If there’s one item in my closet that got a lot of use last summer, it’s the Outdoor Voices Exercise Dress. The breezy, lightweight garment is as comfy as it is cute, and the built-in shorts are très bike-friendly. It’s a notorious OV fan-fave, so when I heard that the recreational-apparel brand was gearing up to launch its second-ever dress, I was stoked to put it to the test.
World, meet the Athena Dress, inspired by the brand’s bestselling Athena Crop — a compressive tank that pairs a chic high neck with supportive racerback for everyday wear. (I love the top so much, I own it in three colors and have worn it skydiving.) The breezy dress features the same collarbone-skimming neckline and textured, mid-weight compression fabric that Outdoor Voices leggings acolytes will know and love, and comes in four colorways: black (spotted on me above, on a walk with my pup), white, pink, and navy blue.
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The dress ran pretty true to size compared to other OV pieces I own (I’m an XS), and for testing purposes, I wore it both with a bra and sans to get a feel for the level of support. My verdict? The techy fabric and supportive construction are pretty friendly to the free-boobin’ lifestyle, but if you’re going for a jog or doing a more high-impact workout, I would definitely recommend arming the girls with additional support in the form of a sports bra or bralette.
Now onto the differences between the Athena Dress and the Exercise Dress. The first is a lack of lining — which makes the new style approximately 1,000 times easier to go to the bathroom in. Second, the mid-weight compression fabric of the Athena Dress is denser than the airy LightSpeed material that makes up the Exercise Dress, so it’s ideal for the current transitional temps. Lastly, the newcomer retails for $88 — $12 less than its best-selling predecessor. Neither are inexpensive pieces, but their versatility is well worth the price tag, IMO. In sum, the Athena Dress is put-together enough to be its own outfit for quick errands or an outdoor coffee, and layers perfectly under a light jacket or fleece for cooler moments. It also plays nice with bike shorts and a sports bra for extra coverage and support when you decide it’s time to get sweaty.
Click here to shop the Athena Dress now, before it goes the way of the quick-selling fellow-frock that came before it — and get ready to start doing things in spring’s most versatile piece of athletic apparel.
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