You know how ages ago I wrote about Victoria's Secret sport underwear? Well ... in that post, and also in one of my OG posts from back when I first set up this blog, I ripped a little on Victoria's Secret workout bras. Mostly, I didn't like them because:
(1) They emphasized fashion over function
(2) They were designed to show off the girls, not keep them under control
(3) They didn't offer any in basic white so that I could bleach out my post workout stank
And to be fair, I had even purchased and wore a VS Sport bra way back when they first launched the line. So, despite my reservations and the above 3 points, I fought the good fight and tried to like the product. But, the results were not good, and I promptly tucked that bra away in the back of my closet never to be heard from again.
So - let's fast forward. I now own two new VS Sport bras, and ...
Yep.
I'll take my crow with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy, and some steamed broccoli, please.
Here's what happened: about two or three months ago, I got what I call my "free panty of the month" coupon in the mail. Because seriously! I don't know what the deal is over at Victoria's Secret, but I swear to god their goal in life is to bury me in free panties. Which, by the way, I'll happily take. I mean, I haven't actually purchased underwear in at least two years.
But I digress.
Anyway, for whatever reason, along with the free panty coupon that time, in addition to the standard $10 off any bra coupon they give you, Victoria's Secret also included a coupon that was something like "$30 for any VS Sport Bra". I wasn't originally going to use it, but then I got to thinking. Since I hadn't purchased any new sports bras in a good two years, and I was badly overdue, I thought... well, for $30, why not?! I mean, cheaper than any other option out there right now, since they discontinued the bra I really liked at Kohls anyway.
So while I grabbed my free panty, I perused their sports bra selection, and settled on this gem.
Honestly, as I was checking out with the cashier, I wasn't totally convinced. The bra felt pretty heavily padded, and I am not one for colored sports bras. But I figured for $30 ... ok, fine. It'll do.
And even when I first wore the bra, I was still ... underwhelmed. The padding made my boobs look like two cannons ready for battle and served dual purpose as a catch all for every drop of sweat I generated during class (which, if you've ever worked out with me, you know that's a lot). No to mention, the blazing pink ended up showing through the workout shirt I picked for that day.
But something funny happened after I tried to keep the bra in rotation for at least a few more workouts...
Accidentally one day, in trying to dual purpose one of my InkNBurn tops as a work and workout shirt (thus saving myself some laundry), I decided - hey, why not wear my VS Sport bra, too? I mean, it shapes me just as well as any of my every day bras, and feels equally as good, so why not just wear it all day and save myself a little extra laundry and gym packing?
The idea was GENIUS! Not only did I save myself laundry and packing, the hidden bonus was I literally shaved minutes off of my pre-workout gym routine. All I had to do when I got to the gym was swap out pants, tie my cross trainers, pull back my hair and ... viola! I was ready.
Having that realization, and then getting another "free panty of the month" mailer a few weeks later with another $30 sport coupon, I decided to up the ante and buy a second bra.
I made that second purchase because despite the fact that the bra isn't the BEST sports bra ever, its cross functionality as a work to workout item (I'll talk more about this in a future post), to me, justified the small sacrifice in overall support. And in all reality, for teaching my standard TBC classes, the support is just fine... though I wouldn't recommend these for running or other similar constant movement, cardio based workout routines.
Also, you'll notice for the second bra, I opted for a "neutral" color option. I know, gray isn't really neutral as a bra color (IE white or beige). But in terms of what I wear to workout and the potential for bra color show through, the gray color without any kind of pattern printed on it seemed to be the least offensive option.
Which, speaking of bra color ... I'm still not sold on the whole colorful sports bra trend, as I far prefer to have a standard white bra under my workout tops to avoid show through. And I also prefer to bleach my sports bras. But, at this point, that's not a total deal breaker, since I've since figured out how to get the stink out of my workout clothes without having to bleach them. (I'll talk about that in a future post, too).
And so - I guess that's it!!
To summarize, I won't recommend VS Sports bras as an all purpose solution for your workouts. But, if you want to have the convenience of having to wash one less bra on a lower intensity workout day, they're a pretty solid option.
But don't hold your breath on me converting to loving their workout panties any time soon.
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