I'll admit it: I tried your product today. (only because I found them at the low, low price of $2.50.) And I have to say--really? and Why? and What the heck?
I've seen these on other women joggers in the past and admit to being intrigued. They look, well, I'm not sure if "cute" is the word, but "different" than your ordinary plain-Jane running shorts, and I guess there are those of us who want to stand out. I'm not one of this breed, but like I said, I can not pass up on a deal. So on the running shorts went for my morning 5-miler.
The shorts are modest--the skirt fell only a few inches above my knees while standing. There is a convenient pair of spandex shorts sewn into them in the event you are running some sort of high knees drill and end up flashing a bit more than you'd prefer. The material--comfortable; definitely a light running fabric. The color--a muted navy blue with a white stripe running down the side. The skirt went well with a running top I own. Feeling highly color coordinated, I strapped my shoes on and hit the road.
My first thought was, "I feel like such an idiot." This was supposed to be a sweat session, and here I was running in a skirt, for gosh's sake. Talk about drawing unwanted attention to one's self. In my mind I might as well been running in a cheer leading uniform. Secondly, it was hot. I was, after all, wearing two layers of clothing over my midsection when one would have easily sufficed. And then there was the problem of ride-up. As in, the skirt kept riding up once I started sweating, therefore putting me in the awkward position of having to pull down my skirt while running.
My dear athletic designers, these last words should never have to be uttered. As women, we have enough to deal with when it comes to clothing and what to wear and how to wear it. Being a moderately conservative Christian woman, I live in the constant fear of walking out of the house looking inappropriate, flashing a little too much leg or showing a bit too much cleavage. My jogs should give me temporary reprieve from this: running should be the only time when I don't have to worry about what I look like, when looking sweaty and disheveled is expected. In no uncertain terms do I want to spend even a second of my workout worrying that the high school kid waiting for the bus might be getting an eyeful because of an unwieldy skirt.
I know you market people, though. You are always looking for ways to sell more. When it seems as though there can be nothing new left to sell in your corner of the market, you invent something new and market it as the latest "must have". In this case, you decided to tap in to those women among us who want to differentiate themselves from the men, who feel the need to celebrate their femininity in their workouts. So you created these preposterous skirts and now they are aired in the women's section of running stores for all to buy.
Now, I have nothing against the desire to celebrate the fact that women are different than men. I completely agree with this and love the fact that it is us women who cry together over commercials, coo over newborns, and are the better multitaskers. I do find it ironic, though, that in certain areas of life women demand to be treated the same as men, and in others we find it necessary to separate ourselves. For decades women have fought for equal rights, equal salaries, equal roles in the home. But now when it comes to running we need to be treated differently And we want you to remember this fact so we're going to don a skirt. Ridiculous.
In closing, I thank you for acknowledging that women make up a large percentage of your market base and catering to us in this way. In the future, however, I urge you to stick with shorts. And if you want to give us ladies something a bit more feminine, I suggest changing the hue of the shorts. I hear pink and purple are popular colors for the female consumer.
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