Remember when “gym gear” meant a pair of black leggings (maybe the same ones you wore around the house) and whatever T-shirt and sports bra you could dig out of a drawer? Maybe you don’t—that’s how far activewear has come since the days that “athleisure” was still a long-forgotten word from a ’70s sneaker ad. In 2016, not only do we have behemoths like Nike and Adidas, but, thanks largely to the rise of stylish sportswear pioneer Lululemon, there’s a whole industry of fashion-meets-function brands that offer clothing you can wear from barre class to the bar.
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On the one hand, that means we have a lot more choices when it comes to what to wear to work out, but on the other, it can get a little overwhelming. New fitness brands are a dime a dozen these days, and knowing which ones offer style, performance, and value isn’t easy.
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To help steer you in the right direction, we’ve put together a guide to 15 must-know activewear lines, some brand new, others with more than a decade in the biz, but whose clothes you may not have in your collection yet. Click through the gallery below to shop them all.
