Alex Law

Model Allison Levy enjoys striking a yoga pose in Light Activewear’s gear while company president Michelle Lei takes care of business issues.

Finding just the right Bikram outfit is no easy feat. Just ask sisters Judy and Michelle Lei. When they started practising Bikram (aka hot yoga) in 2007, they couldn’t find a single suitable thing to wear for all those hotter-than-hell workouts.

Regular yoga gear just wasn’t cutting it. They wanted something that was absorbent enough to withstand 90 minutes worth of sweat but light enough to keep them cool in 40 ° C yoga studios. They were also looking for something flexible enough for all the poses and breathing exercises they were doing, as well as strong enough to hold their bits in during some of the more compromising postures. On top of that, they wanted their outfits to be sexy, cute, and feminine.

It was a pretty tall order. So tall, in fact, that after about a year or so of fruitless searching, the Leis decided to start their own line of yogawear specifically designed to meet the needs of participants in a heated Bikram class. And with that, Light Activewear was born. Michelle, who studied business and has worked as a regional sourcing manager for Nike, handles the business side of things as the company’s president, while Judy, who studied fashion design in L.A., is the creative force. But just because Judy has an eye for fashion-friendly details doesn’t mean the collection is for poseurs who simply like booting around in stretchy, stylin’ clothes.

“We want to sell to people who actually go to yoga like two, three times a week,” says Judy. She and Michelle sat down with the Straight at Light Activewear headquarters in Marpole.

As Michelle explains it, before they could officially launch this highly functional collection, they spent a considerable amount of time sourcing materials. In order to differentiate their line from regular yogawear, they needed just the right high-tech performance fabrics, and they found them. Each piece in the collection—which you can check out on-line at www.lightactivewear.com/ or at Bikram Yoga Richmond (105–5300 No. 3 Road), Bikram Yoga Langley (The Village at Thunderbird Centre), and Bikram Yoga White Rock (200–1326 Johnston Road)—feels like a second skin: each clearly has the female physique in mind.

“There’s a lot of men designers in the sportswear industry,” says Judy. “Even with running shoes, all they do is change the colourway and they make it smaller and they’re like, ”˜Here’s the new women’s running shoe.’ And it’s like, ”˜No, there’s more to it than that.’ ”

That’s why, for example, Judy designed the Allison bra top (suggested retail price $42) with contrasting bands of colour down each side; instead of flattening the chest like a jogging bra, it gives the bustline a figure-flattering 3-D shape. For the more modest Bikram practitioner, they offer the Leah tank top ($46) and Solveig leggings ($48). These light-as-air capris come in solid black or with calf-flattering, colour-contrasting bottom bands. According to Michelle, however, you don’t have to be a totally toned, hard-core yogi to look hot in their more revealing pieces, such as the Cleo short shorts ($46).

“People who don’t normally wear short-shorts or the bra tops will typically go into a store and already have their mind set on what outfit they want,” says Michelle. “They think a short top is only for people with six-pack abs.

“But when they come here [Light Activewear headquarters] and they try on [yoga gear] and look so good, they tell Judy, ”˜For the first time, I’m deciding to be sexy and wear this short little top and these short little bottoms because I look good in it.’ ”

Part of what makes the Cleo shorts look so good is the wide waistband, which sucks in the love handles and accentuates the curve of the buttocks, so your rear end looks like a nice round onion (as opposed to a long, flat Prairie landscape). For comfort’s sake, the built-in lining doesn’t have any bumpy seams—they’re all contained within the actual garment for a smooth, chafe-free, sweat-absorbing surface.

“We find a lot of moms really like to wear underwear [to yoga class], and we’re like, ”˜Okay, if you wanna wear underwear, please don’t wear cotton underwear because cotton is horrible for [absorbing] water [and sweat]. You can wear these and then just toss them in the wash.”

The best part about these shorts—along with all the other Light Activewear pieces—is that you don’t have to worry about having a wardrobe malfunction as you’re bending into some sort of steamy cobra pose.

“All of our pieces have gone through jiggle tests,” says Judy with a laugh. “We do all of the postures and go, ”˜Okay, yeah, you can’t see anything.’ ”

“Like a safety test,” Michelle chimes in. “We’re the first ones to wear it, so we can take one for the team.”