Athleta First Wearing: Essence Tie Back Tank and Shibori Fully Focused Bra (Plus the Refine Tank)

My big order from last week arrived on Wednesday and I immediately tore the tags off a couple of items to wear for my weight lifting bootcamp class yesterday. Shown in the photo above is the Essence Tie Back Tank, Shibori Fully Focused Bra, and Tie Dye Salutation Capris.  I have an Essence Low Tank that I love - it's made of a light, soft, and very breathable polyester/lyocell/spandex fabric - that is great for sweaty workouts.

The Essence Tie back comes in the already-tied configuration. I haven't loved many tie backs since they pop open and reveal things I'd rather keep hidden, however, the material in this tank drapes nicely and is stretchy enough that you can pull it down and it stays in place well. The neckline is higher but has a nice scoop - it showed a little cleavage on me since I went with my larger size and I'm fairly busty. I really liked this tank - I found it very comfortable and cool for my workout, and I'm thinking about getting one or two more. The other women in my bootcamp group really liked it, as well.

Shown with the Athleta cups in it.

Discrete Athleta logo.

I tried the Shibori Fully Focused Bra in the store and liked it but left it at the store for a couple of reasons - one was that the cups in the stores were super wrinkly and ruined the look of the bra, and the other was that the internal mesh lining material had some pulls in it. I decided to order it to get a never-tried-on one with the hopes that both those issues would be solved.

This is the Athleta bra cookie my bra came with, as you can see it's pretty wrinkly. When on, you can't see the wrinkles because of the print but when I put on the Essence Tie Back Tank they showed up very clearly. I ended up putting in a pair of lululemon bra cups since they're made of stiffer material and it takes a bit of abuse to wrinkle them.

Comparison of the XL Athleta bra cookie compared to a 38D lululemon Ta Ta Tamer and a regular size 12/14 lululemon bra cookie. I didn't try putting the TTT cookie into the Fully Focused bra but from eye-balling it I don't think it would fit in the cup pocket, roomy as it is. The regular lululemon cookie fit fine and worked well during my workout.

I really liked the Fully Focused. It was decently supportive for a weight lifting workout, similar to an Energy Bra, and was very comfortable and breathable (I wore it for hours after my workout). It has a bit more coverage in the front than an Energy Bra but it still showed cleavage on me. The bra is super soft and the material was cool and wicking. My one comment is that the mesh lining snags easily. As you can see from the photos above, mine came in perfect condition but after pulling it out of the washer it has a couple of snags in it. I can't recall whether I put it in a mesh bag to wash but I suspect I did not.  Despite the vulnerability of the internal liner I would get another one (I'd probably haunt the sale section for it, though, unless it was a print I couldn't live without) since it was very comfortable.

The Refine tank was part of my large order from last week. It's super soft and airy. The XL is definitely on the roomy side for me and the armpits droop a bit. This top is currently on sale on the website. I don't think I'm keeping it since I don't think I'll be able to keep it clean and there are other tanks I've liked more.