I love to dress up and look put together, so it’s ironic that my work uniform at MaZi Dance Fitness, is usually sweats, leggings and athlesiure galore! Wearing yoga pants all day sounds great, but I really look for leggings that last and can be washed on repeat. Sometimes a brand will copy a certain cut or style which is fine for lounging around in but later I find that the pieces do not perform! They don’t move with me, they tear or distort during washes, start to smell despite washes or make you feel like “you’re on your own”. What I mean with that is that I want leggings to hold me tight and minimize all the jiggle. No matter how much weigh or how fit you are, it’s gonna happen so I like fabrics that don’t make me feel like I’m dancing around naked when I’m teaching in front of room full of people!
Some of the leggings here are an investment, but I can vouch that they last and make you look forward to your workout, to me that’s priceless! At times, I’ve bought the same leggings 4X over at $30 a piece when I could’ve just gotten one pair to begin with, not to mention minimize the “waste” component of buying disposble clothes. For most of the pieces here you can get for 20% off using my code at www.carbon38.com: ZIBALEN50 on your 1st purchase of $100 or more!
I love the unitard above because it’s a light sports bra and leggings in one and you can wear a top over it or sometimes I wear it with sweatpants over and leave the top which looks like a leotard! It’s kinda of a one-off and I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about it when I ordered but it’s a actually one that I wear the most because of it’s versatility (there’s also different colors)!
Things to look for in leggings:
- Is it going to sweat well? Sometimes the gray leggings are great until it looks like you peed during class.
- While we’re on the subject, did you just have a baby? If so, you want to stick to black, charcoal and dark blues and look for a forgiving, thick fabric that will be forgiving until you gain control of your pelvice muscles again.
- Do you want low rise or high rise? I love low rise jeans, not so much low rise leggings. If you are self conscious when your shirt rides up or if you like just wearing a sports bra while you workout, you’ll want high rise.
- Length- I used to love mid-calve leggings until I realized how much more flattering the full legging was on my legs. Every body is different but pay attention when you order them what length they are. I now have an aversion to 3/4 length leggings.
- The leggings I put on the scroller are all high quality but if you’re going off on your own look for nylon, spandex, lycra or Luon if you’re at Lululemon (amazing but not on the app or the carbon38 for discount), stay away from cotton. These will all hold you in and will ultimately be more flattering, which will make you dread your workout less, so then you’ll workout more! See how this works?!
- Cut. I don’t do well with leggings that draw attention to the hips by having seams that cut through horizontally. I have wide hips and the last thing I want is a seam running across them, they are more common then you’d think! Look for seams or lack thereof that flatter your body type.
- Built-in underwear considerations. Because everyone’s torso length is different you could end up with a wedgie or a droopy crotch that keeps sagging down towards your knees. A well made legging, will mitigate a lot of these issues with fit. Some of the Ultracor leggings have a built-in underwear that eliminates camel toe but you might hate the way the built-in thong feels. I personally don’t feel it most of the time! BTW, the unitard does not have built-in underwear.
Hope this is helpful and I’d love to hear about your favorite leggings or issues that you may have with workout wear! Remember, if you love how your workout clothes feel, you’ll workout more! XO, Z
Pictures by Sterling Sanders
