OMG, i've been studying the run-way shows for Fall 2008. there is lots of red punches everywhere. red gloves. red shoes. red bags. red hats. red belts. red thigh-highs.

it's accessory utopia!

so, you're spot on, of course!

personally i love it and had already forecasted red and camel, so i've got the materials all ready to go. you will see giant swathy scarves (from me) next year...in red baby, fabulous red.

Oh, and did you see Prince's RED suit on the grammys? Prince, the suit, gorgeous.

does your little red croc purse have any long red gloves yet? it's a friendship...

Mine says: she is an avid climber and yoga enthusiast.

Too bad I do niether!

Not to hijack this (particularly given the forum, subject, and the fact I'm a dude), but I'm curious to know about Lululemon and triathletes, since a few posters have mentioned it. Being Canadian, that stuff is everywhere, but what's their penetration like in the US? Where are you guys getting it?

I actually live across the street from one of their stores here in Toronto, and the place is always packed; I refer to it as the "License to Print Money Store". Chip Wilson is a very smart and very rich dude.

A few years back, they did attempt a brief (few items) foray into triathlon, but they pulled the stuff. I spoke to one of their designers (who, as it turns out, I knew in high school and we have many friends in common), and he recognized that the stuff wasn't well designed for tri. I personally thought the material was way too heavy amd thick.

I know tri gear is expensive, but I have a hard time getting around paying $110 for a pair of sweat pants. As well, I have some gender issues with the logo.

Bonus points to the person who can tell me what the logo represents, and why the name is Lululemon.

I think there are two stores in the Seattle area. I don't have any Lululemon stuff, I wanted to buy some when I was in Victoria a few years ago, but the crazy Canadian taxes jack up the price WAY too much.

I can't tell you about the logo for Lululemon. However, the brand name was picked because the owner once had a clothing line that was hurt by Japanese knock-offs. He chose a name that was hard to say with an accent from east Asia. Read this in an interview.

And my closet says:

Clothes junkie, buys everywhere (E-Bay, vintage, you name it), dresses up when required for the court room or the opera, otherwise wears fleece and jeans, and has tri clothes spilling out of half of a big bureau.

Also says - gave up wearing shirts. After starting tri's, shoulders busted out of old shirts and new ones are always too big in the waist if they fit in the shoulders. It's sweaters all the way, preferably sleeveless to wear under jackets.

And - says that it's impossible to find a bra anymore. Too much rib cage, not enough cup size. Thank God for lycra!

That may have been the answer in the media, but I have an answer (that's similar) from one of the original partners at Lulu (partners were bought out about before company took off.

Chip had some brands that were super-popular in Asia, and it seemed that the Japanese in particular were drawn to Western brands...the more American, the better. Since they have a tough time pronouncing the letter "L", they thought that the best name for a brand that would appeal on its Western credentials would be a word with as many "L"'s in it as possible...hence Lululemon.

And the logo is a representation of Fallopian Tubes.

I use it for indoor wall climbing and for hanging around. Comfy. But not tri friendly.
B

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"the only normal people are the ones you don't know"

 
I am lucky, I can wear jeans to work - I could even wear lululemon to work and no one would bat an eye. I work in a commercial photography studio and a couple of the women there are SERIOUS fashionistas so over the years I've been influenced A LOT by them. My closet has gone from everything from Banana Republic or Gap in black or white, a couple of pairs of shoes, maybe one pair of boots and a black purse to mutlicoloured, NO black (except for that little black dress), multiple pairs of shoes and boots, some REALLY nice purses (dark for fall / winter & light for spring summer) and GOOD jeans (Joe's & Citizens are my faves) because they just fit better & last longer, no matter how much my shape changes (thank goodness for lycra!!!). I've also discovered ebay, which has helped me fill my closet with nice stuff and NOT break the bank.

I do have a drawer full of workout stuff as well as another shelf full in my closet. Insane. I can't tell you how many pairs of black running tights I own in multiple different weights. I *just* bought yet ANOTHER running / cycling jacket yesterday (a packable pearl izumi wind jacket because well, you just never know when you're going to need that extra layer) which brings my total 6. What the hell do I need 6 jackets for? *Sigh*.

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Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever.

http://www.teamrunningfree.com
http://ironmanredux.blogspot.com/

My wardrobe says I like red. So does my car. And my bike!

I hate shopping. I have several outfits for work, but I'd rather spend my money on training/racing clothes. Or gear. Or race entry fees. My husband says this is why he loves me.

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Only those who go too far can possibly find out how far they can go. -T.S. Eliot

 
Hey KT, I turn 37 on March 3! It took me a few years to figure out how to dress "age appropriately"....well actually just appropriately is probably more like it but I think I've finally figured it out. The rule of thumb for me is to dress for my body type - since I"m over 35, I've made it a cardinal rule NOT to wear mini skirts even though I could probably get away with it (my legs haven't looked better since I've started doing IM's). I'm not terribly curvy so I try to wear tops that accentuate my waist to give the illusion of some curves. 3 years ago I bought a book by Trinny & Susanna (the original What Not to Wear ladies - they're British and TOTALLY hilarious) called "What You Wear Can Change Your Life" a corny title but the book is chock full of great advice in terms of mixing colours and trying to figure out what colours look best on you. They've just released another book about dressing for your body type - I was flipping through it at Chapters. It looks pretty good and probably well worth the $25.

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Pain is temporary, quitting lasts forever.

http://www.teamrunningfree.com
http://ironmanredux.blogspot.com/

Title 9, Athleta, Lucy, Sierra Trading Post and Gap jeans. Add in too many workout clothes for the drawer they are crammed into and more pairs of jammie bottoms than pants. I have one black skirt and one dress blouse. I work from home quite a bit but when I do go into the office I'm in high tech so I can wear nice jeans and a sweater/shirt. I get the nice t-shirts from Lucy and wear those as well.

BTW - I'm 39 on March 2nd and dressing my age ain't gonna happen. I look at least 5 years younger than I am so I'll hang onto miniskirts for another year or two.

Yes, Stacy and Clinton would be horrified.

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

I agree. I'm also 39, look younger. I teach high school English and most of my clothes come from Title 9--even my dress clothes! Prana is my favorite line. I wear almost nothing but mini skirts and shorts in the summer. My favorite are the Terry bike skirts. I also wear a lot of Horny Toad and Carve. If I have to really dress up I'll look at Banana Republic. My jeans are Lucky. I am casually expensive!

I'm 41, wear the same things most of the rest of you, Horny Toad are my favorite pants - they are just cut right for my body type. Title 9 and Athleta sell my favorite casual clothes, which are what I wear to work, supplemented by Banana Republic and Jcrew. No mini skirts, I feel like I'm too old for that now, even though I can probably get away with it. I work at a university, and I don't want to look like I'm trying to be a college student twenty years later. I generally wear 'work casual'. I only own one pair of jeans. I keep the clothes fitted, not baggy and loose (thanks to Stacey and Clinton for that one!). I have too many workout clothes, but I have a hard time resisting buying things from Teamestrogen. Good thing I have a job.

Cheryl

My fave jeans are from Old Navy. I have about 3 pair in different colors - regular denim, dark denim, black. I don't know, they just fit me right and look really good. I have two pair of jeans I wear to work, the cheapest I could find, because they will at some point get ruined. Same with shirts. I have super cheap or my sister's hand me downs. Guess that's what you get for working in a lab.

Off work, I am queen of the hoodies. I seem to attract them and love them to death. I am not sure how many I even have. I know one is from lulemon (sp), one is fila, one is A&F, one is Ruehl with fake fur inside (so cozy), and then I have an abundance of sweaters because I'm cold all winter. In the summer I love tank tops and jean shorts.
Keen and J-41 shoes rule as well. I'm not much for high fashion - love to look at it but when it comes down to it, I'm too practical.
WAY too much workout stuff. Overabundance of workout stuff. I have clothes for all weathers, bike and run.
I guess my wardrobe would scream "COMFORT!"
Although, my husband thinks I look pretty hot in those tank tops and jeans.

I love clothes, have too many-too much of everything. I am very athletic, but was told I don't always need to look like an athlete. So, I am trying to get more ideas and be a little more feminine. Stacy and Clint are great

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Jolene Wilkinson
Triathlon Coaching http://www.pacificfit.net

       Mine says that I've given up on dating.

I'm so glad to find other ladies who think/dress like me. My wardrobe consists of Jeans, short, race t-shirts, black suite for funerals and meetings. I am a pre-school owner/director so I wear scrubs to work each day. I HATE SHOPPING!!!At 44 years old, clothes either are made for my teenager or my mother-in-law. It takes up too much of my training time to go to a shopping mall, walk around for hours etc. My husband(tri-athlete also) and daughter finally got tired of seeing me in the above outfits. SOOOOOOOO

My daughter arranged for a personal shopper last weekend to help me buy clothes(Nordstrom's does it for free) so she wouldn't be embarrassed with her mom any more. The personal shopper picked out the clothes,brought them to me in the dressing room, told me how to combine them and all I did was try them on. I only bought a few pieces(dress, 2 slacks, 3 shirts) but it was a shopping experience I could tolerate. We started at 10 and we were finished by 12. I was able to get my afternoon workouts.

I am into The Gap/Banana Republic and when sale season comes, I hit Club Monaco. I'm still a lot preppy and dress like I was still in college but now I've decided to become a bit more...girly. I notice that I buy more clothes for my real life when I'm dating someone but when I'm not, I mostly buy work-out stuff.

This is great! I actually work for lululemon, so I can fill you all in.
The logo is actually a stylized "A". The company was originally called "Athletically Hip". The "A" stayed when we became lululemon athletica. Some do consider it a feminine figure.
lululemon actually came from a focus group. Chip had previously sold his snow brand, Homeless, to the Japanese who don't have the letter "L" in their alphabet. He considered it lucky and wanted as many L's in the name as possible. Hence, lululemon :)
haha fallopian tubes...

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http://www.GetEndorFit.com
Personal Training and Sports Conditioning
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that I badly need to go shopping ;-) but I'm a guy so I don't do that..

On my to-read list, here's a fictional autobiography written from the point of view of a wardrobe,
Autobiography of a Wardrobe by Elizabeth Kendall

You might get your man card revoked if you read it.

:-)

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Jen

"In order to keep a true perspective on one's importance, everyone should have a dog that worships him and a cat that will ignore him." - Dereke Bruce

The funnier part for me is the shift in progress since I started training....from more fashion influenced to more pants and casual wear. My wardrobe likely says that I am schizophrenic! The same closet contains the old workout clothes, the newer technical clothes for swimming, biking, running, all my t-shirts collected over the years, suits - some too big some just right, shoes with heels so high I only wear them when I KNOW I will be sitting, running bras I think have now overtaken the regular bras and bras meant to be removed earlier than later....button down shirts that run the gamut from too old and too big Anne Klein (from when I was nursing my now 10 year old), PINK with french cuffs, theory as they fit well, skirts for dates, skirts for work, skirts for going dancing....

As to lululemon - discovered them in Toronto but did not buy anything until I found them right here in Boston.....my FAVORITE winter running jacket....

not a handbag girl but I do love shoes! and lingerie, and sports clothes, and the perfect little black dress....

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cat
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