Live Life Better - Find the beauty in every day!: Styling

More and more people are loving the freedom and comfort of wearing their active wear to run errands and achieve all they have to get done on a daily basis. Thank goodness active wear suppliers are coming to the party and designing stylish outfits that can be converted to appropriate wear for running errands and daily wear. So today I am going to talk about how I put together stylish and appropriate active wear outfits that can take me from getting my daily exercise done to paying those pesky bills, shopping and coffee dates!

Some of my 'don'ts when buying or wearing active wear to start with!

Firstly, black tights/thin leggings are not active wear. These are designed to wear under skirts,dresses, long tops etc! I often see this mistake and believe me it is not attractive! Do yourself a favour and go out and invest in a good pair of active wear leggings, please make sure they fit you and aren't too tight. When they are too tight they become see through and actually give you a muffin top regardless of whether you are carrying extra weight around the middle or not. Places like Big W, K Mart and Target all carry active wear leggings of reasonable quality at minimal cost. If you can it is great to be able to invest in a full length pair and a 3/4 length pair as this gives you more options and covers when the weather is slightly warmer as well.

If you are looking for good quality and can afford them I have found the Running Bare brand as well as the Lorna Jane range ( +Lorna Jane ) to be a great fit, good quality, wash well and most importantly the waist bands are of high quality and produce minimal 'rolling'. My tip here is to get on to the Lorna Jane website or facebook page ( www.lornajane.com.au) as they always have a 'sale' page where you can get good discounted prices additionally they are very active with 'specials' where they often promote items at heavily discounted costs. Sign up for their email and you will be alerted to these 'specials' as they come out.

Tip number 1: If you are starting to pull together your mix and match active wear wardrobe invest in plain black sports leggins or with minimal colour trim. Whilst there are some wonderful prints and coloured tights this restricts what you are able to mix and match with to give you different put together looks. Black or dark colours also have the added benefit of giving you a slimmer look which I am definitely all about while I try and remove the extra 10 kgs i'm currently carrying!

Tip number 2: Invest in a good sports bra or sporting bralette. Again for the budget conscious there are good options and various designs, styles and colours available from Big W, K Mart and Target however if you can afford it Adidas, Nike, Lorna Jane all do great options with their range offering from minimal to maximum support. These themselves can be great statement pieces when worn under your workout singlet or tee, with these companies upping the ante and offering a variety of colours, interesting back strap details, front strap details etc. Again I favour the Lorna Jane Brand and purchase from their 'sale'page online, I have found them to be a great fit, comfortable and wash well.

Tip number 3: Training singlets/sports tops. I have purchased quite a few through Big W in a variety of colours, what I like is that they are a longer length and the fit is good (not too tight). When exercising the last thing I want to be concerned about is continually pulling my top down as it creeps up my belly or being really self conscious of the fit being too tight where I am carrying my extra kilo's. I do have some training singlets from other brands like Nike, Adidas and Lorna Jane which are all really good and wash up wonderfully however for quality and fit I find the Big W options are just as good and much cheaper unless you find them on sale.

Tip number 4: If purchasing training shoes look around, you can almost always find them available on sale. Obviously depending on what level you are training at or what type of training you are doing you need to find a good supportive shoe first and foremost, that will work for you whether you are a runner, cross trainer or participating in pilates or yoga. However if you are then faced with colour choices try and pick something that will blend well with what you are wearing or your mix and match choices. I do have a number of pairs of trainers however by far my favourite and most versatile ones are my Nike Black with white Swoosh in terms of achieving a put together look from head to toe.

Tip number 5: Make sure you have some good quality sports socks, crop socks that basically just cover your feed but have good thick absorbent undersoles are my go to for training and looks. I am currently favouring the 'Bonds' sports socks as they have a range of colours, fit well, are comfortable and most importantly wash really well.

Tip number 6: Do yourself a favour and invest in a loose fitting long sleeve t-shirt that has good length. These are great whilst you are warming up and cooling down or where the weather is a bit warm for a jumper or jacket. They are also great for layering and adding to your style.

Tip number 7: If you can, finding yourself good longer length sports jumpers in a variety of materials gives you great options depending on the weather, if not I recommend investing in a 'quick dry' material jumper which whilst quite thin can be layered for extra warmth, has the added benefit of quickly drying when you sweat and can look quite stylish when they fit well. Again there are good options from very affordable from Big W (Michelle Bridges Line) to Adidas, Nike and Lorna Jane. Again I recommend going for plain block colours keeping in mind what other colours you have in singlets, t-shirts and either going for the same or a contrast colour. I have a number of these which are all solid block colours (Black, Bright Blue, Coral, Purple) which can change my look daily.

Tip number 8: Zip through sporting jackets are a great option instead of or in addition to your jumpers and long sleeve t-shirts. I really favour layering for warmth, again there are multiple options available with a multitude of colours and patterns. Once again I have gone with plain colours but have found zipped jackets with slightly interesting details. I currently have 2 Lorna Jane zip jackets which I got half price from their sale page - one purple with really interesting shoulder detail and a bright coral one with a hood. Another recent purchase I made and probably my favourite of everything is a Nike White hoodie jacket with black trim down the arms and a black swoosh. What I love about this jacket is its a relaxed fit with a longer back hem which goes down over my bottom, this is great when I am out and about running errands and gives me great confidence.

Tip number 9: Do yourself a favour and invest in a sleeveless zip through jacket for those cold mornings (and afternoons). Again there are multiple options available (and prices) but look around and find something that is functional but also has some interesting detail. Again I have a number of these and I have made sure I purchased block colours instead of patterns for versatility. My favourite again is by Lorna Jane (and yes it is starting to sound like I am sponsored by her but I can assure you I am not). The reason it is my favourite is that it is black, shorter length which is great for layering, has a hood (fur trimmed) a great waist band detail and best of all it fits great and is super warm.

My favourite look and I believe most flattering and stylish at the moment is black and white as per the below picture. I am able to layer everything and as the weather warms up still look stylish and put together when I start delayering. The beauty of this look is that it is really easy to change it up with pops of colour by having a different jumper, singlet or jacket. Have fun with active wear, but the absolute best favour you can do yourself is to ensure your active wear fits you correctly and isn't too tight. Always keep a clear lip gloss in your pocket and a comb and hair tie to tidy up once you have completed your workout. (I always make sure I have a small deodorant on hand to freshen up after a workout if I haven't got time to shower before running my errands). Embracing active wear can be fun and it also removes the excuses of not being able to fit in a short workout - most people can fit in 10 to 15 minutes some time in their busy day! Remember the more you exercise the more your endorphins are raised which helps you to feel good and helps you to conquer the world!