Women’s Activewear Collection from Bench. Canada
What It Is: A new activewear collection for fitness and yoga. The Bench. brand is available in Europe, USA, Canada and Australia.
What You Might Not Know: A British-born line that originated as city clothing and street style, Bench. (yes, the period is supposed to be there after the word “Bench”—it’s not a typo) has branched out to multi-purpose attire, including activewear.
Feelin’ the Love: I usually don’t think of this brand for fitness clothes, so I was feeling curious when I stopped in at a local Bench. Canada store.
Their selection of fitness and yoga clothes for women isn’t huge; I had trouble piecing together an entire matching outfit with what was left in stock. But I did find the overall collection to be well-made and appropriate for more than just Millennials (I’ve always associated the brand with teens and 20-somethings).
Bench. Canada offers the usual array of activewear basics: black leggings and solid tanks that are longer than most workout tops.
In addition to the basics, Bench. Canada also offers more unique-looking items, like the funnel-necked layering jacket I found with feminine-shaped back and side hems.
At the gym, this warm-up jacket performed nicely because of its weight: Substantial enough to shield you from chilly air conditioning as you’re just getting warmed up, but not so thick as to feel heavy during a cooldown.
The leggings I got performed well during cardio and lifting weights and are a good length for my average height (5’5″), hitting at just below my ankles. I think I like them best for yoga, though, because they’re so soft and slightly thick (and not at all see-through). I’ve worn them for running and found I had to keep yanking them up at the waist.
If I Could Change One Thing: Bench. Canada seems to have the workout-pant category well covered with lots of styles and fabrics to choose from. I’d love to see more variety in their selection of workout tops and tanks. They offer a lot of cotton-blend tees with Bench. logos, which probably aren’t particularly performance-minded for activewear.
Should You Buy It? Have a look, but don’t expect to be bargain shopping. The pricing is similar to or perhaps a little less than other popular fitness brands (around $69 for leggings and $99 for the zip-up jacket).
If you’re shopping online, it helps to know your size in Bench. Canada clothes as some items seemed to have a scaled-down fit.
Available at Bench. Canada stores and Amazon.
