In every line of clothing there are always a bunch of accessories that match the clothes and round out your look. One nice thing about the accessories though is that they don't just match the clothes from the current line. Most of the time, most of the accessories will match what you -already- have in your closet too. In that respect, you get a nice little bang for your buck. Accessories have ranged from bandanas and bags to phone covers and temporary tattoos with just about everything in between. One accessory you can always count on Zumba to release with every clothing line though, is bracelets and this time is no exception.
* Bracelets ---
These bracelets are 100% silicon, and they are latex-free. After wearing a few different styles of bracelets to Zumba (bangles, beads, etc.) I figured out why this style of bracelet is so commonly found in Zumba's store. Beaded bracelets are heavy and they slide around when you get your merengue arms going. Bangles are are light, but they too slide around and while I admit that they look kind of cool that way, bangles are not especially durable. Twice I've worn them to class and come home with more than one oval because they bent. That's right, bent! Silicon bracelets are soft and flexible and easily pop right back into shape. They are lightweight and they don't slide much because of the texture of the material. Basically, the perfect bracelet for Zumba. The ones you see here are -all- from the newly released Gold Collection.
This is the Oh My Gash cuff bracelet. It too is made from 100% silicon. It is black with gold accents so you can see that it is designed to go with the Gold Collection. However, the cutouts are similar to the "cut up" look that was the theme of a previous clothing line which means this bracelet would coordinate very nicely with pieces from that collection as well. A cuff is not my cup of tea, as they say. Because I am short, large jewelry always looks out of place on me, it's a proportions thing. But on someone tall, or even long-limbed, this would look pretty rockin'.
Here we have the R-R-Remix Bandana Wrist Wrap. It's 100% rayon and it has little charms on it! Four gold rings, one gold bell, and one gold signature logo. The charms are very hard to see in the picture, in fact the only one that shows is the logo charm. If you want to get a better look, click the link on the picture to go to the Zumbawear shop. They have a zoom-in function on their product shots. I have to tell you, I am tempted to get this just for the charms; in spite of how wide it is. Like the cuff, it wouldn't look quite right on me as a wrist wrap. I am really curious to see though if it unrolls into an actual bandana. No word on that yet, but I'm going to keep checking to see if anyone posts a product review.
*Head bands/wraps ---
Headbands from Zumba are by no means a new thing, but this one, called the Pomp-It-Up Headband is considerably more versatile as you can see. A headband, a wrist wrap, an armband, and...I'm not sure what you'd call the ankle one, I think it's too big to be an anklet... I know I'd call it a tripping hazard personally, but then I've never claimed to be the most coordinated person in class.
The gold things at the ends are little bells. They look cool, and I know people like them, there's no denying that
they add pizzazz to an outfit, but I personally find that any noise I
can hear competing with the music throws me off a little. On Halloween, I wore my new ZIN tags and they were sooo noisy. I wound
up tucking them inside my sports bra just to keep them quiet. I'm pretty
sure they were distracting others too, I noticed one or two questioning
looks in my direction...
* Scarves ---
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| Scarf in "Back To The Fuchsia" |
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| Scarf in "Blue But Bright" |
Zumba has not done a scarf in quite some time, and the last one I remember was more of an outwear kind of scarf; as opposed to a fashion scarf like these. These are the To Infinity Scarf And Beyond. Infinity scarves are very trendy right now so it's hardly surprising that Zumba chose to include some in their latest clothing line. I really like these a lot, and here's that blue color I've been eying. If I bought this, I likely wouldn't wear it to class, I think it would make me too warm, but I'm pretty sure I could find something in my closet it could go with for every-day use. I just might have to put this on my "maybe list" with the purple wrap jacket and the black instructor tank...
* Socks ---
Zumba being part of the fitness industry has certainly sold plenty of socks before. They've even sold some this tall in the
past. These remind me of socks I've seen runners wear for marathons with their theme outfits (although I don't think these are compression socks). These are pretty cute, but too tall for me personally for athletic use. Again, I think I'd overheat.
* Gloves ---
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| Gloves in "Love Me Lime" |
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| Gloves in "Cut N Paste Purple" |
Gloves... I really wondered about these. They are purely a fashion item. They aren't weighted at all and while the description says they're lined, I'm not sure how durable they would be as far as wearing to use on the gym machines. I had a pair of fingerless gloves once upon a time, that I used when I was a member of one of those 30-minute express type gyms. They helped me grip the handles on the machines, but they they also took a beating in the process from the friction. So, while these do make a fashion statement, I'm not sold. These are definitely not for me.
* Bags ---
Zumba almost always has some kind of bag as part of every collection. In this case, they're offering this utility tote as part of a gift set. Alright people, let me tell you when I saw this in the shop I began to question my purchase of that black/pink utility tote...you know, that one I
packed for East Lansing? I shouldn't have, that was a knee-jerk reaction to seeing a brand new bag and I just love love love bags! And hey, when they say "Zumba" on the side written in gold, I love them all the more. I was all, "Ah man, I just bought the other bag... Why did I do that?" The answer is that I -needed- a utility tote and the truth is, I like the black/pink bag better as far as both style and colors are concerned and if both were side by side and I could only get one, I'd still buy the black/pink one. Buuuutttt... That one didn't come with bracelets, a towel, and key ring! *sigh* It's okay, deep breaths... When I really stopped and considered the entire set, I realized that all I really want is the key ring. That on its own is not worth $40.00 (pre ZIN discount). So I'm going to drool over the picture, but I'm going to save my money and have faith in the fact that there will be other key rings down the road. A word on the bracelets: if you look closely at these and compare them with those in the other pictures, you'll discover that this grouping is not made up from those other bracelets but is actually unique and specific to the Sweat My Zwag Gift Set.
*Shoes ???
One major question on everyone's mind when it comes to accessories is, "Where are the shoes?" There haven't been any new shoes in a while, and the general consensus from the Zumba Nation is that we're due (ahem, overdue...) and yet, so far nothing. That's especially disconcerting in light of this photo that's been making the rounds on Facebook and Pinterest.
Here's Beto Perez, the creator of Zumba posing with the
Foil Me Once Long Leggings and...a black and gold high-top sneaker! So many people want this shoe, and I can understand why, it's very striking. So with a teaser like this, it's understandable that people are asking where the shoes are. All I can think is that maybe we'll see them in time for the holiday season coming up. Just like with the key chain, I have faith that the shoes are coming. Who knows what next month will bring right? It's Zumba and they're full of surprises!
Best advice: Give new things careful consideration. Think about whether it's really worth it to you to have that brand new
X . Like me with my bag. I love that black/pink bag, and when I stopped and took the time to thoughtfully consider it, I realized that I didn't really want the new one and that I was happy with the one I already had. As I browse the Zumbawear shop, I add things to a "maybe list" which is -not- a "purchase list". All it means is that I'm willing to consider thinking about possibly getting that item. Did that make sense..? Adding it to a mental "maybe list" does -not- mean it's a done deal.
*I am not affiliated with nor compensated by Zumba Fitness, just an interested shopper and Zumba-lover!
If you're like me, you got up early this morning after staying up late last night. Or maybe you're one of those extra-hearty souls who never went to bed at all! I was up until about 12:30am last night. Rumor all week long was that Zumba was going to be doing a Black Friday sale. Then, yesterday morning, I get a nifty little "Happy Thanksgiving" email from Zumba which included an ad for their sale. Yay! The rumors were true! Hooray! Of course, rumor also had it that Zumba's Black Friday sales have typically caused massive slow-downs, even crashes, on their site due to the increased traffic. Basically, the advice was: If at first you can check out, try try again! I already had an idea of what I wanted and I was in and out with my two things by 12:08. Though it did take me three tries to get one of the items into the cart, so the scuttlebutt was right about the traffic issues. So why was I up until 12:30am if I was done with the sale by 12:08? Because I monitoring my washing machine. I wanted to make sure our oldest son's extra sheets and PJ's got into the dryer in case they were needed in the middle of the night (they were...at about 3am). Oh the joys of a sick child. Anyways, what were my two things?
