Most people take advantage of January 1 of every year as a time to start their new resolutions - which for many, many people, are workout or health related (notice that boost of people each January at your local gym?) I don't know about everyone else, but I get so extremely lazy in the winter! Think about it, starting from October (Halloween candy) to November (Thanksgiving) to December (Christmas)... and on top of all that, who REALLY wants to go running in New England winter weather? Not me! So spring is my time to "rebirth." It's also extremely inspiring to see all the physically fit people out and about in Spring. Obviously, this isn't a fitness blog and I am definitely NOT a fitness guru, but I do my best to be healthy and stay in the best shape I can. BUT, one of the biggest motivations I have to workout is fashionable workout gear. And, my luck, a couple weeks ago, I was introduced to Ellie. And now, I want to give all of you a chance to meet Ellie as well!

Ellie is a new online fashion startup, cofounded by Los Angeles based Science Inc. They're aimed at providing high-quality, stylish workout gear at cheaper prices. The average prices for Ellie pieces are about half the price of Lululemon gear. There's two ways you can snab gear from them: you can either buy individual pieces or subscribe at $49.95 at month and receive your pick of two pieces a month. But, like everyone else, not all workout gear fits correctly on every body - so Ellie offers free shipping :)

I was given the opportunity to try two awesome pieces by Ellie! And it was awesome timing too - yesterday was my first ever official yoga class (I've been doing yoga at home for a while now) at Health Yoga Life in Beacon Hill!

First off, the packaging was ADORABLE! Anyone that knows me knows I LOVE pink and the bubble mailer was hot pink! Both pieces came wrapped perfectly in matching tissue paper as well. So the two pieces I chose were the Black Swan top and the Raven Capri (from the March collection and it's still available through April!) The images below are from the Ellie website. (Oh look, she's wearing Nike Frees!)

The pants fit absolutely amazing! Both pieces fit true to size and both pieces gave me a huge range of motion. The yoga class I took today was heated, not Bikram, but body temperature and both pieces allowed my skin to breathe and wick away sweat. Both pieces also held their form through the entire workout. And my favorite part about the pants was that they had grip, even when I was sweaty (ew!); my UnderArmour pants couldn't take me through an SPX workout because the material caused me to slide around too much. One more awesome thing is that, when I work out, I wear a heart rate monitor, and the built in bra on the Black Swan tank helped keep that in place. The only thing I felt was a downside was that the top, around the waist band area, didn't hold it's place too well - but that could also be because I'm so small.

I was waaaaay too embarassed to take a picture before/during the class (well.. shouldn't have a camera in the studio anyways.) But here are a couple of me. (The Ellie model looks much better, trust me!)

Just an idea of how the pants fit. I do hike them up a little bit so they bunch around my knee, cause if not, there's a weird opening at the bottom. (Downside of me being so short.)

And here's to give you all an idea of the rise on these pants!

So who wants to add some fashion to their fitness routine? Sign up right below and get 20%! (click the banner)

If you have any questions, please leave them in the comments below, or tweet me (@risaxu).

Until next time!