Transition seamlessly from fitness to life with Athleta

Excited to be partnering with my local Athleta again this summer to share some of their BEST pieces and inspire you to get creative with all of your wardrobe. (here’s a link to last summer’s post if you’re interested)

If any year was the year to fully embrace athleisure, it’s 2020. Without events, concerts, and the need to go to an office, I’ve barely touched some of my clothing. But, that doesn’t mean you still can’t look put together + stylish. A lot of my wardrobe is from Athleta because it’s both fashionable + functional. Today I’ll be sharing staple pieces from Athleta, styling them for workouts + real life, and hopefully inspiring you to make the most of your wardrobe. Take these outfit ideas as inspiration, and work with what you already own!

I wanted this post to go live specifically before Athleta starts their bi-annual Friends + Family sale. I know Athleta doesn’t often do sales, so this is the time to purchase if you’ve been eyeing anything in particular. The sale begins September 10 and runs through September 14th (early access on September 9th if you’re a cardholder). and the discount is 20%! I will have discount codes to email out starting later this week, so send me your email (via DM on Instagram, or leave it in the comments here) and I’ll send it your way. Also, if you’re a fitness professional and not signed up for their FitPro Program, what are you doing? Apply through your home store to join the program (and get 30% off full price merch).

One quick note – I spoke in depth about this last year but Athleta is a brand I choose to support because I align with them. They’re a B corp, working to empower women and girls and are continually working on sustainability (for example – recycled fabrics). It’s important that I put my money where my mouth is, and if you feel the same, you can read more about that here.

And now, let’s dive in:

First up, my favorite legging – the Elation in Powervita fabric.

(I’m a fan of the 7/8 length #shortgirl). In terms of testing, I have: ran, biked, taken yoga classes, lifted, did circuit training, squatted, deadlifted, hiked and traveled in these tights. They also made my “top 10 products of 2019 list,” so trust me when I say they’re amazing. Sizing (I size down one size). and find that to be true with most Athleta bottoms. They’re compressive without being uncomfortable and the Powervita fabric feels damn good on your skin. Mamas + mamas to be – my cousin just had her second babe and got her first pair of these tights…her response? “OMGGGG” with all the heart eye emojis.

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The Elation tights are a staple piece for the brand, so expect to see them on their site and in stores year round. It was important to me that we chose to highlight classics within the brand. It’s incredibly frustrating to have someone rave about an item only to find it was a limited release and completely out of stock. The items I cover today have been around (and will be around) for a while. Yes sometimes things go in and out of stock, but they will re-stock. So, heads up!

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Wearing the Elations with the Renew tank for yoga (above). To make it an “outfit” I simply tied a chambray around my waist and added a bold sneaker + fanny pack. This is something I’d wear for a weekend day in the fall! The Renew tank is crazy comfy and currently available in 8 colors. It looks nice enough to dress up…keep reading to see what I mean.
For Athleta tops I almost always stay true to size with a small. (Wearing the Renew Racerback in Small here!)

Now, I’m generally not in the camp of leggings = pants. But, I will 1000% wear them out and about styled well. We’re going to call this athleisure street style: fall edition (laughing at myself.) I paired my oversized white button down, an oversized black denim jacket + my Air Max for a casual fall outfit. More put together than leggings and a sweatshirt, but equally as comfortable. Added my black leather backpack and I’m ready for the day.

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Next up?

The Aurora Crop Rib Tank

New to the Athleta fam this year, the Aurora Crop Rib has already proven to be a FAN FAVORITE and will be staying around. I took her for a test drive on our trip to the Pacific Northwest back in early July and wore it for white water rafting, hiking and paired with a skirt in Seattle.

The top is secure and compressive without being too tight, and if you’re like me (and NOT well-endowed), it doesn’t require a bra. Generally I’d recommend this for lower impact activities; weightlifting, barre, yoga, pilates, walks. But, if you added a sports bra underneath you’d be good to go for anything. (sometimes I just take out the pads from other sports bras and place them in this tank – they’ve stayed put through an entire circuit class). In terms of fabric, the Aurora Crop Rib is made with recycled nylon (more sustainable) that’s also wicking (to keep you cool!)

For post workout, I threw on my denim jacket, switched my lifters for Birks, and added the Via Waistbag. (Which I cannot say enough good things about). It was the only “purse” I took to the PNW, and it’s been my most used bag this summer. It’s currently sold out, but should come back. Otherwise I know multiple people who have and love this belt bag from Lulu.

I paired the tank with the Mesh Racer short. Turns out at the ripe old age of 28 I’m really into 4 inch inseams on my shorts, and I own this pair in black as well as this bright green. They’re also made from recycled polyester and are more sustainable 🙂 The Mesh Racer shorts have a nice thick waistband with a hidden inner pocket + back side zip pocket. Wearing an XS here in the green but I have the black in size small and I prefer a little more room (so I’m going to vote stay true to size on these!)

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Another great quality of the Aurora Crop Rib? It’s nice enough to dress up (with the added benefit of being wicking when its 95 degrees and humid in the Midwest, ya feel?) Like I mentioned before, I wore this exact outfit below while exploring Seattle in July. I want to be comfortable when walking all day, but I also want to look good. Don’t compromise, just find a great pair of leather sneakers and add a skirt + this tank. Boom.
I’ve even paired this tank and skirt combo with a heeled sandal and my leopard clutch. The options are endless!
Sidenote – skirt is on sale with plenty of sizes left from Target . I stayed true to size.

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Finally, the Brooklyn jogger

With which you can easily go from weekend to work to….a night out? Hear me out.

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First off, the joggers are a mixture of recycled polyester and spandex, so they’re lightweight, breathable and DON’T WRINKLE. I took them directly out of a tote bag to shoot and this is what they look like! One small detail that I appreciate is the zippered pocket on the side (see below) – women’s pockets are always more shallow than men’s so this is actually functional 🙂

For this post I styled them for an evening out (to dinner, drinks, whatever). Paired with the Renew tank (again), my faux leather jacket and new sandals from Zou Xou (a small Black female owned ethical brand but I’ll talk more about those next week). It is still too hot to wear this now in Grand Rapids, but would be great for September and October.

Now, for the office, I think you could easily pair the joggers with a simple black tank and black blazer with pumps or flats and 100% pull it off. My friend Coeli, who’s a professor at GVSU, has these exact joggers and we had a whole discussion about wearing them to work the other day.

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But, no need to dress them up. I opted to keep the joggers super casual for the second look – with Athleta’s Conscious Crop, Via Waistbag + the darn Birks. Lizzie and I are both big fans of the Conscious Crops (we each have a few colors) and they’re made from the same Powervita fabric the Elation tights are (aka the best!) They’re great for everything from running to simply lounging. (I spoke more about this top last year as well)

A sizing note – I size up to a Medium in the Conscious Crop because I have wide lats, but if that’s not the case for you I’d say stay true to size. For many of their sports bras + tops Athleta is now making an A-C cup version and a D-DD cup version to offer better support. For the Conscious Crop there are sizes XXS – XL for the A-C cup version, as well as sizes XXS-XL for the D-DD cup version.

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Anyway, I’m cutting myself off here before I continue to ramble on. Thank you SO much for stopping by today. I love sharing brands I love and support with you, and I am more than happy to answer any questions you may have about Athleta (or direct you to my friends who work there).

I want to hear about your fav Athleta pieces (or ones you want to try!) Drop those in the comments below 🙂
xo, Maddy