaints about these pants.  The first is that the colored versions of this pant do not fit the same.  The material is a little different so be sure to try them on.  Second, they aren't really compression.  I still love them nonetheless but don't buy these expecting some super tight compression capris.  They aren't.  They fit similar to any other active pant, but better.  

Old Navy's sports bras are also a favorite.  Similar to the pants they wash well, come in fun colors, have removable padding, and dry fast.  For the price I can't complain, and at less then $15 a piece I can afford to replace them as needed.  

In addition to the pants and bras, I also love their 1/4 zip jackets (top right), fun burnout hoodies (bottom middle), and just recently they started producing some awesome graphic racer back tanks (top left).  If you know me, you know I'm a sucker for a racer back tank. I really, really want this one....

Okay enough about me and what I love....

Your turn:  Where is your favorite place shop for athletic clothing?