Activewear | Fitness on Toast

Posts tagged 'Activewear'

5 ACTIVEWEAR DISCOVERIES AT PURE LONDON!

08/08/2017

Being a devout follower of Activewear trends (it’s been my daily ‘uniform’ for over a decade as a personal trainer), I relished the opportunity to visit PURE London a few weeks back. It’s the monster-scale Fashion Industry ‘trade show’ at London’s cavernous Olympia which, amongst other genres, showcases a tonne of new sportswear that’s about to hit the market! I sifted through over 700 brands, and this, my dear reader, is a quick and easy-to-digest roundup showcasing what I thought were the top 5 discoveries – these are brands to keep your eyes on over the next few months! Click MORE to see them all… (more…)

HEARTCORE IN KATE SPADE NEW YORK !

20/07/2016

I’m regularly asked what classes I love in and around London, and we’re totally spoilt for choice here! Given that variety is one of life’s multiple spices (and also keeps the attitude towards training fun and fresh), I’ll typically try a couple of new classes on a monthly basis, which I thought I’d start to share with you here. I’m kicking it off with a session at Heartcore, a 55-minute dynamic pilates class which I tried this weekend in the heart of St Johns Wood. I’m wearing all Kate Spade New York in these pictures, a couple of super cute pieces from of their Beyond Yoga activewear collaboration! Click MORE to see my full take on the class, the clothes and the rest of these images!
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ADIDAS AMBASSADOR + ULTRABOOST UNCAGED!

08/07/2016

Back in January 2015, I was thrilled to join my friends at adidas for the global launch of the UltraBOOST, which has since become the hottest casual running shoe in the world! Now, 18 months on, they’ve developed generation 2.0, the UltraBOOST Uncaged; a new and improved version which is a reaction to the way it was being custom modified by enthusiasts! As a self-confessed shoe fiend; I feel privileged to have been one of the first to road-test these as part of my ambassadorship with the company.

Growing up I was relentless in pleading with my parents for a pair of trainers! So, when I finally got hold of my long sought after Stan Smiths, I would cherish them and wear them every single day, until they were falling apart, but I didn’t care. I’m now working with the brand I have loved and admired from such a young age, and as corny as it may sound it really is a dream come true. I’ve always been heavily into sports and living a healthy life, and to work with a company with such a strong, complementary ethos is quite unbelievable! To me, adidas represents a passion for sport – functionality, style, quality; it speaks of so much heritage whilst constantly innovating and delivering new technology to further the athletes out there! Massive thank you to the adidas team for allowing me to channel my innermost excited 8-year-old sporty self! To kick off, this post is a collection of thoughts on the new shoe, as well as some pictures we shot on the marvellous Croisette in Cannes, along which I ran every morning to put my pair (in Ray Red camo) through their paces!
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EVERYBODY WELCOME!

06/05/2016

On the debate of whether the Fitness-Fashion hybrid is here to stay, every Londoner’s favourite department store Selfridges has conclusively weighed in with a bold and far-reaching statement. A few weeks back, I attended the opening of what is now Selfridges’ largest single department, the 37,000 square foot Body Studio, accompanied by their almost unmissable campaign. It’s more than just a retail tour-de-force, it’s a significant declaration of their vision of the future. That the activewear category is the only area of apparel enjoying any sort of material growth right now (outside of Hermes handbags) is well known; there’s such huge latent demand that this studio is solely dedicated to all things wellbeing, enabling you to browse 4,500 items from c.100 brands (including some personal favourites like Monreal London, Adidas, Y3, Stella McCartney, Varley as well as lingerie, sleepwear, swim & beachwear, a Daniel Galvin salon and a healthy cafe by the Hemsley sisters) against the backdrop of a British high street that’s suffering due to online competition. Selfridges are bucking that structural dynamic and are taking activewear firmly into the domain of the ‘luxury experience’ for which there’s simply no internet alternative; you have to see this to believe it 🙂 Click more to get my full view, along with the ‘look’ images we shot in and around the launch! (more…)

HIT IT OUT THE IVY PARK !

19/04/2016

Today, I’m super excited to reveal my brand spanking new-look blog – it needed a bit of sprucing up since there hadn’t been an outfit change since it was born! To kick things off, I thought there was no topic more appropriate than the eponymous new monochrome collection from Ivy Park, to match the minimal pared-back B&W aesthetic I went with for this blog! Unless you’ve been living under a stone (+ blindfolded + ear plugged), you may have missed that one of the most iconic hyperstars on the planet just launched her own collection in partnership with Topshop. Queen B, aka Beyoncé, has put pen to paper with Sir Philip Green’s retail powerhouse to design an extremely intelligent line of flattering and affordable performance wear, and I absolutely LOVE the result! (more…)

ACTIVE IN BICESTER VILLAGE!

21/01/2016

As part of writing a lifestyle blog, I’m sometimes asked where I choose to purchase my activewear looks and/or accessories. Up to this point, it’s usually from occasional department store visits. However, things are changing, and today I’m happy to share a little treasure chest of lifestyle finds – Bicester Village. Traditionally thought of as a pure ‘designer outlet’, the shape of their offering is changing, to reflect the different ways that you and I express our shopping impulses! Sportswear has long since joined the ranks of the luxury maisons and to mark the landmark opening of the Lucas Hugh boutique (I’m pictured with founder, Anjhe Mules who I interviewed HERE), I hopped up to Bicester on the direct train from Marylebone, and discovered a wealth of healthy lifestyle shops with proper discounts! This post documents my experience so that you can see if it might be for you too! (more…)

TRAINING TRICEPS!

17/01/2016

This post is about how to banish the infamous ‘bingo wings’, which secretly work to veil the triceps like a hood; those so-called ‘triceps’ are a large, three-headed group comprising a long, medial & lateral head, all positioned towards the back of the upper-arm. Whether in or out of the gym, we use them for every movement requiring a push, and indeed some that require pulls too. Weaker triceps could well limit the effectiveness of training shoulders, chest and back, and might also stop you from heroically saving the day if extreme arm strength is required in some sort of an emergency! When worked-out properly, you can actually sculpt these triceps so that they look just-so for an upcoming spring getaway occasion! Click MORE to see a full tricep-targeting routine shot wearing the latest collection of Forever 21 activewear … (more…)

BENEFITS OF IYENGAR YOGA !

09/11/2015

I’m a big fan of Yoga as a holistic form of exercise for both body and mind, as you may have noticed from the multiple musings on this blog! In my quest to discover ever more of the intricate fabric that makes up the tapestry of the ‘Yogasphere’, I sought out Iyengar Yoga as an additional way to engage with this discipline. Whilst you may or may not have heard of the Iyengar variety, it’s thought to be one of the most commonly practiced forms of yoga in the western world. It was brought here by B.K.S. Iyengar and focuses on posture, technique as well as breathing and timing; for this reason, I find it somewhat of a meditative practise, and incredibly relaxing. This post talks about the discipline, and is shot outside one of my favourite studio spaces – The Iyengar Yoga Instutute, founded in 1984 where the man himself taught! I’m also taking the opportunity to highlight some of my favourite yoga kit of the moment, including these gorgeous Stance socks & this equally awesome Yoga Design Lab mat. Click MORE to see it all…

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THE HOUSE OF DHARMA !

03/08/2015

I love discovering new fitness brands, especially when their ethos totally strikes a chord with my own. This post sheds light on the enchanting bohemian collections of House of Dharma, a brand of earthy-toned beautifully-designed resort & activewear founded by two sisters (and best friends), Kayleigh and Carrie Curneen. Their operation is based partly in Bali and partly in Ibiza (where I first met Kayleigh years ago), and the clothes have a unique aesthetic which I’ve not encountered elsewhere; it’s a blend of free-spirited ancient silhouettes/shapes, impossibly soft and relaxed floaty materials, tribal patterns and themes, gorgeous natural tones, and ethically sustainable local production values. The result is glamorous, feminine, chic, and effortlessly inspirational! I met up with the founders in London’s Primrose Hill for a full interview on all things Dharma. Click MORE to see the pictures we shot, along with reading their responses! (more…)

AHEAD OF MILAN FASHION WEEK…

16/09/2014

We’re currently right in the middle of the holy trinity of global fashion weeks, and next week wraps up with ‘Milan’, arguably the fashion capital of the world. I was there very recently for blog meetings, and decided to go on an expedition through the sprawling streets in search of fitness fashion inspiration. I found far less than I’d imagined, which totally amazed me. In the era when fitness and mainstream fashion are unstoppably converging, with the activewear category literally growing at double the pace of broader UK general merchandise, the Milanese shop fronts did nothing to persuade me to dress ‘sporty chic’. Click MORE to see some of the discoveries I did make, along with some snaps from the stopover!