As this post publishes, I am either en route or just landing in Mumbai for a 3-week trip across India. I’ll be blogging and Instagramming from the road (follow along at #TSPofIndia). But first, I have one more non-India-related post in the queue. Today, we’ll be addressing the category of clothes I can’t seem to shut up about: athleisure wear.
Specifically, Tory Sport — Tory Burch’s foray into what is quickly becoming an overheated category.
Tory Burch is best known for her ubiquitous $225 logo ballerina flats and penchant for preppy attire and interiors soaked in a 1970s Howard Johnson color palette. (Think orange and turquoise.)
But Tory is placing big bets on the athletic arena — the company fired 100 employees in mid-December order to free up some capital to further invest in the athletic category.
I don’t own a single Tory Burch item, but I was still curious to check out the Tory Sport line. If anything can make me a convert to a brand, it’s a well-designed pair of leggings. (For example — I had never owned anything by Mara Hoffman either — but look at these adorable bird leggings!)
So I am sorry to say that I disappoint you… but this line is not good.
Like this $110 T-shirt:
Staggeringly boring patriotic colors. Cheesy slogan striped across the sleeve. Random, useless pocket protector-esque detail. At best, this is the kind of shirt you get for free at a regatta. A worst, this belongs in the Tommy Hilfiger clearance bin circa 1998.
This outfit is much better. That said, the model looks like she’s been sponsored by NASCAR.
Although you can’t go wrong with a classic turtleneck, the price is still wildly inflated, considering you can buy a cashmere sweater at Athleta for the same price. (The Tory version is a cheaper, less luxurious fiber.)
Uggggggh. The stretchy skirt is an atrocity — like if Adidas collaborated with Brooks Brothers to expand into corporate suiting.
Behold! This is the first — and likely the last — pearl-crusted sneaker in existence. I get that Tory doesn’t want to compete with Nike, but this shoe is not even on the same plane of existence as the rest of us. I actually kind of like it — in that jodie-laide/ugly-pretty kind of way — but it’s more appropriate for a resort collection than a sportswear collection. the good news? It will probably be on sale in 2016!