Woo-Hoo, the Exercise Dress Is Here to Stay
Last summer during the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale, I tried the Outdoor Voices exercise dress, a fitness fashion that, at the time, I didn’t quite get. And it was then that I realized that the exercise dress is actually really cute. I left the store without it though because I had no clue where I would wear it. But a few days later, I ordered it online because the list of uses for an exercise dress just kept growing in my head. And guess what, I ended up wearing it a lot more last summer than I would have expected.
Where?, you may ask. To exercise, yes. To play tennis, yes. But also to my kids’ camp visiting day. To a picnic in the park. To a casual brunch with the kids. To run errands around town. And I’d also wear it to an amusement park, for a walk on the beach, to go site seeing on vacation, on a trip to the zoo with the kids, to garden, on a walk with the pup, and all of the uses I am showing you in this post. So you see what I mean. There are more uses for the exercise dress than you may originally think.
The reason the exercise dress is so versatile is its construction. Most styles have the built-in underlay with shorts for total coverage. Because of this, I feel way more comfortable and secure in the exercise dress than in any other type of dress. It’s also super flattering. Amazingly, this dress looks good on all body types and brings out your feminine, sporty style— my favorite kind of style. And the moisture wicking, performance fabric makes this kind of dress ideal for hot weather activities, whether you are working out or just hanging out. If you need something that is easy, breezy, comfortable and flattering, shockingly, it’s the exercise dress that will satisfy all of the above.
The Outdoor Voices Exercise Dress is the original. Outdoor Voices made the dress wearable for activities beyond the tennis court. At first, I wasn’t quite sold on the idea. But their original Exercise Dress is so flattering that you want to make it work for whatever uses come to mind. Since their first dress style (the “Exercise Dress”), Outdoor Voices has added to their dress category. They now have five adorable exercise dresses to pick from— The Volley Dress; The TechSweat Move Free Dress; The Cross Back Dress; The Exercise Dress and The Court Dress.
I absolutely love The Volley Dress.
One of the main reasons that I love the Outdoor Voices dresses is the fabric. Their dresses are compressive enough to hold you in at the right places but somehow are totally movable, allowing you to “do anything in a dress”, as they like to say. The fabrics are very lightweight and moisture wicking so they are ideal for a sweaty workout, a run or just enjoying a hot summer day. The fit is somehow made for high impact but extremely comfortable for when you are not jumping around in it. I’m telling you, their dresses are truly the best of all worlds!
The Outdoor Voices dresses also have the most flattering silhouettes. The length seems to hit at just the right spot to be cute but covering… even on my tall, 5’10’ self.
Since I already own the OV Exercise Dress, I wanted to try a new style this spring. I went with the Volley Dress because I love the v-neck style… as well as this color, Sea Green. While this style is quite low cut, I feel 100% secure and would not need to wear a sports bra under it, even for high impact exercise. I love the built-in shorts that are part of all of the OV dresses. The shorts have two pockets to stash your racquet sport balls or your lipgloss, phone, keys and cards. The fabric used for the Volley Dress is called SuperForm and is made for “high sweat and high impact”. Oh and it also has UPF 50 protection!
When I put on the exercise dress, I just feel like having fun. The dress style itself is playful. It’s flirty. It allows you to do it all while feeling confident and comfortable. So that’s why I just want to bring all the fun when I am wearing an exercise dress… yeh, even twirl a hula hoop around my waist (which I haven’t done for well over a decade… and it shows!).
The exercise dress is the solution to what to wear for any and all activities when you want to look cute but also be supported. I’m all about that easy transition from the gym to the rest of your life. Replace the sneakers with wedges or sandals, add some bling, and your exercise dress can take you to lunch with the girls or a day around town, all while looking polished and put together.
How cute is this style from Madewell!
Since Outdoor Voices’ successful exercise dress, other activewear brands have followed suit. In fact, I found an exercise dress on the website of all of my favorite, go-to brands (it was hard to pick which ones to highlight for this article). This was not the case last summer.
This adorable lavender dress is from Madewell’s active collection, MWL (“Make Weekends Longer”). Wanna talk about a flattering fit, this dress just makes me feel like I can take on the world, and look adorable in the process. You should have seen what that text said!
The fabric used for the Flex Cut Out Fitness Dress has all the things -- 4-way stretch and moisture wicking -- and is also made from recycled materials. This always amazes me when the fabric is so damn soft! What you don’t see is key here. There is a built-in shelf bra with removable cups. There are built-in bike shorts under the dress that have many pockets for all that stuff. And there is an adorable key-hole cut out on the back that makes this dress my #1 pick for style.
Coming in a close second for style is this dress below from Abercrombie.
Talk about feeling polished, the YPB Sculpt Lux Mini Dress is almost too stylish to sweat in. This dress is all about the flattering fit and comfortable sculpting fabric. But for me, I was sold on the two-toned color blocking (though it comes in solid colors, too). I also love the side slit, which you don’t need to worry about because of the built-in bikers. The top offers great support and coverage, with a built-in bra and adjustable straps.
It doesn’t get putter than this dress.
What’s even better— this dress is on sale this weekend! Let’s par-tee!
I love styling this dress with a preppy, sporty zip from Club & Court. But a denim jacket, a loose, cotton sweater or an oversized button-down would also look really cute with this dress off the course.
Pickleball is another great opportunity to sport an exercise dress. For when the traditional tennis dress is just too stiff and boring for the game that has everyone dinking and drinking.
This one from Athleta has a high neckline for excellent coverage and to highlight those strong shoulders that will, at the right time, demolish your opponent.
Did someone say Pickleball? Well, I got the perfect dress!
Athleta offers tons of tennis dresses, as well as everyday dresses, but this one is a great combination of both. The skirt is the most full out of the dresses that I tried, which might get in the way for some activities. But it also allows for more coverage if you so desire. While there are no built-in shorts or bra on this one, there are benefits to adding separate shorts (like using the bathroom). The Ultimate Shortie or the Salutation Stash 5” Short from Athleta will work well under this dress.
While Athleta markets this dress for “commuting, travel and work”, I would also add exercising because its PowerVita fabric is sweat wicking and supportive.
A few of these dresses are on sale right now so it’s a good time to give this trend a whirl… or a twirl. And of course, let me know what you think. I’ve included affiliate links in this post so you can easily click and shop. I will earn a small commission if you make a purchase using them, but no worries — this is always at no additional cost to you.