Fab Clothes for Active Kids – ivivva athletica

Even though the summer’s only half over, I’m already planning for the new school year. My daughter will be starting full-day school soon and it’s important to get ready with clothes that will move with her and stand up to her active day. But, if you’ve ever shopped with an opinionated six-year-old, you’ll know how much of a challenge it is to find clothes that both of you like!

So when we were given the opportunity to shop for back-to-school active wear at Yorkdale’s new ivviva athletica store, my daughter and I were over the moon!

If you’re not familiar with ivivva, it’s the little sister of activewear rockstar lululemon athletica. (Cool, right?) Using all of the same high quality technical fabrics as lululemon, the clothes are made for – and designed with input from – seriously active girls. (I love that!)

When we arrived at the store, we were greeted by Jen, who happily showed my daughter around and helped her find the perfect look. While they were shopping, I took the opportunity to browse the store.

First off, I noticed how freakin’ cool the store is – from the cool light fixtures and fun wallpaper to the Xbox 360 Kinect (for siblings to play with while you shop) and even a pet fish – they have done a great job of making the store an inviting place for kids and adults alike.

Next, I noticed their amazing product selection. I was very impressed with the wide array of fun colours and prints on display; I’m a sucker for great fabrics and the ivivva lineup did not disappoint. The displays were eye-catching, with clothing grouped by type (i.e. dance, yoga, run, etc) with a few familiar features you’d find in a lululemon store, such as the “pant wall” (shown below). I’m also a huge stickler for details, especially when it comes to garment construction and quality, and in my opinion, the ivivva line gets two thumbs up. From their legendary 4-way stretch luon fabric, to the hidden coin pocket in the waistband of their pants, and emergency hair elastic cleverly disguised as a zipper pull, they have thought of pretty much everything! The cut of the ivivva garments is generous, too. Arm length is usually an issue for my daughter who is very tall for her age, but she found the ivivva jackets to be long enough… with even a bit of room to grow.

After trying on three complete outfits, consisting of bottoms (capris or shorts), athletic top and jacket, my daughter decided on her favourite – an Everyday Anywhere Tank in a fun floral print, a Routine Jacket in bright yellow, and a pair of Rhythmic Crop pants (shown below, right). But, let me tell you, this was not an easy task; she loved everything she tried on, so it was a miracle we made it out of there without half the store in our shopping bags! In fact, she loves her new ivivva clothes so much I’ve had a hard time keeping them out of the wash. They launder very well, and look like new after several washings (I lay them flat to dry). If they’re anything like my lululemon pants, I know they will continue to look that way for a very long time.

Overall, I love the product selection, quality and versatility. I won’t lie to you, though – the price point is not exactly cheap, but the quality is worth it. The upside is that they are generously sized and will stand up to the rigours of any active girl; many pieces are also “flippable”, as my daughter called it (aka reversible), making them super-versatile. And I love that the ivivva athletica line is, refreshingly, age-appropriate which is becoming harder to find these days. (Out of everything I saw my daughter try on, there was only one item I wasn’t keen on… a pair of super-short dance shorts, shown in the middle picture above. Then again, she’s only six – and I’m a bit overprotective. 😉

If you’ve got a girl that’s size 4-14, you should definitely check out ivivva, a stylish and well-made line of clothing that is perfect for the active modern girl. You can find them online, on Facebook and Twitter.

Oh, and don’t forget to look out for some of the amazing classes they host at their stores (dance, yoga, etc). Follow your local ivivva store on Facebook and Twitter to get updates about upcoming events.

Many thanks to Jen and all the wonderful staff at the ivivva Yorkdale store for hosting us!

There’s More!

The wonderful folks at ivivva are giving away a prize pack to one lucky FFM reader! It includes the Village Chill Scarf, Back to Basics Headband ii and Drink Me Up H20 Bottle – a $52 value! Enter below via Rafflecopter. Open to Canadian residents (excl Quebec) only; ends Aug. 26 @12:00 am ET.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I
received complimentary products from ivivva athletica to facilitate a review. No other compensation was received. As always, I only write about products I
personally believe in and like.