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Man oh man. First of all, I had pushed this article out, but published it earlier, because I have this problem of scheduling really deep and in depth pieces back to back. This ends up killing me, because it takes me forever to write them all. I posted my seed cycling post on Friday and it just about wiped me out! The point is that I had to move around my schedule to give me a break! It might have been a little different had I not been out of town too. I’m currently in Sacramento, traveling back to LA tonight, and then heading to Vegas tomorrow. CrAzY i KnOw.

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Girlfriend Collective Paloma Bra in Blackberry (also at Nordstrom) | Girlfriend Collective Compressive Leggings in Blackberry (also at Nordstrom) | White Nike Sneakers | BKR 500 ML Water Bottle

Okay let me get to the point. I say that I’m posting early, buuut I actually wanted to post about Girlfriend Collective in January. Why couldn’t I? Because they have been sold out in most sizes and colors for the past couple of months. I couldn’t even order any! They should partially stocked back as of 1/27 and be in stock pretty much fully stocked as of 2/7 - yay! I’ll touch more on that later though.

What first drew me to Girlfriend Collective is the fact that they are size inclusive and body positive. They show all different shapes, sizes, and colors, and go up to a size 6XL in most products. As I researched more about the brand, I learned that they are actually very sustainable too! Their workout wear is made from recycled plastic water bottles and are made at a living wage factory in Vietnam. This is a big deal, as most clothing manufacturing plants barely pay people enough to get by. Their packaging is sustainable too! If you want know more about their eco-friendly efforts, you can read more about it here.

So what do I think about their leggings? I tried on several different sizes and styles and I’m going to break it down for you here:

Price: I think the pieces are pretty well priced, especially for fair trade practices. The bras are priced on the lower end, but the leggings a little more on the higher end, though not Lulu high. Everlane recently developed a sustainable legging and it is $10 cheaper, so I do think the compressive leggings little high for what it is, though Everlane is notoriously low. Overall, I do think hey are worth the money and well made.

Sizing: Everything fit true to size. I was a small in both, as per usual.

Fit: The leggings fit well! I liked them. I wanted to love the topanga bra (not pictured here), but sent it back, because it did not fit well under my armpits. I have several similar tops from Outdoor Voices and Lululemon and they fit a lot better…though they are almost double the price. I did like the paloma bra (pictured here), thought it fit interestingly with the leggings. It kind of hit too low around my body maybe? It squished my skin out on the side more-so than I’ve ever had happen before on crop and leggings set. I would love to try their lola bra, but wish it came in more than their basic colors.

PROS: I love that the brand is eco-friendly and promotes sustainable living. I think more brands need to take their route of inclusivity in size and representation. They do make a stand up product as well.

CONS: My first impression was not good. I was so annoyed that I couldn’t order anything in December… a prime buying month mind you. NOR could I order anything at the beginning of January, which is silly, since that is when people start to work out and want new fitness clothing! Now I could find a bra in one color and a legging in another color, but I wanted a matching set. Mind you that wasn’t possible, pretty much in any size. I would continue looking, hoping to find a pair, only to go to checkout and it give me an error. As a consumer this was very annoying.

Another thing is that when I did finally buy a set, it took FOREVER to get there. I mean it quoted 8-10 days, but I think that is ridiculous. My thought is that they probably drop ship from Vietnam so they don’t have to deal with inventory stateside. But on the flip side, I’m like what inventory?? I was very annoyed that the fit of the first bra was off and I lost money shipping it back - $7! So many companies offer free returns, I just felt gipped not getting. Especially because I had wanted it for so long and it was a fit problem on their end, not just a “oh I changed my mind” type of thing. I know shipping costs money, but I also know a ton of places turn a profit on shipping. It just felt wrong!

When you wholesale, you want it to sell well everywhere, but you prefer when people buy directly from your website, as you make more money. I found that shopping for Girlfriend Collective at Nordstrom is so much easier. Free shipping and returns, in a normal amount of time. What more could you want?! Maybe you may not have as many colors, styles, and sizes offered, but at the very least, you can try them on for size and grab different colors later from the Girlfriend Website.

From a high level, I do think they have a good company and a good product. The fitness-wear space is pretty saturated, so you do have to find a way to stand out. Sure, their marketing is what got me here, but unfortunately, it didn’t have staying power. I find that I reach for the leggings (and sports bras) that make me feel good and although their practices made me warm and fuzzy, I felt just a little lukewarm with the product. Because there are so many heavy hitters in this field, saying that they are just okay isn’t a bad rating! I would recommend Girlfriend, because I like what they are doing with their brand and want to support them. We need to spend our money on brands that we agree with and that’s what I’m doing here. Maybe one day they’ll finally restock the Lola bra in small and I’ll be overall more happy with their products. Or better yet, they’ll stock it at Nordstrom and I’ll get it in 3-5 business days ;)

Have you tried Girlfriend Collective activewear? What did you think?!