Sun, 07 Feb 2010 07:56:15 +0000

<

Workout attire ranges from classic sweatpants to designer activewear and the same goes for gym bags. A classic duffel bag can double as a functional fitness bag and they’re available from all your standard athletic brands (Adidas, Nike, Puma, Reebok…). There is also a whole segment of gym bags that are a bit more haute couture than your average duffle bag.

For instance, check out one of the newest brands on eBags, Physhion. Physhion gym bags are anything but duffels. They’re more like oversized luxury handbags. The Physhion Siren (pictured above) has a sophisticated style with clean lines and patent-like material with all the functionality you demand of a gym bag including gym pass holder, water bottle pockets, gym lock, and waterproof lining. Definitely what I would call a designer gym bag.

Physhion also offers a yoga bag with similar styling. The Physhion Mystic is a fashion forward gym tote that has straps on the exterior to hold a yoga mat. It also has a waterproof lining, gym pass holder, and other features that make it not only a designer gym bag, but also a practical one.

1154 LILL Studio doesn’t just make beautiful handbags. Their Susan bag is perfect for use as a fitness bag. Each lill bag is made from the finest designer fabrics yet they have features that you’ll find particularly useful for the gym including extra-wide opening, interior sleeve pockets, and easy wipe-off interior. This 1154 LILL Studio designer gym bag is made in the USA.

If you’re a guy looking for designer gym bags, check out the Derek Alexander Leather Sports Duffel. The soft leather is 100% top grain cowhide for a truly luxurious look and feel. Features include a toiletry organizer and a heavy-duty nylon shoe pocket.

“People are starting to listen to women they were told were the fringe,” says designer Rickie Freeman, whose Teri Jon fashion line will include size 18 this month.

Mall-based options for those bigger than a size 12 have been largely limited to specialty stores owned by Charming Shoppes —Lane Bryant, Catherines and Fashion Bug — teen retailer Torrid, and the remote and often-dowdy “Women’s” sections of major department stores.

Redcats.com, an online fashion retailer that specializes in larger sizes for women and men, has long seen that catering to plus sizes was a profitable business. Redcats is ranked 34th in sales on trade publication Internet Retailer’s top 500 list, ahead of far better known brands including Kohl’s, J. Crew and Coldwater Creek.

Madison Riley, managing director of retail consulting firm Kurt Salmon Associates, says stores and brands know they can’t just “dip a toe” into the plus-size market — they need to understand and cater to women with special fit requirements. Plus, larger women want a range of plus-size options where they shop, he says, not just a couple of styles to choose from. that will soon be the case.

Who’s doing what:

•Plus-size designer Gayla Bentley persuaded clothing manufacturer Daymond John and real estate magnate Barbara Corcoran to invest $250,000 for 50% of her company on ABC’s Shark Tank in October. her size 2 to 28 label will be in Von Maur department stores starting this spring, and she expects to announce another deal with a major department store any day. Bentley, whose clothes are already sold at many boutiques, NeimanMarcus.com and GaylaBentley.com, says she also has a deal in the works with a home shopping channel.

•Torrid, owned by Hot Topic, had double-digit growth in its online sales in the fiscal year that ends Jan. 30. The site sells sizes larger than the size 12 to 26 options in stores. Torrid President Chris Daniel says the brand caters to young, “curvy fashionistas” and has the “if you’ve got it, flaunt it mentality.”

•Abby Zeichner, owner of the size 2 to 24 fashion line Abby Z., is now selling her fashions on the online and TV shopping channel HSN and hosts her third shopping special on Feb. 9. Zeichner, who wears a size 16, laments that larger women seeking high-end designers are “lucky if there’s a size 12,” the others are “skinny-only.”

•Freeman expects the size 18s in the Teri Jon line to be offered soon at Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue and Neiman Marcus.

Stores often only buy one of each of the small and larger sizes in her lines, Freeman says, and two of sizes 8 and 10. But she says it’s her smallest and largest sizes that sell out first. Store sales clerks complain that they don’t have enough 12s, 14s or 16s, Freeman says, “but we don’t make up the ratio of what they carry.”

“There are a lot of tiny women and a lot of big women,” Freeman says.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last week that about 34% of U.S. adults — almost 73 million people — were obese in 2008, up from 31% in 1999. Obese is defined as about 30 or more pounds over a healthy weight. The CDC said 35.5% of women are classified as obese, and about 64% are overweight or obese.

The Teri Jon CEO says she empathizes with the challenges women face.

“No matter how much you exercise, you’re never going to be the same size you were 30 years ago,” says Freeman, who says she’s a “good size 10 on the bottom and a 6 on the top. … I have more issues now, too.”

Contributing: Nanci Hellmich

More retailers offer fashionable clothing for plus-size women