Since I basically live in workout clothes, I’ve had to revamp my closet to make room for $100 couture spandex. It gets pretty ridiculous paying so much for fitness clothes, but this is how I see it: when you look good, you feel good and you perform even better! Wearing booty lifting shorts and accentuating tops motivates me to go 110% at the gym.

Jockey Person to Person® has come out with a new line of active-wear for women and to be honest, I’m pretty surprised. They sent me a shirt to review (shown below) and I took it out for a 6-mile run along Venice Beach. What did I think?

Let’s start with the cons. Jockey sizes tend to run bigger than normal and I’ve never been able to figure out why. I normally wear a size Small or 4, which usually fits quite perfectly. Mind you, I like my fitness clothes tight because I hate when there’s extra fabric flapping around as I’m doing squat jumps. I received a size XS and it was a lot looser than I’m used to. The cut of the shirt was very conservative – it covered all of my chest and extended below the hip.

Now on to the pros. Like I mentioned before, I was extremely impressed with the shirt! Although it wasn’t as snug as I wanted, it did feel comfortable. The design of the shirt is attractive, but not too loud. It has dry-wicking fabric so I was able to sweat like crazy in the SoCal weather and still feel cool. I didn’t have to tug or pull at my shirt, which is normally my biggest concern when I’m running.

If you’re interested in checking out Jockey’s new line of fitness wear for women, I encourage taking a second look at it. Just make sure you reference the sizing chart before ordering!

So tell me – what’s your normal go to outfit when working out? Are you a couture fitness chick or does the sweatpants/old tee look do it for you?

** Author’s edit: Jockey Person to Person® is a different branch than Jockey itself. They offer a line of fitness wear and fashionable clothing for the active woman. Check out some other great styles here.

But gloves are. Designers have really pulled out all the stops on gloves/mittens this year. They’ve incorporated all the latest trends (studs, ruffles, animal print, color) and made them fully functional for women of the 21st century. Meaning, fingerless/thumbless options so you don’t have to risk frostbite to check your News Feed.

And the best part: you can get them for cheap. You don’t need to spend $30 on something that you know you’re gonna lose (because you will and you know it).  Just stock up on the cheapies or, even better, grab a pair with strings. It worked in pre-school, so why not now? While your friends may mock you, you’ll be the one laughing when they tear off a mitten to return a text and lose it somewhere between here and that lecture hall across campus.

Here are some of the best of the best in hand and wrist warmers. Click on them for more info. Stay warm out there!

And you gotta fit the gym in there somewhere.

I know, it’s always the first thing to go when things start getting busy, but it shouldn’t be! Working out regularly will keep you fit (obvi), and also help ease the stress and give you that much needed energy to get through those 16 credits, rush meetings, group projects and everything else you need to get through before Friday.

If that’s not enough to motivate you, perhaps some cute clothes will do? It’s obviously not easy to pull yourself out of bed and trek to the gym when you look (and therefore feel) like crap. Those baggy sweats and dirty t-shirts aren’t doing anyone any favors, especially you. And with all the super cute workout-wear that’s out there right now (in every. single. price point), there’s no reason to look drab for the gym. If you’re super busy, you can pile this stuff on before class and sneak in a workout during lunch; the clothes are so cute, no one would ever know. And if you’re just lazy, having cute and trendy pieces around will make you feel better and motivate you to get your butt moving. (It really works!)

If you need a kick in the (yoga) pants to get back to the gym, I’ve got 16 right here for ya. Enjoy.

Have you heard? CollegeCandy is throwing a party in New York City on July 29th. There’s gonna be free drinks, free food and, of course, all the coolest CollegeCandy writers are gonna be there (well, the ones who are over 21, at least).

Are you?

Sure, you may not be in New York City right now, but there is a thing called an airplane, you know. And, seeing the sick raffle prizes you’ll have an opportunity to win, you may want to hop online to Orbitz and book your ticket ASAP.

Here is just a taste of what we’ll be raffling off come July 29th:

• A one hour massage courtesy of Massage Williamsburg
• A Collection Eighteen scarf and Vita leather bracelet courtesy of Chickdowntown.com
• A $25 gift card to Serendipity III (Hellooooo, frozen hot chocolate!)
• A 10 pack of classes to Exhale Spa
• Gift basket chock full of Redken hair products.
• A Portobello Road Purse courtesy of ModCloth.com
• A giant bag of the cosmetics and goodies from Tarte Cosmetics
• $50 gift cards to Lulus.com
• Yoga pants and top from Lucy.
• A fantabulous mani\pedi from Jin Soon
• A giant gift basket full of hair therapy from Pureology.
• 2 tickets for a 30 Rock Studio Tour courtesy of NeverSayDiet.com
• Free bottle service at Vig 27/PS 450
• A haircut/style/manicure at Riccardo Maggiore Salon (where Carrie Bradshaw dyed her locks brown in the movie!)
• A pair of portable roll-up flats from CitiSoles
• A one-of-a-kind couture headband from our friend, New York Nat
• A brand spanking new HP DV2 notebook (!!!)

So, let’s sum this all up: free drinks, free food, free entertainment and a ton of free shiz.
You comin’?

But last week I finally caved. Well, my pants did. They had worn so thin that mid ab-workout they split, exposing my granny panties (I really needed to do my laundry) to the entire gym. If that wasn’t bad enough, I didn’t notice until I got home. Awesome.

I was going to pick up another pair at Target but my friends intervened. “You work out a lot – you should get some good stuff. We’re going to Lucy.”

I didn’t know much about Lucy except that their stuff cost a lot more than I was used to spending on clothes for the gym (which was $0), but I obliged. If nothing else it was an excuse to pick up an Auntie Anne’s pretzel at the mall.

It turns out that the pretzel wasn’t the only good thing to come from that trip. Lucy was awesome. Not only did they have pants long enough for my uber long legs (5’10, baby), but everything fit perfectly. After throwing on a pair of their pants and a top (with built in sports bra!) I loved what I saw in the mirror. I looked cute and my boobs would be secure while running! Who’da thunk?

Yes, the stuff was a bit pricey (the pants were $78), but it was also way more than just gym wear. I could totally wear that stuff to class and out on the town, too. It was definitely more flattering than the sweats I usually wear to class, so this Lucy stuff was a total win/win.

I walked out of the store with 3 bags of stuff and, being the instant-gratification-whore that I am, wore some of it that very night to the gym. I know it’s weird, but I felt better and actually lasted longer during my workout. It was like a Red Bull but in comfy clothing form.

I know that money is tight, but I have to say that all the stuff I got from Lucy was money well spent. I feel better, it motivates me to workout more (when you spend that much you better get use out of it), and my daily choice of underwear remains my little secret. Lucy is my homegirl and I think everyone needs to meet her.

(Oh and she’s havin’ a sale right now! It’s definitely the time to buy.)