I cant afford to go to a gym but i do alot of walking in my neighborhood. Normally i wear a wife beater, sports bra, and either sweatpants or shorts. Im dont like when people stare at what im wearing but at the same time im more concerned with comfort then what others think

I do like workout clothes to be somewhat stylish. I am not into brand names - I care about the feel of the fabric, the fit and the colour. If I like it, I will buy it. I could not stand to exercise in old baggy T-shirts, I found it totally counterproductive. I wear gym pants and a racerback tops, and I am quite happy. Recently, I splurged though and I purchased a pair of Zumba pants and now I am thinking of buying pair # 2 ..... in bright orange!

Kaplods, how did I not notice this earlier??? You are in Wausau? I'm in Eagle River! I go to Wausau for "big town" shopping - LOL - which, as far as I know, has nil for athletic clothing.

Kohl's athletic wear is affordable and seems to last long.

Since my profession is in fitness, I spend more on workout clothes than the normal Joe. I appreciate the quality and longevity of the more quality clothes. Lucy, Lululemon, horny toad, patagonia, northface, underarmor are all brands you will see on me at any given time.

Here's what I like the most, though: Pants that won't pill, that sit comfy on my hips, that have a wide, sewn in band at the waist that won't turn, and that wide band can conceal my ab skin from my 4 kids. And shirts that flatter my hard work.

I think that's key. When you get to a point where you're truly proud of your hard work, reward yourself and show it off. One of the women who's lost 130 lbs started to wear athletic clothes instead of baggy sweats. Yeah, she still is over weight. Yeah, she has the skin flaps. So WHAT!? I wanna hug her when I see her celebrate her accomplishments by wearing cool athletic clothes. I know she feels great. That is what counts.

Hey Neighbor!

I'm just starting to fit into off-the-rack sizes again (and the shopping bug is starting to hit), but I still rely on mail-order, mostly Redman owned stores like Roaman's and Woman Within (and their all-in-one site, OneStopShop.com and outlet/discount site BCOutlet.com).

I hate that all the ready-to-wear tops in my size are so short. I prefer tunics at least 30" long so that they camouflage my stomach. Most tops hit me at the biggest part of my stomach which makes me look like a cartoon character (Humpty Dumpty or the Tweedle twins from Alice in Wonderland).

I am getting excited about shopping more now that I have better odds of finding what I like. I love thrift and consignment store shopping best of all though because I hate paying full price.

What I dlove about shopping for plus sizes in second-hand stores, is that the plus sized (when I find them) are in great shape. They rarely look like they've ever been worn - probably because most plus-sized women are like me. When it comes to donating clothes, I usually end up donating only clothes I've never or nearly never have worn, because if it fits and is comfortable, I wear it to death.

As a result, the only clothes in my sizes in the thrift shop tend to be in beautiful shape. There's not a lot in my size, but what I do find is AWESOME.

Unfortunately (with the economy, I'm assuming) the clothing prices in second-hand shops have skyrocketed. I can find better prices on BCOutlet.com than in the local Goodwill.

My workout clothes are insanely worn down. I haven't gotten new ones since my highest weight so they're pretty big on me (the pants at least)! I have a pair of black spandex pants that I think I could probably pull up to my chin if I wanted to (I'm not kidding here..). However, my shirts are all from my pre-pregnancy days so they actually fit pretty snug, but I prefer that because then I have a pretty good reminder about what I need to work on!

I'd love to have a really cute outfit to workout in but we simply can't afford it right now (hopefully in a couple of months!). I'm pretty sure one of my pairs of workout pants is about to fall apart any day now but I'm trying to squeeze every last bit of use I still can!

In general, though, I definitely prefer the spandex ones that whisk away sweet. Comfort is the key for me.

I'm really surprised by most of these answers. I almost always wear a baggy cotton T-shirt that was free from somewhere and spandex shorts to the gym. At home I wear less. Most my workout shorts are left over from my high school rowing days - I realize they're not fashionable but I don't care! I don't go to the gym to notice or be noticed by others so I just choose my clothes for comfort and utility. And I'm really frugal/cheap so I won't buy new clothes if I have decent ones to wear in my closet.

If I think I look good, I feel good. So I try to wear nice, flattering clothes to the gym. I don't feel comfortable in tanks so I usually just wear Under Amour tops with black Adidas or Nike capris and jacket. I feel like it's the most flattering on me and I can move freely without worrying about things jiggling. I also like to wear them for the Dry Wick capabilities.

I'm pleasantly surprised by the answers in this thread!

I usually wear old shorts, sports bra and a tank top. But, you guys have given me the shopping itch. I'm going to go out looking for workout clothes today!

I have found some really, really cute stuff at Old Navy, Walmart, and some of the outlet stores. Currently I am wearing a yoga tank with a shelf bra, and coordinating capris. The top is white with a grey print, and the capris are black with a foldover waist with the matching grey print. They are the Danskin Now from Wal-Mart...I think I paid $20 for both pieces. They are cute, comfortable, and they also double as comfortable clothing on days when I am at home doing yardwork, cleaning house, etc. I don't just wear them for working out! I don't spend a lot...but I like to have 2 or 3 nice workout sets.

Yes, and Yes--I do now. I used to wear any old thing to the gym. BUT after buying some cute, inexpensive workout clothes from Old Navy, Marshall's, and the outlet mall, I realized that I actually worked harder at my zumba class, LOL! So....it's cute gym wear for me from now on! Now, that being said, I certainly don't obsess about it and as long as it is clean and fits, I'm good to go. I will say that it is nice to see a smaller, more fit me in the mirror at the gym when I am lifting weights. OH and it HAS to be the moisture wicking material...especially for zumba.

I just spent some $$ on cute workout clothes (for home or around the neighborhood, I don't belong to a gym right now) but this was a HUGE deal for me, because when I started I could not find anything cute in a plus size. Plus size workout clothes really don't exist, for the most part.

I now can wear normal sizes, and I love it. I went to Kohl's and bought a couple of Fila outfits and an addidas one. This was a huge confidence booster. I do use the old T-shirt sometimes but I find them annoying for Jillian Michaels' videos that I do on occassion. I need something more snug fitting. It seems like the plus sized activewear is more "loungewear" style. I love those wicking shirts and only found one in a 2xl when I started in July of last year.

This recent shopping made me feel rewarded for all my hard work. Plus, my husband likes the new stuff, and watches me work out, LOL!!

Me too.

I wonder if people's responses correlate to what they wear at home for comfort, when they're sick, and what they wear around town.

For me, I've always tried to dress nicely, but not over do it "to the nines".

On Sunday, I was trying hard to ward off a cold. I spent the day in sweats and no make up laying on the sofa watching tv- AND I was with my bf!!!! This was highly unusual for me!

So maybe that correlates to how I like to look nice at the gym, too. Then again, that's where I work, so I always try to look professional. And it being a small town, I try to look good when I'm out and about because it's a reflection on where I work, IMO.

I would love to wear some really cute workout clothes but unfortunately with my chest and abdomen I cannot wear anything that is form-fitting. I usually wear t-shirts and shorts and I look forward to the day that I can wear something more sporty.

They do, they are just harder to find. Junonia has a TON. A lot of times you can find Junonia much cheaper on eBay:

http://www.junonia.com/thumb.htm?tl=...8&Search=&CP=7