Since lululemon has been awful lately I've been shopping at Athleta this month to get my workout clothes fix. These were yesterday's purchases - Navy Heatherd Coloblock Sonar Capris ($74), Purple Paradise Finish Fast LS ($64) , and Blue Tint Breeze Tank ($44). The Finish Fast LS is what sucked me into these pieces. A commenter on the blog, I think, wrote that she had been buying Athleta's version of the swiftly because they were cheaper and snagged less so I wanted to give one a try. Athleta finally came out with some nice solid colored versions of them (they've done a lot of heathereds and stripes in the past) so I caved. The Purple Paradise was impossible to resist.
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| Purple Paradise Finish Fast LS ($64) (photo: Athleta) |
I swear these tops used to be made of polyester but Athleta has a lot more nylon/spandex materials lately. They've also softened up a lot of their fabrics which used to be my other problem with the brand - more often than not I found a lot of things on the scratchy side.
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| Reflectivity on the sleeve. |
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| Front and back reflectivity. |
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| Thumbholes on the sleeves. |
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| Side zipper pocket! |
The top also has a lot of nice technical features - reflectivity on both arms, the back, and the front; long sleeves with thumbholes; a zipper pocket (yes!) for a car key; and grip strips at the hem to help keep the top in place. The tags claim the material is unstinkable and treated with silver salts to prevent odor. I haven't worn it yet so can't comment but I will come back to update whether the claim is true. The sizing is TTS.
Update - some comparisons to Swiftlys. The Finish Fast runs small.
XL Athleta Finish Fast to a Size 10 lululemon Swiftly. Very similar in size.
XL Athleta Finish Fast to a lululemon size 12 Swiftly.
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| Navy Heather Color Block Sonar Crops ($74) (photo: Athleta) |
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| Take in outside light. |
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| Take indoors and more true to life. |
I have two other pairs of Sonar Crops and really like them. They are a polyester blend (review here) but the material is very soft, like luxtreme. It's on the thicker side, though, and gives good coverage. I do find it hotter than luxtreme but my bootcamp is outside so it's livable. I also feel like I don't have to baby these as much as I do a pair of luluelmon bottoms. I was looking for a pair of bottoms to pair with the Purple Paradise top and I really liked that the navy part was a space dye instead of solid. The sizing on these is generous so you might want to size down from your lululemon size.
I also wanted a tank to wear with the new crops so I got the Breeze Tank ($44). This is a modal blend tank. If you want the tank to look like it does on the model, size down from the size you map into since this runs large.
I also bought the new Salutation Capris ($69) made of Athleta's new Powervita material. This is Athleta's dupe of nulu. I have to say I really, really like these crops. I've read a comment from the Facebook groups that a woman felt her Powervita bottoms and the Aligns with her eyes closed and couldn't tell the difference. I think the material feels a little thicker and more compressive than nulu. The waistband is high and the seaming is very flattering. I've tried to lighten my photos to show it. I immediately took the tags off the day I bought them and wore them around. I've worn them for a couple of work outs and there are no signs of pilling. I haven't worn them lately because it's been so chilly out but I anticipate getting a lot of wear out of these. Sizing is generous compared to lululemon.
The last piece I bought earlier this month is the CYA Crossback Sweatshirt, made of modal. It's super, super soft and even though it's $89 I couldn't resist it. I've worn it a few times and really like it. Sizing is generous.
