Thank goodness for athleisure wear. It’s the only fashion trend that has ever made sense.
In case you don’t know, it’s defined as casual and comfortable clothing designed for exercise and everyday wear. Like many women, I’m always searching for the perfect pair of workout leggings that will fashionably transition to my daily errands. They can’t be see-through, gap at the waist or have too much compression. The length needs to be just right.
Because I’m a gym rat and run seven days a week, I have a huge assortment in different colors, patterns and styles. Leggings are like shoes — you can’t have too many.
It used to be that women needed a perfect black dress. Now, with the athleisure trend, women need black leggings as a wardrobe staple.
Recently, I was gifted the perfect pair of black leggings. They hugged and compressed at all the right places and felt great. They were placed at the top of my leggings drawer as my favorite go-to pick for the gym.
So, I know there are many great legging brands. However, this brand is something special and worth mentioning with Memorial Day around the corner.
The brand, Born Primitive, is local and patriotic. It was founded by Bear Handlon and Mallory Riley from their garage in 2014.
While in Navy Officer Candidate School, Bear said he took an old pair of compression shorts and had them modified into the company’s first prototype. Eventually, those shorts became the company’s first product. The company quickly grew as it focused on a line of performance fitness apparel.
Eight years later, the Virginia Beach-based fitness brand is sold worldwide.
Born Primitive has over 1,200 fitness/athleisure products. The best sellers for women are leggings, sports bras and joggers. For men, workout shorts, joggers and jean shorts are the most popular items.
The company’s mission is to be athlete-driven and patriot-inspired. “We have always said that we have to do more than just make apparel. We have to stand for something,” said Bear. “Giving back to veteran and first responder charities has been a priority for us since day one.”
To date, Born Primitive has donated over $1.1 million to charity. They mainly contribute to the following four veteran charities: Navy SEAL Foundation, Tunnel to Towers, Best Defense Foundation and Adaptive Training Foundation. The brand has a variety of collections where a portion of the proceeds goes back to the charity. Last year on Veterans Day, the company donated 100% of its profits from sales to charity, which totaled $75,000 in one day. Additionally, over half of the salaried employees are made up of veterans and first responders.
In honor of Memorial Day, shop a local company that supports those that serve our country. You can follow the latest athleisure trend while being patriotic. Of course, patriotism should always be in style.
Go to bornprimitive.com to see their collection.
Lee Belote, jlbelote@verizon.net
