One of the things people ask me about most often is activewear, so I’m forever on the lookout for new activewear options to share with you. Naturally, I was very excited to find out that Nike has expanded their range to include more plus sizes. I have been a fan of Nike shoes for a long time (I currently have two pairs on the go) and have straight size friends that swear by the quality of their Nike training gear, so to finally be able to get that quality gear in plus sizes is pretty exciting.
THE RANGE:
This range is in line with what we’ve come to expect from Nike – quality training gear that focuses on performance and comfort while still being chic and quite stylish. There’s lots of monochrome and the classic Nike tick branding. Talking about fit, and designing for plus size women, Nike’s Vice President of Women’s Training Apparel Helen Boucher said,
“At Nike, we consider both the art and the science when we talk about fit for women.
With science, we take into consideration three areas. The first is the physiology of the body shape. Second, the form of a female athlete’s body in motion, specifically focusing on the six core moves that make up all training activity [pull, push, lunge, squat, bend and rotate]. The fact is: all movements are linked and are dynamic, often going from move to move, sometimes in repetition, and sometimes with weights. And third, the environment, as in where she is training: the surfaces, the temperatures.
With the science in place, art follows in how we flatter the form, which for every woman, is made up of curves. Fit is the most important and artful aspect of celebrating her curves.
We know that body weights are distributed differently for everybody and as we look at plus size, there is more variance. A woman is often a different size at the top than on the bottom.
When we design for plus size, we aren’t just proportionately making our products larger. That doesn’t work because as we know, everyone’s weight distribution is different. We fit every garment on everyday athletes since elite athletes may have different muscle mass.”
It sounds like they have put a lot of thought and research into designing a great range for plus size bodies, and I for one can’t wait to try it out for size.
THE COST:
One of the biggest gripes in plus size fashion is that we are often charged so much more than our smaller counterparts. I’m happy to report that the price of Nike’s plus size offerings are in line with what they charge for their straight sizes.
Nike Power Legendary Tights $110 | Nike Pro Hypercool Capris $100
Nike Plus Size Range Size Chart / via Nike.com
THE SIZING:
I’ve been told that at this stage, the plus size range won’t be available in stores in New Zealand, so it’s important to know what sizing is like in order to be able to confidently make an order online. Nike has labelled their plus sizes 1X-3X, but what the heck does that mean? I’ve come to learn that sizing is arbitrary and a 1X is one brand does not necessarily equal a 1X in another brand, so I’ve compared the Nike size chart against the size charts of a couple of other brands that are very popular in New Zealand to give you a better idea. Kate Madison from The Warehouse and City Chic are two of our well known brands, so I’ve chosen them to compare to.
Nike 1X = Kate Madison 18-20 = City Chic S (16)
Nike 2X = Kate Madison 22-24 = City Chic M-L (18-20)
Nike 3X = Kate Madison 26-28 = City Chic XL-XXL (22-24)*
With all three brands, the size chart is based on the measurements of the body size it is designed for, not the measurements of the garments, which means some pieces will be a looser fit and some will will be more fitted. Nike advises that if one of your measurements is on the borderline between two sizes, order the smaller size for a tighter fit or the larger size for a looser fit. If your measurements for hips and waist correspond to two different suggested sizes, order the one indicated by your hip measurement.
*Bear in mind that the Nike hip measurements run small compared to City Chic, this is most noticeable in the 3X.
As part of their launch, Nike have teamed up with UK bloggers Danielle Vanier and Gracie Francesca to promote the line (shot by JKG Photography). This is exciting for two reasons: firstly, it means that we get to see what it looks like on bloggers whose style we know and love – we can see how they wear it, how they style it. Secondly, it means more diversity in terms of body shapes and sizes that we get to see the Nike plus size range on!
I am really excited that Nike is recognising that we come in all shapes and sizes, and offering their range in plus. Whether you’re practising yoga, going for a walk, playing sport or going to the gym, this is a collection that caters to many different kinds of athletes. I can’t wait to watch it grow (and of course, pick some up for myself). You can shop Nike’s plus size range here.
Are you excited about the new Nike plus size range?
Let me know which pieces you’d like to try!
I would love it if they brought out a golf tee too. It would be nice to look the part on the course.
A golf tee sounds like a great idea!
I so want….all of it, but, I’d settle for the pink running top and the breathe training top and…… 🙂
The pink running top looks so comfortable!
Nice to see they have not just added the black, but also some nice coloured leggings etc. Just getting back into fitness again, so might splurge on some stuff – wish I could try them on first, hopefully they have a return’s if they don’t fit and postage isn’t massive. Never ordered of them before online.
Hey Jackie, if you go by the measurements on the size chart you should get a good fit! Returns look like they are pretty easy, you can get the details for that here.
This is sooooooo awesome! One of my biggest non scale victories was being able to buy Nike training gear but I’m so pleased to see they are opening their range up to plus sizes, it should be a given!! I love my Nike gear the best too. This gives me more motivation to buy their stuff if they are being more inclusive, lets hope they make is available easily in NZ.
Isn’t it great!? I love that they recognise that people come in many different sizes, and the one thing we all have in common when we are working out is that we want pieces that are comfortable and supportive – no matter what form of exercise we do and what our goals are.