My Favorite Places to Buy Sportswear-and Why

My search for finding the perfect pair of gym sneakers has ended up with me having a very thorough knowledge of sportswear providers and their best features.

I wasn't just shopping for myself, either, but for my teen nephew. . . Take a peek at some of my favorite stores, and why I'm so happy they exist!

1.Adidas: One word: Climalite. I love this miracle fabric, and I wear my Climalite exercise pants everywhere. They're light and resist all the typical pilling and pulling that you'll find with regular exercise pants, especially those in darker colors like navy and black.

Plus, Adidas has a new Stella McCartney collection coming this August, for which I'm thoroughly excited. Stella's gym bags bring a whole lot of glamor to an unexpected gym basic.

2.Footlocker.com: Footlocker is very affordable, and that's one reason I adore it. They also seem to have great sales (like a particularly good one right now-2 pairs of sneakers for $69.99!) and stock current styles if you need to shop for a finicky family member.

3.Tilly's: Tilly's doesn't have the same sporty nature as one of the traditional labels, but it does carry lots of teen sportswear. While I haven't read much about it, I was impressed by their selection pf Billabong, Roxy, and Vans, just to name a few.

4.Speedo: Call me crazy, but I hadn't been introduced to Speedo's stylish side until quite recently. Their sports swimsuits are top-of-the-line professional swimsuits, but their bikinis are fantastic. They have that comfortable Speedo cut with embroidery and interesting graphics.

The Speedo site is also very easy to navigate. If you click on their "Fashion Swim" section, for example, you will see swimsuits listed on the same page in a format that's very easy to browse.

5.PacSun: PacSun is awesomely sporty. It has a definite young vibe, which means that you can send a teen to shop for casual sports shoes and school stuff without worrying about quality and selection. You'll be able to find a ton of items with a young vibe for any time of the year-I love their funky slip-on shoes!

Meieli Sawyer Detoni