The newest Zumba gear

Just this week Zumba introduced some new pieces to their fall collection. They posted about it on Facebook and Google+ and when I saw this I got just a little excited. Oh boy! New goodies to peruse. I check Zumba's shop once or twice a week anyway, just in case they decide to be sneaky and launch something without posting about it. Hey, it's happened.

Zumba recently redid their sizing charts, but historically, when a piece of clothing sells, the last two sizes left behind are XS and XXL. Everything in between always goes first. Prior to the Great Resizing of 2013, Zumbawear ran small. That was a fact and I learned to compensate for it. The first pair of cargoes (the ones with the silver ribbons) that I ever bought were a large. At the time, I was generally wearing a medium in all my every-day clothes. I'm a short gal you see, so as far as length goes, these were a little much, but they have the elastic built into the ankle for people who want to pull up one leg (or both) so I just tightened that a little and it was all good. They presumed that anyone buying a large would be tall. Not so much folks. I was making it work for me, but I think the Zumba-nation had something to say about it all. Now their clothes run a bit more true to size, a medium is really a medium. Having said that, I still don't know who exactly is supposed fit into the extra small. Near as I can tell, it's meant for teens and tweens...really small ones...

So all my excitement earned me an amused look from Bry. Something along the lines of: "Here we go again..." I wrote a whole post about it, but I want to reiterate: I'm lucky to have a husband who is so supportive of my passion for Zumba. This is the man that got me cargoes last Valentine's Day, so he knows about Zumbawear. He looked over my shoulder at my computer screen as I browsed, and listened as I commented on the things I liked and didn't like.

Me: I really like these legwarmers.
Bry: You can't wear those with cargoes.
Me: I know. I'm trying to decide if I like them enough to buy tights to wear them with.

Forgoing cargoes in lieu of tights? I never thought I would even consider something like that.

The legwarmers come in two colors, "Love Me Lime" and "Back To The Fuchsia". I think these are pretty cute, but I decided that I needed to gather some other people's opinions. My friend Tay (who is well on her way to becoming a Zumbafreak in her own right) also really likes these but not any of the pairs of tights. She suggested I just go buy tights at a department store. Hrmm, practical advice; and budget-conscious. Of course what that means is that I will now have to go to various department stores to see if I can find a pair of tights that I like. It will be a hardship, but I'll struggle through... Heh.

A couple of other things from the new releases also caught my eye. One was a tank top, the other a bag. I love (LOVE) bags, but I'll start with the top. It comes in three colors: Sew Black, Love Me Lime, and Cut N Paste Purple. I don't know where they come up with the names for colors... On the other hand, I used to go to class dressed in brown. So I probably shouldn't scoff. I digress. Here's the top:

It says "Feel the music" on the front. I'm definitely going to get this top, it's just a matter of which color. I like the purple one a lot, and my first instinct is to buy it because I don't have anything quite that exact shade of purple whereas I do have something in that lime...and I have plenty of black stuff. What's stopping me is that I don't have anything besides black that will work with it. The model wearing the purple shirt has on a pair of the new pink cargo capris introduced this week, and while I have wanted a pair of bright (and I mean neon bright...) pink cargo capris for a while, I was disappointed to find that the new style doesn't have any ribbons. No ribbons? Can you even call them cargoes if they don't have ribbons...?
Apparently, but it means I'm not going to buy them. The ribbons make the pants! Come on people, everyone knows that... And it's too bad too, because they have a most excellent pattern on the fabric that I like. At least with the lime top, I know I already have stuff that will make a good outfit. My friend Don says she thinks the lime is fresh and modern, whereas the purple/pink combo has been around for a while. Good point, and worth considering especially since I was on the fence with the purple already. This will take some deliberation as I still have birthday gift card money left and I don't want to waste it.

On to the bags! I have been wanting a Zumba bag for a long, long time. A fashionable one, something that I could get away with using as an every-day bag if I wanted to. Zumba has been known to sell them in the past but most recently, all they've had are these drawstring bags. Don't get me wrong, these serve a purpose, I have a black drawstring bag by 31 that I carry my stuff for class in, it's just that if I used a bag like that as an every-day purse, it would look very obviously like a gym bag that's being re-purposed. Not so chic if you know what I mean. These two on the other hand... I just cannot decide. I love them both but how can I justify getting two? I can't really... I sought Jae's opinion since she's the aficionado on all things brightly colored. She said she liked the pink one, but the slate one is more versatile for an every-day bag. I guess I knew that deep down, and I'll likely wind up buying the slate one, but that doesn't stop me from wanting the pink one too. And by the way, the pattern on the bags is the same as the one on the newest "cargoes". I am totally doing air-quotes right now even though you can't see it.

I've actually had my eye on a utility tote that I saw on Amazon back in August. When I start teaching my own class this January at my church, I'm going to need something a little bigger than my current dance bag to carry my stuff in. When I got a good look at the stereo in the room I'm going to be using, I saw that it's actually a CD/cassette player. Yeah...I said cassette player...and no plug-in for for my Windows phone that has all my music on it. Therefore, my plan is to bring my own equipment. I have a speaker/sub-woofer set already that used to be attached to my old desktop computer. It's been collecting dust in a closet for about a year. I cleaned it off and it works really well with my phone; excellent sound. But I need something sturdy for carrying it back and forth and that's where this bag comes in. That model sure is enjoying that bag, isn't she? So you can see why I probably shouldn't get two of the other kind. We've all heard the phrase "Everything in moderation." and this is just going to have to be one of those instances; love me some bags, but I'll restrain myself...kinda.

Best advice: When buying Zumbawear and gear, do so -thoughtfully-. You're spending money on something very specialized and unless you're a teacher full time, with classes every day, this stuff isn't likely to be worn more than once or twice a week. Or unless you just like going out in your Zumba clothes I suppose... Not that I've done that... Heh. Okay, yes I have.