May 08, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC I’m not super into trends. This whole high-fashion flip flop thing or platform sneakers? Uh uh. And when it comes to my workout clothes, especially, I like to keep it classic and classy—which for me means black leggings. I love a basic, high-waisted version; the most ambitious I normally get is mesh accents. So, color me surprised that I’ve fallen head over heels for an athleisure trend blooming this spring: pastel bike shorts. Bike shorts are already a polarizing trend. And somehow, I managed to skip right over wearing black ones—logically, the way to ease into the lewk—straight to pale blues, hot pinks, heathered grays, and light greens. My workout drawer looks like it went from Reputation-era Taylor Swift to TS7. Maybe I’m going through a period of reimagining, and my new aesthetic is part Hailey Bieber, part Princess Diana, with a dash of Cher from Clueless doing a Buns of Steel workout video with a flannel tied around her waist. How did I become this person? Is a softer, less jaded Allie emerging? Is it because there’s something freeing about wearing a trend that I know I should dislike, given my track record? The heart wants what it wants, and right now I want Crayola-hued bike shorts. Interest piqued, but not sure you want to go full Lady Di? “Start playing with different lengths to see what you’re most comfortable in,” says Ty Haney, founder and CEO of Outdoor Voices, which sells bike shorts
Category: Fashion
Neon shoes will light the way forward this summer
May 07, 2019 at 11:18AM by CWC As a kid, neon-themed school dances were my jam. Who can forget the American Apparel acid pink tights that made girls look like they were walking on highlighters? At Monday’s Met Gala, Serena Williams cast a shadow on the looks of electric-sliding middle schoolers everywhere with a pair of neon Nike x Off-White Air Force One sneakers peeking out from beneath her Versace gown. Meaning, love, 15, 30, 40… we’re all game for neon shoes. To be fair, the vibrant look isn’t exactly “new.” Neon had a moment in the summer of 2018 as well as in the otherwise bleak months of winter. But like all fashion breakthroughs, Williams showed us a new way to rock it. No, we can’t all go meet up with Versace for a who-knows-how-expensive custom design, but we can take our neon kicks into more formal settings. (You know, date night, dinner parties, and dance class.) View this post on Instagram #MetGala 2019. Co-Chair of CAMP. Thank you @versace for bringing camp to the carpet and @audemarspiguet for keeping me on time. A post shared by Serena Williams (@serenawilliams) on May 7, 2019 at 6:05am PDT //www.instagram.com/embed.js However you prefer to wear your neon—splashed on flats, sandals, or sneakers—we’ve got a standout #lewk you can add to your closet. At first, you might feel shy about sporting yours in public, but just remember, every glow stick has to be broken (in) before it shines. So don’t be
What’s in a work bag? A lot of things, including a message about your personality
May 07, 2019 at 08:07AM by CWC The modern woman has spoken, and she really can’t be weighed down any longer by the accumulation of S’well bottles, journals, or a packed lunch. In what’s perhaps the most functional throwback trend ever, backpacks are officially…back. According to market-research firm NPD, sales for the posture-improving carryall have shot up 28 percent this year, with proponents citing comfort as a main impetus (in conjunction with the rise in ubiquity of sneakers, athleisure, and the general pilgrimage toward self care). Of course, not everyone is ready to re-embrace the trend, back-to-school-style. I, for one, still come into the office every morning with a raw-red shoulder indent. Hey, old habits die hard, and I tend to live and breathe symbols of hyperfemininity, even when they’re problematic—like a classic shoulder bag that might as well be full of heavy stones, weighing me down and keeping me from reaching any ceilings including glass ones. (I know, I know, backpack offerings have expanded since the days of those monogrammed L.L. Bean numbers—and if anyone wants to gift me a sleek Gucci model, I’ll wear it. Until then, let me and my sore shoulder live.) But I digress. Amid this transitional period of the backpack renaissance, I looked around my own office and saw a veritable buffet of carryall options. On the continuum between my old-guard staple and styles so minimalist they could make Marie Kondo break out in song and dance, I quickly realized how many varieties exist. So,
The reason ‘vacation brain’ makes you want to up and move to paradise, stat
May 07, 2019 at 03:00AM by CWC I think it took, oh, 14 hours and two tomato-jam-slathered egg sandwiches before I decided we were moving away to Providence, Rhode Island. My significant other and I picked the vacation spot on a whim and fell head over heels in a forever way. Cut to: The two of us googling real estate options by a river, because uhh…honestly, eff our home in New York City, a sweaty, godless rat palace where dreams curdle and rent costs eclipse even the thought of first-born child. We’re never moving to Providence, by the way. I’m such a New York lifer that I’ve spent many a post-happy-hour blur weeping while just looking at the Manhattan skyline. My boyfriend is such a New York lifer that he wrote an entire album about—of all boroughs—Staten Island. But ever since we left [googles nickname for Providence] the Divine City, I’ve been wondering why so many of us delude ourselves into aggressively fantasizing about our vacation spots as a possible next home. Especially when going through with the change-up often just isn’t feasible in actuality. As it turns out, vacation brain leads many of us confuse leisure experiences with real life. “This is a very common dynamic,” says clinical psychologist Nancy Irwin, PsyD. “We tend to idealize places when we are catered to, are not working, are not cleaning or cooking.” It makes sense that we’d romanticize the places where we have fun—and for us, Providence was a blast. It
This 20-week training plan can get any runner through their first marathon
May 05, 2019 at 12:00PM by CWC So. You want to run a marathon. First of all, congratulations! Second of all, it’s time to get to work. The thought of pounding the pavement for 26 (.2) straight miles can feel nothing short of overwhelming, but with a proper routine in place, there’s no doubt that you can do it. If this is your first rodeo, a 20-week marathon training plan is a great way to make it happen. “The best candidates for a 20-week plan are folks who are training for their very first marathon, those who want a more gradual mileage buildup, those who are returning to the marathon distance after some time off, and those who can use help establishing some structure into their running lives,” says New York Road Runners (NYRR) coach Melanie Kahn. “The biggest benefit of a 20-week plan is more time to get a really solid foundation under you. Think of building a house for a second: the stronger the foundation, the stronger the overall structure of the building. The same thing applies in running.” Here, she shares everything you need to know so you can hit the ground running for the next 20 weeks. Literally. Plan your training Once your timeline is in place, it’s all about picking the proper plan—and there are a lot of options out there. The NYRR virtual training plan, for example, starts you out with four weeks of “base-building miles” in order to help you establish a solid aerobic base and
How to stretch your quads without getting off the couch
May 04, 2019 at 04:00AM by CWC One of my favorite places to be is on the couch. It’s where I read my beloved thrillers, re-watch The Office, cuddle up with my dog, and—as much as I hate to admit it—eat dinner on occasion. One thing I’ve yet to utilize the comfy piece of furniture for, though, is a solid “couch stretch.” If you haven’t heard of the couch stretch, it’s about to be a total game-changer for your body. A variation of a hip flexor stretch, it focuses on stretching the muscles that help you lift your leg toward your torso or fold forward. In doing so, you get some much-needed relief from being stuck behind a computer the majority of your day. “Hip flexor stretching—combined with hip extensor strengthening—is a good idea for anyone who sits during the day. While sitting, these muscles are often in a shortened position for long periods of time, causing chronic tightness,” says Stacy Dockins, yoga teacher and corrective exercise expert. “Since muscles work in reciprocal pairs, when the hip flexors are tight, the glutes tend to get a little sleepy. This leads to a lack of tensional integrity around the hip complex. Some muscles are over-firing and tight, while others are lax and stretched. This soft tissue environment creates an imbalance in the joints, which can eventually lead to pain and degradation in the sacroiliac joints, lumbar spine, and hip socket.” Aside from benefiting the hips, the couch stretch also helps out your
I found $15 sheets on Amazon so soft I’d be willing to pay $15,000
May 03, 2019 at 11:30AM by CWC Everyone in my office is always in hot pursuit of bargain brag. Whether that means scoring a $100 pair of leggings at half price, or getting two-for-one deal on platform sneakers, you better believe we’re just waiting for a compliment so we can say, “Hey, thanks! I got them for $____ at ____ ! Can you believe it?” Thanks the cheap bedding sets I scored on Amazon, I’m currently the reigning queen of the bargain hunters. Sliding between these sheets, part of the Jill Morgan Fashion Bed Set, feels like slipping into a bed-sized sweatshirt that’s been worn into unbeatable coziness. They’re sinfully soft. As someone who’s bought her fair share of cheap bedding sets, I know that’s not the norm. I’ve ended up with material that feels more like it belongs in a hospital than a five-star hotel. But my pal Jill Morgan has raised the bar. According to Amazon, the sheets are made of 100 percent microfiber, a synthetic that Tomorrow Sleep tells me will begin ripping after a few washes (challenge accepted). However, the material might beat out cotton when it comes to keeping a sleeper cool all summer long. “Microfiber bed sheets have a distinctly thin light feeling yet tend to trap stagnant air within the sheets,” says the online mag. (I’ll update come July when NYC feels like a swamp.) Perhaps one day, I’ll be able to do the quote, unquote “adult” thing and invest in a few
5 calf exercises you should never skip on leg day
May 03, 2019 at 08:39AM by CWC You’ve checked your abs and glutes off your workout list, but how about your calf exercises? They’re easy to forget about. Getting toned calves isn’t nearly as big of a priority for most people as working on those #bootygains. But considering keeping them strong is just as important for everyday activities like walking and climbing stairs as it is for playing sports, they definitely deserve more attention than they’re getting. Your calf muscles—which include the gastrocnemius (the large muscle you immediately picture when you think of your calves) and the soleus, which is located right underneath it—do much more for your body than you even realize. Keeping them strong helps to prevent injury since the muscles are responsible for flexing and extending your foot, ankle, and knee. Especially if you wear high heels on the regular, which can actually shrink your calf muscle fibers, causing pain and discomfort. Your calf muscles also help support your posture by stabilizing the lower body. The 5 best calf exercises, according to trainers Seated calf raises “I like this exercise because it primarily targets the major calf muscle, the gastrocnemius, which passes behind the knee joint. This exercise is great for strengthening the calf without high impact. It’s also good for rehabilitation for calf and Achilles injuries.” —Ricardo Rose, trainer at EverybodyFights How to do it: Start seated with your leg at 90 degrees. You will focus on a single side. Grab a dumbbell, making sure the weight
4 ways to style your leggings, because TBH, who wants to wear anything else?
May 03, 2019 at 06:45AM by CWC By a show of hands, who loves the feeling of hanging out in workout leggings on the weekend, whether you’ve worked out or not? Guessing that all the hands are shooting up right about now. Okay, by another show of hands, who rocks those same leggings come Monday at the office? Thinking that hands are hesitantly resting in laps right about now. I, like many of you probably, have harbored a deeply engrained fear of wearing leggings in scenarios that don’t involve the following: working out, pretending I’m on my way to work out, grocery shopping, or ordering an iced matcha latte with oat milk (yep, I’m that girl) To be honest, it wasn’t until very recently I started embracing the idea of styling my leggings outside the above mentioned activities—likely because I couldn’t find my favorite pair of skinny jeans one rushed morning—and the last minute improvisation had me hooked. So in honor of May’s fickle warm one day, cold the next weather, here are four easy outfits to recreate yourself, the next time you just need a little extra spandex in your stride en route to the office. Photo: Getty/ Plume Creative 1. Leggings + a sweater and boots This outfit started with the boots, which I think is the perfect way to revamp how you look at your leggings. Paired with an oversized oxford shirt underneath a slouchy sweater, the leggings have just the right proportions going on so you don’t
Underwire? I don’t know her. This bra is my B cups’ new BFF
May 02, 2019 at 11:52AM by CWC Last night, I did the unthinkable and slept in my bra. Anyone with boobs is intimately familiar with the irresistible compulsion to tear off your bra Hulk-style by 8 p.m. at the latest. But not this time. Not since the invention of memory foam mattresses has human flesh felt so held, so completely snug. Underwire? I don’t know her anymore, thanks to my discovery of the world’s most comfortable bra. Chantelle’s Soft Stretch Padded V-Neck Bra Top ($54) is wireless, clasp-less, and has all the function of a sports bra with the soft caress of a bralette. The garment also eschews the ultra-utilitarian aesthetic of many other options out there that don’t feel like—well—cages. At the risk of sounding like a 4 a.m. infomercial, the 18-hour period I’ve owned this bra has changed my outlook on what my chest deserves to feel. Quite frankly, I think I’ve found my B cups’ one true pairing. When I slid Chantelle’s design over my head yesterday afternoon in Well+Good’s bathroom (what? I couldn’t wait!), I said to myself quietly: “Oh, we are sleeping in this tonight!” As a current graduate school student who sometimes doesn’t crawl into bed until midnight on week days, the idea of not having to remove my bra before escaping beneath the covers felt like a beautiful, beautiful luxury. Although this is only secondary to comfort in my opinion, the bra also looks perfectly normal under my shirt. I’m totally incognito. I left