Fresh off of this past Tuesday’s consumption resolution, I’m happy to feature Girlfriend Collective, founded by Ellie Dinh. So let me start this review by saying I’m no leggings expert. I don’t live in them (well I hadn’t in the past, though that’s not as true nowadays). I only really wear them to do yoga and I don’t believe leggings are a substitute for pants. But so far I’ve tried quite a few and these are just some of my opinions of the Girlfriend Collective Leggings and how they compare with some of the other ones I’ve tried.
Well first of all, let’s talk about sizing. I’m usually a size 6, or 28/29 in pants in jeans and I’m a medium in the high rise compressive leggings. They fit well without being too snug and they don’t roll down at the waistband. And I like that they’re loose enough in the crotch area so that there’s no camel toe. Overall these are a very comfortable pair of leggings (as all leggings should be lol). I got the 23 3/4” inseam since I’m 5’4” but with short legs, and I feel like they’re the perfect ankle length on me. I could go with the 19.5” one if I wanted a more cropped length.
Now let’s talk about the fabric. It’s 79% recycled nylon and 21% spandex, which is very close to the 80% nylon and 20% spandex of my Lululemon Align Pants (my favorite leggings for yoga before all my direct-to-consumer legging purchases). However the Girlfriend leggings are muuuuch thicker and feel so more substantial than the Lululemon ones. So even though the fabric makeup is pretty much the same, the GF leggings are like triple ply while the Lululemon ones are single ply. The GF leggings are so much better on many fronts: better quality, made of recycled materials, ethical manufacturing, and better price. They are the clear winner when it comes to this comparison.
Ok, so how do they compare with Outdoor Voices leggings? The OV textured compression leggings are 86% Polyester and 14% Spandex (the polyester on these make them less stretchy and less soft). The OV leggings will hold you in more because it’s made of a stiffer fabric, however if you’re looking to do serious exercise in them I wouldn’t recommend them. The OV textured compression leggings are best left for “hikes” (like in the Hollywood Hills) when you want to look good (while not breaking a sweat lol). I would also not want to lounge in these because the stiffness of the fabric means less comfort. Meanwhile if you do want to sweat, the OV Tech sweat leggings (which is the pair I have) is made of 72% Nylon, 17% Lycra (aka spandex), 11% Polyester. They’re much more like the GF leggings with slightly less stretch because of the polyester. But the Tech Sweat is still comfortable enough to lounge around in. Of the two, I would go with Girlfriend leggings because of their use of recycled materials and ethical manufacturing.
Wearing Mate Sweatshirt here
Now how do they compare with the Everlane Perform leggings? These leggings made of 58% recycled nylon and 42% elastane (aka spandex) is the most different to the Girlfriend leggings in my opinion. The Everlane leggings are more compressive but a much thinner fabric. The Girlfriend leggings are thicker but with a smoother texture. Both are equally comfortable to lounge around in. I find I have very minimal VPL with the Everlane leggings but not so with the Girlfriend leggings, which I think is due to the difference in compression. If I’m doing yoga I prefer the Everlane leggings because I find it less slippery (I can get a good grip when doing tree pose or attempting crow pose). Both Everlane and Girlfriend leggings are made with recycled nylon, ethically manufactured, and reasonably priced. So I think when choosing between the two, it comes down to whether you would prefer thicker leggings and cuter color choices (then go for Girlfriend leggings). If you want a thinner material, are ok with one of the three colors available, and want some grip doing yoga then I would go with Everlane. Since both leggings are relatively new to my collection, I can’t tell you how they wear over time and washings. But I’ll be sure to update this review with that info later.
Also I wanted to add here that (even though GF no longer sells them and probably because of what I’m about to say here) their wash bag to catch plastic microfibers is complete crap. I tried it out and saw zero fibers. With the guppy bag I do see a noticeable collection of fibers during the first wash of leggings. The texture of the GF wash bag feels like a basic nylon bag and I’m not sure how much science went into this wash bag. Anyway they must have known it wasn’t great because they stopped selling it, but I wish they had stopped before I spent $18 on it >.<
But if you’re in the market for a good pair of multi-purpose leggings, one of my top choices is now Girlfriend leggings. Can’t wait to get a couple more in cute colors! For other legging-lovers, which are your favorite brands?
Update: please read the comments below for some great info about these GF leggings and sweat stains. Admittedly I have not sweat in these (I don’t go running in them and haven’t tried hot yoga with them yet) but thanks to Lindsay for letting me know that only black and navy GF leggings won’t show sweat stains. Also thanks to Insta-friend szweird for letting me know that GF leggings can have problems with the side leg stitching. Here are some of her pics with the stitching unraveled after a year of use.
P.S. Kristy has written a similar blog post about leggings here (love the little graph she made).