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When I was studying abroad (why is that time in my life weighing so heavily on my mind these days, I wonder? Clearly my subconscious is telling me something), fitness as we now know it (and even as I then knew it from my roost at an American university) wasn’t really a thing in Lyon. I found one dingy gym a few blocks from my apartment near Place Bellecour — a steamy, distressingly small room cluttered with stairmasters and ellipticals — and signed up for a ridiculous sum of money, as I was accustomed to the collegiate girl routine of “working out” after class, before “going out” in the evenings, and felt that incorporating this habit into my new life in France would make me feel more at home. I was perplexed to learn that many of the French patrons would exercise in street clothes — think jeans and a t-shirt! — or change into and out of their day clothes in the narrow locker room in the back without showering. Few would arrive in athletic wear. Looking back, I was assuredly infringing on an invisible social norm by strutting into the studio decked out in my Nike Tempo shorts and Virginia tees. One afternoon, on my way to the gym, a group of young French men heckled me from their car on Rue Auguste Comte, crescendoing to a loud round of: “Tu es sportive!” catcalls, which translates roughly as “You’re sporty!” Mr. Magpie and I laughed about it for years. What an odd come-on? Especially as the coup de grace of their heckle session? It’d be like yelling: “You’re a brunette!” or “You’re wearing a dress!” (…OK?)
But just last week, I came down the stairs in running leggings and a Nike tee, and Mr. Magpie yelled, out of the blue: “Tu es sportive!” — of course I’ll take that catcall.
In that spirit, a few fitness finds for the season ahead, in a confetti of great colors, so you can privately compliment yourself with “tu es sportive” the next time you get ready to exercise —
01. Vuori sports bra and tennis dress.
02. Greatness Wins half-zip (20% off with JEN20) — this new brand was founded by Derek Jeter and Misty Copeland. I love the details on the half-zip; very high quality.
03. Everything from Beyond Yoga’s new “pink bloom heather” color collection.
04. Nike jacket. Speaking of Nike: they are offering 50% off as a part of their spring sale. These waffle debut sneakers have been very popular among Magpies over the past year (non-athletic, more for casual fashion wear), but if you’re a runner, do not miss their Infinity Runs. I know I’ve shared these before, but these running leggings (also included in the sale, seen above!) are my absolute favorite. They have a good amount of stretch (not AS compressive as other styles) and have a great sleek, moisture-wicking performance material.
05. Lululemon Swiftly Tech tees.
06. Tracksmith sports bras, hat, and mesh running shorts.
07. Spanx ribbed straight dress. You might remember that I fell in love with and wore heavily the Lululemon Align dress last summer — one of my favorite things to wear while in the backyard with the kids, or going for a walk with my neighbors! Easy Saturday.
08. Left on Friday leggings and bra — super stretchy and comfortable, with a performance sheen to them.
09. For golf: love the look of this skort with this polo. I think I’m going to buy a pair of golf shoes this year, and like the sneaker-looking styles from Nike, like this and this.
For post-workout-lounge, I love this sweatshirt and sweat shorts combo from Vuori, and this shorts set from Frank and Eileen.
I also recently bought my daughter some cute athletic/lounge wear pieces from Gap, including this sweatshirt and the matching shorts.
Happy sweating!
P.S. Optimization fatigue.