Cute, affordable workout clothing similar to lululemon??
 

I have a few lululemon pieces and I will admit that both the quality and fit is absolutely incomparable to any other workout clothing that I have tried, but of course the prices are far beyond what I can afford for gym clothes (the pieces I have I received as Christmas and birthday gifts). Now don't get me wrong, I'm not going to the gym to look like a perfectly coordinated princess brand w*ore, but I do like to have cute, unfrumpy, colourful workout clothes to wear to the gym because I find that a cute workout top is a huge motivating factor for me. I know that a lot of people will say "just wear old baggy clothes to the gym", and I'm not judgmental of what other people wear at all, but it's just that for me personally I do find that a nice outfit makes a huge difference in how comfortable I am at the gym. Sometimes I find fun yoga-style workout clothes for really cheap at Costco and/or Wal-mart, but their quality is so poor that threads are falling out of the tops and the pants have holes and are losing their shape after only a few intense gym sessions. So my question is, can anyone suggest some cute workout clothes that is sort of mid-range between lulu and Wal-Mart?? I can't afford to spend the 90$ for a lulu top, but I'd like to spend more than the 15$ a top costs at Wal-Mart, assuming the quality is decent. Something in the 30-50$ range would be awesome. I have thought about buying some "gently used" stuff on ebay, but I've never done any ebay shopping before so I am hesitant about whether or not I'll really be getting a fair price and what the condition will be like. Any thoughts? BTW, I am in Canada, so USA chains like Target do not exist here, but I am fine with online shopping if the website ships to canada. :)

JCPenney has cute workout clothes, especially when I can catch them on sale. Target does too...they don't ship to Canada?

grneyedmustang, they probably do but the shipping costs may be crazy. I know when I wanted to buy an $18 dress from Torrid in Seattle (it was on sale, yay), the shipping costs to Vancouver (a mere 2-1/2 hour drive) was $45 not counting duty and taxes. I could drive to Seattle and back (almost) on $45 worth of gas.

alicia, I found some really nice stuff at A&E (Addition Elle). Even though Addition Elle is a plus size store, they start off at size 12 or 14. I'm not sure what your size is but if it's around there, it's worth a look. One of the set of yoga pants has lasted through several years; and I like to wear them on laundry day or whenever I want to be comfortable. They're not as expensive as Lulu and not AS nice as their stuff, but they're better than Wal-mart.

Other than that, you could try Sears or The Bay. They might have some nice stuff. I don't fit into any clothes other than Penningtons and A&E so I'm not 100% sure of that.

Sorry if this isn't all that helpful :S

Target does not ship to Canada at all. JC Penny does, so I will definitely check out their website.

Rainbowgirl, don't worry, that was very helpful - thanks! I totally feel you on the shipping/cross-border shopping issues. That was even what I was finding browsing lulu stuff on ebay. There seemed to be plenty of cheap, "gently used" items available but they were mostly from sellers in the US and they were asking 19.95 or even 29.95 for international shipping! There is actually an AE in the plaza across from where I work, so I'll probably check them out. My guess would be that I'm probably getting too small for a 12 (the jeans I'm wearing right now are a 10 and they're not super snug), but there's no harm in trying something on and seeing if it fits! Bay/Sears is a good suggestion too. I know that department stores usually have a decent selection of exercise wear and bathing suits and lots of brands, but for some reason they never come to mind when I'm thinking of where to buy stuff. I'll drag my mom along because she has a Bay discount card, lol! :)

Zellers has a workout line called Sportek that is very affordable. I cannot attest to the quality of the line though as I have not purchased anything other than the basic sports-bra. You can view a few pieces on the Zellers website.

Joe Fresh (Superstore) also has a line of Lulu inspired workout clothing that are reasonably priced.

Torta del burro, lol, my gym is actually inside Loblaws Superstore, but I never thought to look for workout clothes at Superstore. Our Loblaws actually only had a Joe Fresh clothing section added to it very recently, like a few months ago, so I've never checked it out before, but now I definitely will. I will take a look at Zellers as well when I am at the Bay and Sears. Thanks very much!

Do you have any sporting goods stores near you? We have Dick's, Sports Authority, EMS, and Modelle's. I like EMS. They have good stuff and often have sales/coupons. The chain sports stores seem to have a decent selection for not bad prices.

I'm in Canada and buy a lot, if not most of my workout clothes at Winners... They have all the name brands, Asics, Nike, Sugoi, Adidas, in tops, shorts, capris, long pants, you name it, they also have Columbia... I like the Costco brand too and have also found Mexx brand at Costo... I don't like the stylel of WalMart stuff at all, but I do have a pair of pants that I wear at home all the time I've had them for years and they still have a good shape to them and the seams are still good too, although I don't like the style of them...

lululemon.com has a "we made too much" section. They are temporarily closed as they renovate their online store but I have found nice deals on there in the past. It should be back soon.
I also shop the sale racks in my local lulu store and have found decent deals. Do you know someone who's a personal/group fitness instructor or dance instructor? If you do, and they would go with you, they get a 15% discount on their purchases.
The city I live near has also had a warehouse sale in the past. I stocked up there with alot of half price items. You can find out more info about that on the website too.
If you're not opposed to used items, you could try kijiji or, facebook has a group called Lululemon Exchange with new and used for sale or trade.
I have tried many other brands and have always gone back to lulu for it's quality and style.

I have some really great yoga/workout pants and tops from Old Navy. They hold up very well in the wash, and I've found them to be comparable to much more expensive items from specialty sporting goods brands.

IDK about the shipping costs, but nothing says "running" for heat zones or cold zones like Under Armour http://www.underarmour.com/shop/ca/en/womens

Thanks for the additional suggestions everyone! I actually love Winners. Have gotten some awesome steals on brand-name jeans and stuff like that there, but I don't think I really looked for workout clothes there before so will have to do that asap. I have heard about the lulu warehouse sales but they are all in the toronto area (I'm living 3 hrs from toronto at the moment), however I do have family there so I could always do a well-timed visit to coincide with one of the sales. Thanks everyone! :)

I live in New Zealand so I'm no help ..... although I looked on their site ..... what beautiful stuff!!! ... but pricey! (that would be too much for me even in NZ$$$) ....

Hope you can find some good deals :)

I second tne lulu website "we made too much" section. I have accumulated q total gym wardrobe from there over the past few years, right down to bras! The prices are competitive with winners and shipping within canada is free. :)

I will admit that i have a small countdown going as to when the site is reopening!!

la senza also has some decent work out stuff!