Women’s yoga and fitness apparel is a fashion category that seems to be growing at a very quick pace however, not all women’s activewear is made the same. We took two high quality brands, lululemon and BRAVADA yoga and activewear and decided to see which one offers women better value and performance.

Both lululemon and BRAVADA’s quality was very high in the stitching and overall quality of the garments. As well, both have natural moisture wicking embedded into the fabric and perform very well however, the similarities stopped there. On a price comparison basis, BRAVADA came out on top. Generally, BRAVADA’s activewear is 10% – 20% less expensive than lululemon and with both, you get a high quality and high performance female athletic garment. This brought us to selection in terms of colors and use of colors in each respective designs. This metric went overwhelmingly to BRAVADA. lululemon offers only two or three colors, sometimes only one, for most of their pieces. BRAVADA on the other hand gives an incredible selection of colors for each of their pieces, from sunshine yellow to black and grey to sky blue. For some pieces, BRAVADA offers up to 8 different color choices.

We then moved onto product styling and garment designs. Again, BRAVADA looked to us to be clearly on top. BRAVADA’s designs and product styles use varying colors throughout all of their pieces in both a very expressive and Brazilian kind of feel as well as offering conservative styles and designs that suit all tastes. BRAVADA’s sport and yoga bras seemed very alluring and fresh. lululemon’s selections seemed to be mired in a much more earthy and conservative style with much less selection in terms of a mix of design elements. If you want a yoga garment that is a little zestier, you won’t find it at lululemon but you will at BRAVADA and both BRAVADA and lululemon offer the conservative earthy styling if that is what you are looking for. BRAVADA was a clear winner in overall styling and design. Consumer choice is an important element in women’s sportswear and yoga apparel and BRAVADA just offers a much more diverse mix of color, styles and designs in their collection.

The final metric, which is probably one of the most important ones, is performance and fit. This one was tough as lululemon and BRAVADA both offer high performance women’s yoga and activewear. Determining which one was superior was a non issue as both offer a very high quality and performing women’s yoga and activewear garment Perhaps lululemon is geared slightly more to the earthy yoga lifestyle and BRAVADA more to the overall women’s athletic idiom. Both scored equally in fit and performance.

On a final note, product presentation can be an important factor as well. Both lululemon and BRAVADA do a good job at presenting their athletic pieces however, a big part of being a woman is feeling like a woman. BRAVADA’s overall presentation seemed to be and feel much more feminine, sassy and alluring overall. As women, feeling sassy, expressive and feminine can be a big part of why we purchase a fitness garment. BRAVADA has a much better feminine presentation to their sportswear and yoga inspired clothes.

Overall, BRAVADA yoga and activewear came out to be on top if you are looking for a wider selection of styles and colors at better prices, however, both lululemon and BRAVADA offer a high quality women’s activewear garment. The choice maybe more up to individual taste of the consumer and how much they want to spend.