Previously I have written about Lounge Underwear which is definitely an Instagram brand and luckily it did live up to the hype that has been created through every single influencer (other than me,) collaborating with the brand. The thing that enticed me into trying the brand was their Birthday Sale and that was exactly the same for Gymshark. Recently Gymshark did a Summer Sale and that was the main reason I finally decided to try the brand. The sale was up to 70% off but only select items were 70% off. However, before I get into all that, I want to share my assumptions of Gymshark.
About Gymshark
Prior to shopping on Gymshark, I knew very little about the brand other than every single influencer I follow has spoken about them and has received free items to talk about. Clearly it works because based on seeing people like Fashion Influx and In The Frow wearing Gymshark outfits I paid attention to the brand. One thing I do want to point out is that a lot of them do not wear it out of choice, all I'm saying is keep an eye out for what they are wearing when they actually work out, is it Gymshark or is it another brand? I see the items often but it only seems to be when it is a paid promotion, do they not wear these items when they aren't being paid to talk about them? Anyway I had been eyeing up the brand for a while through seeing it on Influencers and also simply because I liked the designs.
Unless I buy it online, I really struggle to find cute workout clothes. I am a runner and I do not like a lot of the work out clothes I see in stores but I loved the Camo set and the Fleur sets on Gymshark. I have to say before the sale I had never looked at the website and I did not realise the true extent of the range. I was browsing all of the items during the sale and previously I thought they just had about 4 different styles but they honestly have such a variety of products. I was pretty impressed by the range and I found myself liking a lot of the items but if I can take a moment to be critical, I have a negative perception of the the brand in general, due to who they use as influencers and also because of some of the things I have heard about the brand.
I have no idea where or why I heard this but a rumour I heard was that someone was kicked off of being a Gymshark ambassador due to not having a perfect body and the 'athletic' body shape they look for. I just want to point out to Gymshark that if this is true, workout clothes are for everyone, athletic or not and maybe you should think about representing this within your models! Not only am I not big on the way they represent the brand themselves but also it is the connotations of the people who wear the brand. Whether or not it is the case, in my mind it is a lot of douchey gym men who wear Gymshark to the gym and try chatting you up by telling you they are a footballer whilst you are simply trying to order a drink in a bar, that type of twat. The brand does not seem to represent anyone but the gym assholes and that was not what I wanted for myself as I am a runner rather than a gym goer.
Whilst I had the chance to get a few items a bit cheaper I decided to put my prejudice aside and I purchased a couple of items from the brand to see if it is worth it and I thought I would share my thoughts with you today as, much like Lounge Underwear, it is hard to find a review which has not been paid for or that the reviewer has not received free items for. My review is completely unbias and I paid my own hard earned cash to receive these items. Lets get into my experience shall we and I have to say it didn't have a flourishing start.
Shopping
The sale went live at 3pm on Monday 3rd June. I was at work and I was busy working so I didn't get onto it as soon as the sale went live. It wasn't until about 20 minutes later when I was checking my social media that I noticed the tweets they had put out about the sale. I went straight online to see what it was about. In my mind I knew I wanted to look at the black Camo set and some of the Fleur sets as they were the two that had really stood out to me before the sale had even started. When it said that some items were down to 70% I expected this to be the dregs and for there to be nothing I liked and nothing in my size but it just so happened that the Fleur sets had gone down by 70%. I have no idea if this is because they are getting rid of it, I hope not because I stupidly missed picking up one item but anyway I instantly started to put some of it in my basket.
The Fleur sets came in a variety of colours and with so many different tops I instantly felt overwhelmed. The sports bras were only £6, the bottoms went down to £10 and most of the tops were around £7 so it was all really cheap. I really wanted some of the grey set so I put the sports bra, the long sleeve crop top and the bottoms into my basket. I decided to also get a different colour but I wasn't sure which one. I loved the look of the light blue, the pale pink and the brick red. In the end I went for the brick red as I wanted something pink but I thought the actual pink was a little bit light. Looking back I sort of wish I went for the blue because it is really cute but oh well, I am still happy with what I got.
After picking my Fleur styles I had a look through the different discounts quickly and I desperately looked for the Camo set. The Camo set had only been discounted by 20% so it wasn't a massive discount compared to some of the other sets. I decided that I would check out with what I had and then if I liked it I could perhaps go back for more. With everything I had in my basket, it wasn't cheap and I didn't want to buy loads to find out I didn't like it. With this in mind I did take a couple of items out of my basket and for some reason I took the grey Fleur sports bra out of my basket which was really stupid of me but now it is too late for that. I guess I just have to hope it will come back and I will just have to spend £20 on it instead of the £6 I could have spent.
The website was clearly busy but it wasn't too slow and it wasn't until I was checking out that I really noticed the traffic because I was put into a queue to check out. The queue literally only took a minute and once I was through, it was not slow and it was very simple to check out. It was basically exactly the same as the checkout for Lounge Underwear and Spectrum Brushes. I checked out and as I was checking out, it told me it could take up to 7-10 working days just for dispatch due to the amount of orders they expected to receive. I thought this might just be them covering their backs but nope it genuinely took that long.
Delivery
I swear to god I hope their normal delivery is not as shocking as it was during sale time or I do not understand how it would be a viable business. I have shopped during many sales: the Lounge sale, the Spectrum Brushes sale and ones for bigger stores and I have never experienced such a wait for delivery. As I said I assumed they were covering their back with the 7-10 days statement but it took 9 WORKING DAYS for my parcel to even be dispatched. I wrote the shopping and delivery portions of this post as I was waiting and I still had not received the parcel on 15th June. The worst part was that there was not a single update. I waited and waited and nothing came. When it got to around a week after I placed my order, I started to get worried and frustrated. Worried that I had placed an order with some dodgy brand and frustrated because I have never had to wait this long for an order. Considering they are a solely online business you think they would have prepared a little bit better.
I don't want to criticise their operation too much but surely you know there is a big sale coming up, maybe you get some more help to get people's orders out? In my mind they only had one person in the warehouse sending out orders and I can confirm it wasn't just me who was getting annoyed. I knew people in my personal life, and online, who had placed orders and no one seemed to be receiving any orders. I kept checking online and I also took to checking the Gymshark Help twitter to see what people were saying and what they were responding to. A lot of people weren't receiving their parcels and a lot of people were having problems with delivery. Of course a lot of the problems came from the fact that they use HERMES (of all companies) to deliver their parcels.
On the 9th working day I started to worry and I took this worry to the internet. Prior to contacting Gymshark I wanted the full info so I did a poll on my twitter to see if others had the same problem. At the end of my poll, 18 people had voted and 83% had not received their order and they had not received an update. As soon as I saw that no one else seemed to be receiving their orders, I Dm'ed the help account to see if I could find out what was happening with my parcel.
After I had slid into the help accounts DMs, I received an email saying my order had been dispatched, literally 20 minutes later. The only lesson I can take away from this is that complaining online must work. On a side note, it took a day for my DM to be replied to. I really struggle with this, an online brand who does not have a good support system, it's not like you can go into store to get a problem sorted so come on guys set up your help service so that people receive answers promptly. God help anyone who has a genuine problem because I don't know how long it will take for them to sort that out.
Anyway eventually my order was dispatched and my god did I keep a close eye on that tracking. Not only do I not trust Hermes but at this point I had little faith in Gymshark too. Turns out it might have been with good reason. It took a day for my tracking to update (not unusual) but the first thing it said was 'pre advice missing.' Instantly I rolled my eyes and thought fuck I'm never getting this parcel. This was on a Friday and I was praying they weren't going to attempt to deliver on the Saturday because I was getting it delivered to my office. I kept an eye on the tracking over the weekend but not a lot happened.
My parcel finally arrived on the Monday and I was thrilled. I was worried that it would be missing items as I had been reading about people's orders on twitter and lots of people were only receiving parts of their order. However, everything I ordered was in my bag so I can't complain. I was going to kick off if I was missing an items because I did not want to wait that long for my parcel just to receive a partial order. As soon as I got home I began trying on my new workout clothes.
Quality and Fit
I had no idea what to do for sizing, I had not shopped from the brand before. They do have a size guide at the bottom of the page but I didn't see that before I shopped, I just assumed I would be an extra small as a 5 foot nothing, stick thin human. I ordered everything in an XS and just assumed that would be the best size for me. When it arrived, I was at work so I opened one of the tops to feel the quality it and I was surprised. I expected it to quite thin but it is quite thick and surprisingly soft.
When I got home, I tried it all on and I was so pleased with the fit. I find workout clothes really hard to buy purely because I am so small but the XS in everything was perfect. The only issue was that I really struggled to get the Sports Bra off, it was a good 5 minutes of struggle, I even had to have a break to cool down. I struggle with all Sports Bras because you have to pull most of them over your head which is fine but for some reason I can never get them past my shoulders. Other than the bra, even thing was easy to get on and off and overall I was really pleased with how they looked.
Out of the two colours I purchased I definitely prefer the grey, I think it is more of a standard colour for me. Also I'm not sure if the Brick Red looks too infection like. I think you need a tan to be able to pull it off so this is going to be my Summer set. My one regret was that I did not order the grey sports bra and I sort of wish I had ordered the blue instead of the Brick Red but I am going to stick with it.
The bra was my biggest concern in terms of fit as that is where you need a good fit the most. I have no boobs so support is not a massive issue for me, instead I want it to look like I actually have boobs. This bra does support my boobs and stops them from moving around but I can't imagine anyone with bigger boobs would get on too well. I would say it would provide a medium support for bigger boobs, they will still move around but might not hit you in the face. For anyone else with small boobs, these do have removable pads which do help to create a bit of shape which is great for me and I was very pleased to see that when I initially opened the bra. The front of the bra is pretty plain and looks like a standard sports bra but much like a mullet, the party is in the back. The back of this bra is gorgeous and really the design aspect is why people want Gymshark clothes. The back has a cut out design that looks very flattering but also looks a bit more fun that your standard sports bra.
The crop tops are amazing and they literally encompass everything I want within my sports clothes. They are very feminine with the shaping and they have a little cutout on the top of your chest which looks cute but also stops it from getting to hot underneath. In a way it is ventilation. Not only that but it has long sleeves which have thumb holes so your sleeves stay down and I love that it partially covers my hands as I always suffer with cold hands when I run. They are of course a crop top but the crop isn't too short so it shows off your sports bra underneath but it isn't so long that it awkwardly sits on my hips. Honestly I think the fit of the crop tops is great and I think they are my favourite piece purely because I haven't really seen anything like it when I have previously been looking for workout clothes.
The bottoms are a sung fit, if you do not want something that is going to be tight around your legs, then these are going to be no good, they are incredibly slim fit. This is great for me but I am a 26 year old who runs so my legs are in pretty good shape and I don't mind showing off my bum a little bit (it is my best asset.) I think the fit of these bottoms is incredible and they truly are very flattering. Somehow they seem to cup my bum to make it look better than it already did and it makes my legs look very slim and slender. I love that they have little knee patches which also help to make your legs look that little bit longer. I am short but I have long legs for my body and these fit perfectly on the length so I'm not sure how taller people would cope. They also have a little pocket in the back of the waist band but it is so small nothing will fit in it. Not only do they look good but they are super comfy too, they do not keep any sweat in. I honestly really like these bottoms, the material is definitely thicker than the normal work out bottoms that I buy and I did a squat test the other day and I did not see any knickers or the line of my butt so these have been made with a lovely quality.
Bearing in mind that I bought these in the sale with 70% off I think these are completely worth the money I spent on them. The quality of the items is incredible and they are designed well. I always feel sort of exposed in Gym clothes because they are so tight but even though these are very slim, they make me feel good about my body which is rare. For that feeling alone I think these are worth the money. Would I buy them full price? For the right colour, yes. I am determined to get the grey sports bra so I will be buying that full price (if it comes into stock in an XS) and I do think it is lovely but full price it is more of a considered purchase. The legging in the Fleur range are £35 whereas the Camo ones are £50! I mean that isn't cheap so you want it to be bloody good quality. I would say they are good and they are comparable in terms of quality to something like Nike and they match them in price but Gymshark do have better designs.
I have worn these sets running quite a few times and I have noticed that neither set shows any sweat marks and they keep me feeling dry. The only place where I do gather a bit of sweat is between my boobs. I am not an overly sweaty person but it has been bloody hot over the past few weeks and I still went running but there were no marks on my outfit. All of it was incredibly comfortable and it did not move around at all as I ran whereas I do have a pair of bottoms from somewhere else that will slowly slip down as I run. It is incredibly nerve racking as I am running but this does not happen at all with the Gymshark bottoms. I think it is actually some of the most functional workout wear I've purchased so I do have to give credit where credit is due because this does work.
When I got home, I tried it all on and I was so pleased with the fit. I find workout clothes really hard to buy purely because I am so small but the XS in everything was perfect. The only issue was that I really struggled to get the Sports Bra off, it was a good 5 minutes of struggle, I even had to have a break to cool down. I struggle with all Sports Bras because you have to pull most of them over your head which is fine but for some reason I can never get them past my shoulders. Other than the bra, even thing was easy to get on and off and overall I was really pleased with how they looked.
Out of the two colours I purchased I definitely prefer the grey, I think it is more of a standard colour for me. Also I'm not sure if the Brick Red looks too infection like. I think you need a tan to be able to pull it off so this is going to be my Summer set. My one regret was that I did not order the grey sports bra and I sort of wish I had ordered the blue instead of the Brick Red but I am going to stick with it.
The bra was my biggest concern in terms of fit as that is where you need a good fit the most. I have no boobs so support is not a massive issue for me, instead I want it to look like I actually have boobs. This bra does support my boobs and stops them from moving around but I can't imagine anyone with bigger boobs would get on too well. I would say it would provide a medium support for bigger boobs, they will still move around but might not hit you in the face. For anyone else with small boobs, these do have removable pads which do help to create a bit of shape which is great for me and I was very pleased to see that when I initially opened the bra. The front of the bra is pretty plain and looks like a standard sports bra but much like a mullet, the party is in the back. The back of this bra is gorgeous and really the design aspect is why people want Gymshark clothes. The back has a cut out design that looks very flattering but also looks a bit more fun that your standard sports bra.
The crop tops are amazing and they literally encompass everything I want within my sports clothes. They are very feminine with the shaping and they have a little cutout on the top of your chest which looks cute but also stops it from getting to hot underneath. In a way it is ventilation. Not only that but it has long sleeves which have thumb holes so your sleeves stay down and I love that it partially covers my hands as I always suffer with cold hands when I run. They are of course a crop top but the crop isn't too short so it shows off your sports bra underneath but it isn't so long that it awkwardly sits on my hips. Honestly I think the fit of the crop tops is great and I think they are my favourite piece purely because I haven't really seen anything like it when I have previously been looking for workout clothes.
The bottoms are a sung fit, if you do not want something that is going to be tight around your legs, then these are going to be no good, they are incredibly slim fit. This is great for me but I am a 26 year old who runs so my legs are in pretty good shape and I don't mind showing off my bum a little bit (it is my best asset.) I think the fit of these bottoms is incredible and they truly are very flattering. Somehow they seem to cup my bum to make it look better than it already did and it makes my legs look very slim and slender. I love that they have little knee patches which also help to make your legs look that little bit longer. I am short but I have long legs for my body and these fit perfectly on the length so I'm not sure how taller people would cope. They also have a little pocket in the back of the waist band but it is so small nothing will fit in it. Not only do they look good but they are super comfy too, they do not keep any sweat in. I honestly really like these bottoms, the material is definitely thicker than the normal work out bottoms that I buy and I did a squat test the other day and I did not see any knickers or the line of my butt so these have been made with a lovely quality.
Bearing in mind that I bought these in the sale with 70% off I think these are completely worth the money I spent on them. The quality of the items is incredible and they are designed well. I always feel sort of exposed in Gym clothes because they are so tight but even though these are very slim, they make me feel good about my body which is rare. For that feeling alone I think these are worth the money. Would I buy them full price? For the right colour, yes. I am determined to get the grey sports bra so I will be buying that full price (if it comes into stock in an XS) and I do think it is lovely but full price it is more of a considered purchase. The legging in the Fleur range are £35 whereas the Camo ones are £50! I mean that isn't cheap so you want it to be bloody good quality. I would say they are good and they are comparable in terms of quality to something like Nike and they match them in price but Gymshark do have better designs.
I have worn these sets running quite a few times and I have noticed that neither set shows any sweat marks and they keep me feeling dry. The only place where I do gather a bit of sweat is between my boobs. I am not an overly sweaty person but it has been bloody hot over the past few weeks and I still went running but there were no marks on my outfit. All of it was incredibly comfortable and it did not move around at all as I ran whereas I do have a pair of bottoms from somewhere else that will slowly slip down as I run. It is incredibly nerve racking as I am running but this does not happen at all with the Gymshark bottoms. I think it is actually some of the most functional workout wear I've purchased so I do have to give credit where credit is due because this does work.
Would I buy from them again?
If you had asked me when I was waiting for my order to be dispatched, it would have been a firm no. Honestly I have ordered from so many companies during sale time and I've never had to wait so long for a parcel just to be dispatched. However, once my items arrived I could see what all the fuss was about. The quality of each piece is lovely and they are very form fitting and flattering.
I do have to say now that I have tried the brand I do think there is a lot of hype around the brand that has been created by Influencers, I mean it is just work out clothes, yes these are form fitting and they look good but you can definitely get that from other brands. Even though I have bought from the brand I will say that I do not support their image or what they are trying to portray. I love that they are trying to encourage people to go to the gym but not everyone looks the same with massive muscles and a fuck boy fade, the people who represent Gymshark are the exact reason I do not go to Gyms and I run instead, there is less judgement when I run.
Gymshark need to find a balance of representing normal people who workout and don't spend their whole lives at the gym whilst also including the people that do because at the end of the day, that is something they love and they do look good, there is no denying that. What I am trying to say is do not buy into Gymshark because of the image, buy the items if you genuinely work out. I go running so I will wear what I buy but don't buy it because you've seen someone wear it on Instagram. The products are good and if you think you will use it then it is worth it but buying these sets are not going to get you into the gym if you do not like going.
I will buy from Gymshark again but I will not rush to do so. If they have another sale then I will definitely look at it and I will keep an eye on the black camo set but I don't feel the need to get lots because I won't use loads. I don't go to the gym everyday and I only wear workout clothes when I am going on a run so I don't have a massive need for it. I would like to complete my Grey Fleur Set which hopefully I will do at some point but other than that (and the Camo set) my wishlist is pretty low.
If you are thinking about buying from Gymshark I would say go for it but with caution. Read some of the reviews before you purchase because whilst I was waiting for my parcel to be dispatched I went into a black hole of people complaining about not receiving orders, (partially to do with the fact that they use Hermes,) I also read about people getting half of their order and that they could not contact anyone from Gymshark. Reading all of this definitely made me more wary of the brand. I will definitely the limit the amount I order from them due to reading some of these comments.
I hope this has been helpful for anyone who has been thinking about ordering from Gymshark as it is one of those Instagram brands that it is hard to tell whether it is worth it or not. I would be intrigued to do an order outside of sale time to see if I have any issues but we will have to wait and see. If you do have any questions about my experience with Gymshark, please leave a comment or message me on Instagram or Twitter and I will get back to you. I do try to be as through in these posts as I can but I realise I won't have covered everyone's concerns in one post.
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I do have to say now that I have tried the brand I do think there is a lot of hype around the brand that has been created by Influencers, I mean it is just work out clothes, yes these are form fitting and they look good but you can definitely get that from other brands. Even though I have bought from the brand I will say that I do not support their image or what they are trying to portray. I love that they are trying to encourage people to go to the gym but not everyone looks the same with massive muscles and a fuck boy fade, the people who represent Gymshark are the exact reason I do not go to Gyms and I run instead, there is less judgement when I run.
Gymshark need to find a balance of representing normal people who workout and don't spend their whole lives at the gym whilst also including the people that do because at the end of the day, that is something they love and they do look good, there is no denying that. What I am trying to say is do not buy into Gymshark because of the image, buy the items if you genuinely work out. I go running so I will wear what I buy but don't buy it because you've seen someone wear it on Instagram. The products are good and if you think you will use it then it is worth it but buying these sets are not going to get you into the gym if you do not like going.
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| Picture from Gymshark |
If you are thinking about buying from Gymshark I would say go for it but with caution. Read some of the reviews before you purchase because whilst I was waiting for my parcel to be dispatched I went into a black hole of people complaining about not receiving orders, (partially to do with the fact that they use Hermes,) I also read about people getting half of their order and that they could not contact anyone from Gymshark. Reading all of this definitely made me more wary of the brand. I will definitely the limit the amount I order from them due to reading some of these comments.
I hope this has been helpful for anyone who has been thinking about ordering from Gymshark as it is one of those Instagram brands that it is hard to tell whether it is worth it or not. I would be intrigued to do an order outside of sale time to see if I have any issues but we will have to wait and see. If you do have any questions about my experience with Gymshark, please leave a comment or message me on Instagram or Twitter and I will get back to you. I do try to be as through in these posts as I can but I realise I won't have covered everyone's concerns in one post.
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