If you haven’t yet heard of Bandier, you are about to fall hard and fast. I first heard of this company through none other than a blogger. Not just any blogger though, one of my absolute favorites for as long as I can remember: Something Navy. We’re talking serious girl crush and closet envy here people. Bandier was once only available in the Hamptons. They next opened a store in NYC and then an online store. I sort of stalked the website until it launched because I couldn’t wait to get my hands on some of their amazing items. Imagine my excitement when I saw that my favorite little shopping center in Dallas, Highland Park Village, was getting their very own store. Bandier stole my heart very early on. I love that I can now walk in and try on all the clothing til’ my heart’s content. Not too mention for those of you in the Dallas area, the girls that work the store in HP Village happen to be some of the nicest, coolest people in retail. Keep your eyes peeled for monthly workout classes there or at your local Bandier store. If you’re not lucky enough to have one in your city yet, you’re in luck because their online, too!
Bandier proves that functional yet fashionable active and athleisure wear is here to stay. I don’t know about where you live, but in Dallas, it’s almost always acceptable to be out and about in your activewear. Brunch on weekends is full of those who came straight from a workout (or just look like they did). Happy hours on weeknights is a parade of black stretchy pants and sports bras. I love this about Dallas. It’s a fairly active city and I love that I can meet my girlfriends for dinner in what I worked out in earlier. Boutique fitness is becoming more and more popular and with what some classes cost, it often means swapping happy hour for a fitness class, making it a social activity. This makes it all the more important for activewear to be not only functional (as in keeping everything in place and comfortable) but fashionable. The XL tshirt and old gym shorts may have been what you worked out in years ago when you had an endless supply of function t-shirts, but those days are long gone. And, let’s just take a moment and be glad!
I’m the first to choose function over fashion when it comes to activewear. For example, I can’t do arm workouts with weights comfortably in a short sleeve shirt that is tight on my arms. If it’s long sleeve in the winter and fits just right, then I’m good. If I feel it’s restricting my movement, I want to quit. Working out is so mental, I don’t need anything like discomfort or insecurity getting in my way. 
This is another reason that Bandier stole my heart. I feel so good in their clothing. When I feel good, I want to work harder to keep feeling that way. There are so many amazing cuts, fabrics, textures, and colors in the lines they carry, too. It was truly amazing when I was in the Bandier Dallas store hearing them talk about the different stories behind each line. Each person truly started their lines because they felt something was missing in activewear and needed to be updated. They wanted something that moved with them in their workouts and made them feel good. I don’t know about you, but I love a good, true and relatable story behind the clothing companies I buy from. 
The best part? I could literally wear this bra out as a bandeau top under a tank to a nicer-than-errands occasion. Some of their items can double as swimwear. How perfect because I don’t know about you, but there are many a day when jumping in the pool right after a workout sounds perfect. 
One week from today, my girl Something Navy, who introduced me to Bandier will be launching a collection with Koral, a brand carried at Bandier and the one I am wearing here. The collection will be appropriately all navy and I am dying to see it. I’ve seen a few teasers and I can’t wait. I guarantee you I will be one of the first in line at the Bandier Dallas store to finally get some of it. She’s been teasing about it on her social media for month and it’s almost here! If you haven’t tried Bandier yet, I definitely recommend their clothing. Those in the store are so knowledgeable and can help find the right clothing for your body type and what activities you do. Because let’s be real, just like sneakers are better made for running errands than heels, some sports bras are better made for resistance training than they are for jump squats or running. 
You can shop my look below:
I’m going to share a workout with my athleisure and activewear posts– so it will almost become a two-in-one. I’ve had a few requests to share different workouts, so I’ll put one up that corresponds with this outfit. Stay tuned! And please share any preferences or suggestions you have for this new part of athleisure fashion and workouts that I’ll be incorporating into my blog content. Fitness and health is an important part of my life and routine and I definitely want to share that with all of you.
The protein bars I have in this post and before/after some of my workouts are G2G bars. G2G stands for Good 2 Go and the bars are whole food bars that have all natural organic ingredients with no preservatives or processed “junk” you find in other bars of this type. They are really delicious on their own or on top of a smoothie bowl (stayed tuned for a recipe I use them with!). It’ so important that you are giving your body all of the protein it needs when working out to 1) stay full 2) have energy and 3) build muscle/burn fat. **If you want to try some– use my coupon code ‘Lauren’ to get 20% off of your order!**
