Sportswear & Fashion

Currently sportswear is experiencing a fashion moment.

 Leggings, racer-back bralets and those strappy camis that everyone-and-their-mother wore this summer, all derive their shape and silhouette in sportswear. It's been along time in the pipeline with the introduction of neoprene into fashion clothing ( or 'scuba' as it is usually referred to on the high-street) around five to six years ago. When I was at University studying fashion design in 2012/2013, it was THE fabric to use.  Now it seems sportswear is stepping up a gear with the upcoming arrival of the Alexander Wang x H&M capsule collaboration.

Alexander Wang is a well regarded fashion designer popularly known for his elegant interpretation of sportswear for fashion. He is basically the reason all those fine strappy camisoles became a raging trend this summer. By collaborating with H&M, it is confirmation that sportswear for fashion is now hitting the mainstream. That essentially means, that in a couple of seasons time, we will be decked head to toe in fashion sportswear and think nothing of it. This is what happened to denim jeans and doc marten shoes , originally manufactured for the construction industry, we think nothing of seeing a girl or a boy walking down the street in Jeans and Docs. For some (me)  it's their style staple. But industrial workmen jeans and docs are different because they serve a different purpose.

A 'T by Alexander Wang' silk camisole from his designer collection.
You can see the ultra elegant and feminine take on a racer back tank that
spawned a thousand copies on the high street.
Image @ lyst

And so, as amazing and exciting as new sportswear silhouettes and fabrics infiltrating fashion clothing is, it must be considered that this means the line between technical sportswear (for sport) and fashion-wear will blur. When choosing clothes to do sport in, it will important that performance and fit are the priority over fashion. Most importantly in regard to sports bras because this is your body people! and as cute as you look in that fashion bralet doing sport, you may regret that down the line when your boobs are at your ankles.

Image @vogue.co.uk 
There are some really great photos of the event and the catwalk at vogue.

So to balance the celebration of this new fashion collection, I am ending this post with a sports bra review. Me in a sports bra to follow (cringe!) for all you saucy minxes and also for you girls who care about being comfortable during exercise. After all, this is not a fashion blog.


So here are my top picks from the H&M X Alexander Wang collection. I tend to gravitate toward the less logo-ed garments and the ones that play with shape and silhouette. I think you could wear this outfit with some black skinny jeans or trousers and  are good to go, day, night, office, date.... I think it would be appropriate.

images @ Vogue.co.uk

I think when all the hype dies down, similar garments will be easy to find. I know for me, skinnies, boot,s crop top under a chiffon shirt and a leather jacket is my ideal go-to outfit when I am smart casual-ing from day to eve. which is basically the less sporty version of this outfit and more classic. Hope this helps!

Alexander Wang x H&M is to be in shops on November 6th.

Now, onto the technical garments:

Sometimes I do sport, and very sometimes I go running. Very very sometimes I do yoga and every week I play badminton because its hella fun. When I do this, sports bras are go. I have a small back and a medium/large bust so they are a must.

A couple of months ago I recently was scouring the Internet for a new sports-bra and came across Asos clearance. At the time I didn't want to invest in such an expensive sports bra because I was recovering from illness. I was only exercising once a week if I was lucky.  I picked up a Marie Meili bra top for about £11.

Marie Meili do their bras in dress-size, so it reduced some of the headache when choosing size and fit online, especially if you are not EXACTLY sure about what bra size you are. I chose an 8-10 and it fits me perfectly, so I believe they are true to size. As I mentioned above, I have a small back and medium bust and this can sometimes be a problem in regard to fit. However the design is more like a top and would even work for a larger bust than mine even if you are a size 8-10.

Overall I am really happy with how covered up i feel in this sports bra. The band comes a little under my whole bust and it looks more like a crop top on me. In the summer, I felt perfectly decent running in just the top and some leggings.

The bra comes with padding which is removable. Here in the picture you can see the padding creates an unsightly line around the breast, but I keep it in because this only a minor thing that you can only really see if you are having a good stare up close (and it's better than nips first thing in the morning cold! shhhh) .  The straps don't cut in at all, and feel so comfortable when exercising. I'm really happy with the quality too and have used this bra for a couple of months. It washes well in the machine and by hand-washing as well as feeling just as it did when I bought it in regards to fabric and elasticity.

Support-wise I do feel this bra is better suited to other sport that isn't straight running. I love playing badminton in it with a top over the top and feel really secure. However when running, I have half a mind to pop a soft bra on underneath, just for a smidge of extra support. I have an inkling that I may size down to an 6-8 for running soon because I have also lost alittle weight as I've been exercising and improving my health so it may be just a sizing issue.

I'd happily purchase another Marie Meili Sports bra at full price (around £16-18) because the quality and fit is fantastic. Not to mention, the overall style is quite flattering, and I love the lines the back straps make when worn with a vest top. I can see why Alexander Wang wants to incorporate elements such as this into fashion because it is not only comfortable, but elegant and refreshing .


So I'll leave you with the image of Alexander's H&M collection. I love that you can see that his inspiration for the shape of this dress derives from sports bras.

Image @Vogue.co.uk

So stay unfashionable,
and when doing sport, wear proper sportswear and you'll be a babe into your eighties #timeless style.

I'd just quickly like to add that I was not sponsored by H&M, Marie Meili or Alexander Wang to promote anything. I'm simply a fashion angel, that found these things relevant and interesting and I wanted to talk about them. 

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