Girlfriend collective Leggings | medium, made from 79% recycled micro polyester (from approx. 25 water bottles) and 21% spandex and manufactured ethically in Vietnam
I’m not going to say I’m an expert in performance-wear leggings, but over the last 5 years doing Pure Barre I’ve tried and bought my share of leggings. Some very good, others bad, and even more just so-so. As you may imagine, I’m quite picky, and require my leggings live up to very high expectations and at least 1x/week wear to class. I have a separate activewear wardrobe and never wear the leggings I wear to class anywhere else, so I don’t expect them to do “double-duty” as casual wear and exercise wear, but I do expect them to stay BLACK, show minimal wear over time, not lose stretch, and stay put at my waist.
With that in mind, I don’t usually buy leggings I haven’t had experience with before, or can’t try on in person, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try these ethical & sustainable leggings from Girlfriend Collective for just $19.95 (the cost of shipping from Vietnam, where they are manufactured). I received them last week finally and have worn them twice, washing in between wears. I LOVE them. Truly love them. I didn’t expect to, honestly, but I do.
Some detailed notes:
- I really prefer matte leggings. These are NOT shiny, but they’re not as matte as I like either. They’re not matte like Alo’s airbrushed leggings (which I also love), for example, but at least they’re not shiny or cheap-looking in any way.
- They are VERY high waisted, which I like, but on me, they come WAY up, and fold over when I sit down, or do foldover in class, or any work on the floor, so I will sometimes have to adjust a little changing position. It’s not as bad as with some other high-waisted leggings I have though, so no big deal. And I have an abnormally short waist, so there’s that.
- There’s a small pocket inside the waistband which is pretty useless for me. It would hold keys and a credit card or something, but I need a pocket to hold my phone.
- All leggings are long on me, but these are shorter in length than most. They hook just under my heels, which is perfect for Pure Barre, and I don’t have to scrunch them up a few inches at my ankles. LOVE that. (my inseam is about 26.5″, I am 5’3″ tall)
- They bunch up a little behind my knees, but most leggings do that on me because of my larger calves/legs. This is why I like a very matte legging; it makes those creases less noticeable.
- The medium fits very well, and is just the right amount of compression. My favorite leggings are the ones that hold me in, and are tight, but not uncomfortable, and these are now my second favorite.
- These are a very nice mid-to-heavyweight legging. I wouldn’t wear them to the Platform (cardio) class, but they’re good for regular Pure Barre, and would be great for yoga or weight lifting. They would work well for running in fall/winter, but I wouldn’t want to wear them outside in summer!
- They have a cotton triangular gusset so no need for undies, and they wick away sweat beautifully.
- These leggings are wonderfully opaque. Of course, as I mentioned above, I don’t wear separate underwear with them, so I don’t know if you can see light-colored underwear underneath, but I’ve not noticed any peek-a-boo in class as we stretch in front of the mirror…
So, I love the fit, and the compression, which is a priority for me when I choose which leggings to buy for Pure Barre, but of course, I also appreciate the company’s ethics and use of recycled polyester. I’ve tried other leggings made from recycled polyester and wasn’t impressed, so as I said above, I wasn’t expecting to love these as much as I do, but I really do. I’m thrilled now to be able to recommend a pair of excellent basic black leggings that are sustainable, ethical, AND are just as good (or better) than more established performance brands.
Sadly, they’re no longer available for $19.95, or at all. They will be launching again as part of the company’s spring line and will be $70, which is very reasonable for high-quality, sustainable performance wear. I don’t expect to need another pair of leggings for Pure Barre again for a very long time, but when I do I will absolutely buy a second pair of these. And I’m interested in seeing what they add to the full line.
Who else got a pair of Girlfriend Collective leggings? What do you think?
ooo….i just got the notification that mine are on the way, now I’m really excited to get them! thanks for the review!
I have enough workout bottoms I like so I haven’t been using these for that. I’ve been using these as a base layer or alone with dresses/skirts. They are pretty darn warm which is great for Chicago.
Yes! I gave them a try and LOVE them too! The compression is so nice and they even work fine for my casual office setting when paired with a cute dress or tunic. Super comfy and love the ethics. Looking forward to seeing their future offerings!
I haven’t gotten a notice yet that they shipped, so hopefully I’ll get mine soon! I kept waffling between the medium and the large though. My hips are 40-41 inches around at the widest point so I bounce between medium and large depending on tight pants are. I ordered the large because I thought these might run small and I didn’t want to be a stuffed sausage in the mediums. Did y’all find that the sizing was accurate?
my hips are about 42″ – I think the medium would have worked fine for you, but that depends on how compressive you want them to be i guess.
I should be getting mine this month! So glad you reviewed these, I was wondering if you snagged a pair. Do you feel like the high waist can be comfortably worn folded over at all?
no, because it really narrows in at the waist/under the ribcage so that it would be much too tight at the hips folded over, if that makes sense. unless you sized up.
My own pair arrived in September. I got the medium as well. When I first put them on I thought they were way too tight and were never going to work, but I read the note that came in the package about the leggings warming up to body heat and providing more give. So, I wore them uncomfortably for about 20 minutes, and sure enough, they felt so much better. The waist is super high and at first I thought it would be bothersome if I were doing an ab exercise, but it hasn’t been a problem yet. My only real qualms are: 1. They do bunch behind the knees quite a bit on me, which is a bit uncomfortable when I’m doing certain moves, but it’s not so bothersome that I’ve had to stop, but do require some adjusting; and 2. They’re much too thick for summer, so they’re going to be a cold weather legging only.
So glad to hear the positive review! Mine are on their way to me right now.
I love the way mine fit, and they really are opaque , but sadly after wearing them 2x a week to hot yoga classes for a couple months they have a gotten a little… funky. I use an Eco Washer (which doesn’t use detergent) but have washed them several times with baking soda and air dried and I can’t get the smell out. I will THINK I have, then wear them to yoga, and spend the second half of class all paranoid because they stink. When there is sunshine again I will try line drying them outside to see if that helps. It is entirely possible that I just loved them too hard. Or that I smell.
Would vinegar take out the smell? It shouldn’t bleach out the color.
So, was the $19.95 price just a teaser to get you to try them? They sound great, since Matte is a MUST!!! I must admit, I’m “workout leggings” challenged. 😉
yes! they were just charging shipping from Vietnam at first, to get people to try them and tell their friends 🙂
Thank you for the review as I had been wondering about this brand. I have a slightly shorter inseam but likely a longer waist than you do. I can’t recall if these came in a crop length (which is how I buy all my Alo and Lululemon leggings). I’ll stick to those as it sounds as if these might be thicker than Alo and Lululemon is so flattering on my shape. I don’t like my behind in Alo but prefer the thinner weight fabric at certain times (or as athleisure under a tunic or oversized sweater). Looks good on you G.
I just got mine. I like them. I don’t find them high waisted (that could be because I have a short rise so everything seems high on me, these are not particularly so) but they are a bit long (I have a 29″ inseam). I have also noticed a bit of uncomfortable creasing behind the knees, not enough to annoy me. I don’t know if I would pay $70 because I am super cheap about workout wear, but I was very happy to try them out for the cost of shipping! They are much nicer than my Old Navy compression leggings 😉