In honor of International Women's Day, we're proud to present this strong lineup of female-founded fitness brands striving to empower women 24/7 and 365 days out of each year. From big-time celebrity labels like Eleven by Venus Williams to smaller eco-friendly activewear crafters, the market for workout clothes created by women and for women is boundless.
Ahead, find everything from inclusive sizes to multipurpose designs, sweat-wicking fabrics to sustainable materials, and more sporty styles we love to support. Join us in giving female business owners their flowers by shopping for a sweet new yoga mat or fresh pair of thoughtfully made leggings.
At Refinery29, we’re here to help you navigate this overwhelming world of stuff—and, while we do receive commission from Amazon, all of the goods linked to on our site are independently selected and supported by our Shopping team.
Alala
The Greek goddess and personification of a "war cry", Alala, is the focal point of this woman-owned activewear brand. The CEO, Denise Lee, founded the company to provide effortless day-to-night activewear for every kind of woman on the go. Check out the bold and bright bestselling styles (leggings, sports bras, outerwear, and more) hanging out on the site right now.
This brand is most well-known for its, "washable, reusable underwear designed to replace pads and tampons, or be worn with tampons and cups for extra protection." But, just recently this woman-owned retailer launched a line of equally absorbent leggings, shorts, and leotards for exercise or lounging around the house.
Although Outdoor Voices did not invent athletic dresses, Tyler Haney's female-founded brand is famous for its, "versatile and confidence-boosting," Exercise Dress. This single piece boasts 2,752 reviews on its site, has a whopping five-star rating, and is totally Instagram-feed-worthy. Take a peek at this activewear staple and loads of other sweat-wicking styles that Outdoor Voices has to offer.
Outdoor Voices The Exercise Dress, $, available at Outdoor Voices
Sweaty Betty
The Sweaty Betty story begins in 1998 with Creative Director and founder, Tamara Hill-Norton. She was on a mission to brighten up the lackluster world of women's activewear and 23 years later, she's still doing just that. Over on her site, you'll find full collections of workout clothes, loungewear, and more unique staples to diversify your fitness wardrobe.
Sweaty Betty Power Workout Zip Through Jacket, $, available at Sweaty Betty
Electric Yoga
Michele Bohbot founded Electric Yoga to create activewear that caters to both sides of the style spectrum. Whether you feel most confident in a sleek, black, and muted design or prefer bright, high-energy color palettes, Electric Yoga has it for you. These thoughtful designs also carry over to the brand's bestselling accessories like this waterproof workout bag that can accompany you anywhere.
Electric Yoga Karma Ultra Light Allover Bolt Bag, $, available at Electric Yoga
Eleven By Venus Williams
The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, Venus Williams needs no introduction, but we will shed some spotlight on her fashion-forward activewear brand. The site is loaded with tennis essentials, leggings, visors, and more sporty clothing designed by athletes, for athletes.
According to Culture Fit's site, "nothing cleanses your body like deep breathes and sweat," which, is probably why this female-founded and black-owned business designs its yoga mats with an "ultra-absorbent microsuede top layer." Reviewers say:
"Hi! I love my new pink kente yoga mat. It is beautiful and of really good quality. It is really thick and has a nice soft covering. It is totally worth it. I love using it every day. Thank you!"
The Culture Fit The Culture Fit Yoga Mat, $, available at The Culture Fit
Carbon38
This female-founded retailer curates quality brands, collaborates with creators in the industry, and designs its own branded label collections. Co-founder, Katie Warner Johnson, strives to meet the "multifaceted demands of today's woman," through a practical yet stylish wardrobe.
Beach Riot Megan Legging, $, available at Carbon38
Beyond Yoga
Co-founders, Jodi Guber Brufsky and Michelle Wahler combined their passion for body positivity in fashion to create Beyond Yoga in 2011. Now, this globally recognized brand offers a wide selection of workout clothes, maternity fashion, loungewear, and more pieces that instill inclusivity.
Attempting to watch both Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s interview with Oprah and the 2021 Critics’ Choice Awards on Sunday wasn’t a task for the faint of heart. That said, when we were able to tear our focus away from CBS, the night’s award show held up — especially in the best-dressed department.
Just seven days after the 2021 Golden Globes brought about the return of glamour to the (virtual) red carpet, we half expected celebrities to take it easy at the Critics Choice Awards. And yet, just as they did a week prior, everyone nominated — including Daisy Edgar-Jones for Normal People, Anya Taylor Joy for The Queen’s Gambit, Cynthia Erivo for The Outsider — laid it all out on the fashion floor.
Harry Styles’ stylist Harry Lambert dressed Emma Corrin and Josh O’Connor in regal looks fit for the characters they play on The Crown— Corrin in Haute Couture Schiaparelli and O’Connor in custom Loewe. One Night In Miami director Regina King stunned in sequins once again, this time courtesy of Versace. And then there was Grown-ish's Yara Shahidi, one of many celebrity presenters from the show, who wore Candyland-esque Haute Couture by Dior. In lieu of dresses, many stars — including Amanda Seyfried and H.E.R., who both wore Miu Miu — opted for tuxes and suits.
Click ahead for our list of the best-dressed celebrities from the Critics’ Choice Awards virtual red carpet.
Emma Corrin in Schiaparelli Haute Couture
And the award for the best-dressed nominee (and Best Actress in a Drama Series) goes to Emma Corrin for this straight-off-the-runway Schiaparelli Haute Couture mini dress.
Regina King in Versace
Regina King always sparkles, but she shone a little brighter on Sunday in sequin-covered Versace.
Zendaya in Valentino Haute Couture
Orange you glad you caught this 10/10 fashion moment on Zendaya?
A decade ago, I wouldn’t have been caught dead in a pair of skin-tight bike shorts. Yoga pants, though, now that was a silhouette I could rally behind. Fitted at the top, loose at the bottom — they were the perfect combination of flattering and comfortable. I wore them daily, one leg tucked into my salt-stained UGG boots, the other falling casually over the boot’s rounded toe. Somewhere along the way, I, like many others, filed my yoga pants away with the rest of the ‘00s trends I once sported. In their place rose bike shorts à la Kim Kardashian, which, until recently, had reigned supreme in the athleisure realm. But, according to a particularly influential member of Gen Z, Emma Chamberlain, yoga pants are on their way to becoming the “new bike shorts.”
“If you style yoga pants the right way, they kind of remind me of the photos of Lady Diana when she’s wearing bike shorts with a sweatshirt and a baseball cap,” Chamberlain told Refinery29 in February. “So I was like, I kind of want to do that, but with yoga pants because I like yoga pants.” Chamberlain made a case for the style on her Instagram by pairing the bottoms with a cropped turtleneck, chunky sneakers, and very tiny sunglasses, another popular trend from the bike shorts era.
On TikTok, the crowd is divided — between, as you could have guessed from the recent skinny jeans debate, Millennials and Gen Z. Under-25-year-olds are posting how-to-style videos, pairing yoga pants with cropped puffers, crewnecks, leather blazers, and chunky boots. Gen Zer Kate Bartlett recreated Chamberlain’s look almost exactly, posting a video of her version with the caption: “Emma Chamberlain decided flared yoga pants were back so now flared yoga pants are back.” Users like Kallie House are a bit more skeptical of the trend: “Yoga pants cannot come back. I’m speaking as a millennial girl — or, I think, a few millennial girls — we can’t be tucking these back into UGG boots.” But, like it or not, the second wave of yoga pants appears to be here, with the style appearing all over the platform. Should we then be packing up our bike shorts and digging out the foldover Hard Tail yoga pants we bought back in the day from storage in preparation? All signs point to yes.
If the last year taught us anything, it’s that trends from the ‘00s are having a moment, be they belly chains a la Paris Hilton or visible G-strings, so it was only a matter of time before the flared alternative to leggings came back in fashion. But now, with Gen Z’s own fashion queen giving yoga pants her stamp of approval, we can say with certainty that yoga pants are, like, totally in.
Shop 2021’s yoga pant offerings, below.
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बॉलीवुड एक्ट्रेस कृति सेनन (Kriti Sanon) उन हसीनाओं में से एक हैं, जो अपनी नेक्स्ट-डोर स्टाइल इमेज के लिए जानी जाती हैं। ऐसा ही कुछ हमें आज भी देखने को मिला जब कृति को बेहद सिंपल लेकिन अट्रैक्टिव लुक में देखा गया।
