Disclosure: Last year, my most expensive clothing purchase wasn’t Supreme’s latest box drop or even the Travis Scott Jordan 1s with the googly eyes. In fact, Emma and I didn’t buy each other those things either because they’re INSANE amounts of money to spend on something you’re just going to wear around while acting like a toddler. Instead, I dropped $280 on this running jacket from a small Norwegian brand most of my friends had never heard of before called Norrøna.
Emma found the receipt on the ground when I left it there and did a complete double take. “You spent HOW much on workout clothes?” she asked, rhetorically. She had a fair point. Even 8 months and 400 miles running later, I feel silly spending that kind of dough on something you’re essentially just going to ruin with sweat and dirt.
Except I haven’t ruined it. Crap, I haven’t even washed it that much and it still looks 100%.
It kept me completely dry during Portland downpours that would have soaked through my other jackets, kept warm on those dreaded pre-sunrise jogs and best of all… doesn’t smell like shit. <img class=”size-full” src=”http://joewears.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/im1979_The_Athletic_Brands_Actually_Worth_the_Premium_Prices._5bfc81c8-a6b4-4f33-bd90-5fd5b06d425e_1.jpg” alt=”im1979_The_Athletic_Brands_Actually_Worth_the_Premium_Prices._5bfc81c8-a6b4-4f33-bd90-5fd5b06d425e_1″ /> Like I said, needless to say I was HOOKED on this jacket after growing tired of fast fashion athletic gear wearing out on me after a few months.
Drop $15 on a “performance” t-shirt at Target and after 10 wears you’ve got set-in sweat stains and a shirt that feels like sandpaper. But spend $300 on some fancy-ass jumper off the runway at Rare eye or Super Underrated, and you won’t even *want *to wear it to the gym because it looks too damn fancy. That shit doesn’t make any sense to me.
So I decided to figure out what athletic gear actually DOES perform better when you drop major coin on it, and what brands were just price-gouging us Supreme kids on polyester blends. We expect our athletic gear to do SO much for us. Get laundered in the shower?
Cheque. Machine washed and dried? Of course.
Be stuffed into a sweaty backpack or stretched beyond its limits in our downwards dogs? You bet. But we also expect it to look damn fashionable when we run errands because FORGING PAST YOUR “CLOSET” TO PUT ON REAL CLOTHES IS SUCH A CHORE.
We question why that $20 gym shirt from Gap ret wore literally falls apart after two months. I purchased, worn, and sweated in athletic gear for approximately 18 months. Bought expensive brand-name performance gear, picked up cheap equivalents, and worked out (read: sat on my couch looking cool) in all of it.
For the last half of that testing, I ran at least 300 miles, lifted more than I probably should have, and took enough yoga classes to know that I have the flexibility of a rusty dog. Half of my closet was dedicated to un-washed athletic clothes and smelly workout bags as I filled multiple notebooks with colour coded notes on every item I tested. <img class=”size-full” src=”http://joewears.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/im1979_The_Athletic_Brands_Actually_Worth_the_Premium_Prices._5bfc81c8-a6b4-4f33-bd90-5fd5b06d425e_2.jpg” alt=”im1979_The_Athletic_Brands_Actually_Worth_the_Premium_Prices._5bfc81c8-a6b4-4f33-bd90-5fd5b06d425e_2″ /> I saw the biggest difference in running gear. $68 Tracksmith Session shorts versus $20 Nike or Adidas shorts from Dick’s looked absolutely RIDICULOUS to me at first. But once I started breaking them in… hell naw.
Cheap ones got that nasty grey sweat stain you can never get out. Waistbands stretched out so much they’d autumn down your hips halfway through your run. And worst of all were compression liner shorts, because the cheap ones literally unravelled after like 2 months of use.
I can’t even fit my credit card inside the thigh opening of my Tracksmith shorts anymore. They still look brand new after literally 150+ miles. Performance clothing works.
Don’t feel like a sweaty mess because that moisture-wicking tech WORKS. Fits don’t baggy out after you wash them 8 times. And built in underwear aren’t uncomfortably tight.
Same thing happened with that Norweigan jacket. $280 is absolute insanity for what is essentially a windbreaker with the price tag of a Supreme hoodie, but so far I’ve yet to feel gross and damp like I would after running around in cheaper rain jackets. It’s breathable enough that I don’t feel like Im running around in a trash bag, yet blocks wind and rain so well. Every fitness shell I’ve tested that didn’t cost me $200+ fell into one of two categories: completely waterproof so they make you sweat like a sauna, or breathable but COMPLETE USELESS when actual weather decides to happen.
Full disclosure: Just because something costs a small fortune doesn’t mean the brand has your back. I’ve tried “technical training tees” that were $75 and have looked more.ret wore after two months than the $25 tees I have from Rhone. Yes, the fabric feels nicer against my skin.
But not THREE TIMES AS EXPENSIVE nicer. Gym tees hit a sweet spot at about $30-40. You’ll notice a huge jump in stitching and materials than your Target sweats, but don’t have to drop luxury prices for minimal improvements. <img class=”size-full” src=”http: //joewears.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/im1979_The_Athletic_Brands_Actually_Worth_the_Premium_Prices._5bfc81c8-a6b4-4f33-bd90-5fd5b06d425e_3.jpg” alt=”im1979_The_Athletic_Brands_Actually_Worth_the_Premium_Prices._5bfc81c8-a6b4-4f33-bd90-5fd5b06d425e_3″ />Athleisure cuts are where brands start charging you an arm and a leg just for their shirt-making technology.
Are those Japanese joggers from Some Random Asian Brand worth $120? Will they magically make you run faster? Or are they just slim cut cotton with minimal branding?
They look crisp. Fit great. Are just tight enough that you can actually workout and run around town in them.
But does that $120 price tag make them *that *much better than $60 pair of joggers? NOPE. Exceptions exist when athleisure brands like Lululemon take high performance fabrics from their running gear and make casual-fit clothes out of them.
Cheque out their innovative ABC trousers as an example. They’re constructed with exactly the same fabrics as their workout gear. 4-way stretch, moisture-wicking, etc.
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It’technically “athleisure,” but hey don’t see you wearing them to workout in… it makes sense those things cost a premium. Ten Thousand gives off next level energy. I’ve worn their Interval shorts through every type of workout imaginable and they STILL fit like they came off the rack.
No busted seams. Waistband hasn’t stretched out like my Target shorts do after two months. Pockets actually HOLD things.
Meanwhile I’ve gone through at least half a dozen pairs of generic Old Navy shorts in that time. One of the items that surprised me the most? SOCKS.
F*CK SOCKS. Who cares about socks, right? Wrong.
Once you run enough miles in every pair from those stupid 6-packs at Walmart to SmartWool’ because THEY ACTUALLY STAY UP INSIDE YOUR SHOE rather than sliding down into your ankle. <img class=”size-full” src=”http://joewears.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/im1979_The_Athletic_Brands_Actually_Worth_the_Premium_Prices._abf5fffa-ac76-489f-92d2-fe488c7e9bae_0.jpg” alt=”im1979_The_Athletic_Brands_Actually_Worth_the_Premium_Prices._abf5fffa-ac76-489f-92d2-fe488c7e9bae_0″ />Compression shirts/tights/leggings/etc. are hit or miss. Theres definite value in high-end compression gear if you ACTUALLY need that compression for your workouts. Brands like 2XU utilise technology that provides GRADUATED compression (more pressure on your calves, and less on your quads, for example).
That shit works. Does the average gym rat need that? No.
But if you’re a serious athlete training multiple times a day or need compression to help with injury recovery, definitely spend extra on that shit. Otherwise go for budget friendly brands that offer compression tights that work just fine. But if you’re going to be abusing your workout clothes?
Layer them. Spend extra on that pricey rain jacket. Sweat through your shirt?
Companies like Under Armour and Nike give you WAY better moisture-wicking technology. Hell, even just running around Portland in the winter rains for 45 minutes requires a high-performance jacket. Trust me, you won’t regret the money.
One last thing I’ll say about this: customer service really is everything. That’s why I’ll never buy cheap Nike shorts again. Emma bought me a $100 adidas shirt with a busted zipper and guess what we DID NOT do?
Return it to the store. We both would have if that was Lululemon or Rhone. Cheap clothes are meant to be disposed of because you CAN’T return a shirt that’s been washed 6 times and stretched out from wear..
Invest in high-quality gear that you CAN return if something happens, and those brands will take care of you. <img class=”size-full” src=”http: //joewears.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/im1979_The_Athletic_Brands_Actually_Worth_the_Premium_Prices._abf5fffa-ac76-489f-92d2-fe488c7e9bae_1.jpg” alt=”im1979_The_Athletic_Brands_Actually_Worth_the_Premium_Prices._abf5fffa-ac76-489f-92d2-fe488c7e9bae_1″ />TLDR: Spend money on athleisure you’ll be breaking in during harsh conditions. You think you’re going to be running in the pouring rain? Spend that extra on the good rain jacket.
You know you’re going to sweat through that shirt? Premium brands offer better performance. Hell, just running errands in Seattle winter requires some kind of moisture-wicking shirt.
Trust me. But if you’re going to the gym to look cool and only throw those clothes on when you run to the corner store…. why buy fancy clothes you’ll only wear halfway? Why spend Supreme prices on an athleisure shirt?
Holy shit my athletic drawer is anxiety inducing now. $15 polyester tees thrown in with $75+ running shorts. Cotton gym socks shoved next to wool ones that cost $25. The ONLY thing I cared about when filling my athletic drawer was PERFORMANCE.
How badly do I ACTUALLY need this piece of clothing to perform? I run enough that $280 jacket got way more than enough use throughout Seattle’s pathetic PNW winters to justify the cost. But I’m not going to drop $100 on Columbia’s lifting tees that I’ll rarely use. <img class=”size-full” src=”http: //joewears.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/im1979_The_Athletic_Brands_Actually_Worth_the_Premium_Prices._abf5fffa-ac76-489f-92d2-fe488c7e9bae_2.jpg” alt=”im1979_The_Athletic_Brands_Actually_Worth_the_Premium_Prices._abf5fffa-ac76-489f-92d2-fe488c7e9bae_2″ />So what did I learn from my 18 months of obsessive athletic wear research?
The <a href=”https: //joewears.co.uk/athletic-fit-vs-regular-whats-difference/”>athletic wear industry</a> is just as good AND bad as streetwear when it comes to nickel and diming us. Companies will charge you astronomical prices for hypebuild pieces with crazy ass marketing rather than actually spend money to make garments that outperform their Starter counterparts. The difference is athletic companies have to BACK UP their crazy performance claims.
And when they actually do, spending extra on athletic gear stops being a luxury and starts being…well, necessary. So next time you’re about to buy that $200 jumper knit workout shirt, ask yourself: Am I actually going to push this garment to its performance limits? Or am I just another hypebeast buying into brand/status?
If it’s the latter, put it back on the rack. You don’t need it. But if you answered yes to the above question?
Well…. Hey guy. I’m just like you.
Welcome to the Club. Now if you excuse me, I have to go convince Emma we should have bought two $280 jackets.
