I like sales. I like to use clothes for a long time, maybe too long. I don’t really pay attention to new fads.

So, I’m a little late here. I had seen the Lululemon label (though, honestly until a couple of days ago I thought it was Lulumon and I had heard of Lulu Lemon but I thought they were different and didn’t know what Lulu Lemon was).

Then Christmas travel happened. The airline lost my luggage. I couldn’t bear the thought of not being able to run in the morning. And the airline promised to reimburse us for necessary expenses.

Late in the evening, with no sign that our luggage was found and thus no indication as to when it would arrive, we set out to find some workout clothes. There was only one area I knew of to buy clothes at 10pm, it was a mall. I thought they had a Big 5 Sporting Goods. That was my plan. But they had long since moved.

My options were limited. I saw the Lululemon store. I worried they wouldn’t carry anything my size. I am a size 16 on a good day and many of these single-brand stores do not carry my size. But I was desperate, and I trudged in anyway.

Sure enough…their largest was a size 12! I was ready to laugh and walk on, hoping Macy’s would have enough to get by. Instead, the super friendly sales woman encouraged me to try on the size 12 pants, and she helped me find some tops to try on. Sure enough, the size 12 stretched to cover my size 16 thighs. I found a shirt to fit, a bra, a long-sleeve shirt (it was winter after all), and some undies.

The bill was frightening. Each item was only a little more than I might normally pay, but I wouldn’t usually buy an entire outfit at once. I didn’t mention the cost to my husband until the airline reimbursed us (and yes, they did- thank you Alaska Airlines).

I love my new clothes, and they are the only workout clothes I want to wear now (which of course means that I rarely wear them because I have to wear out my other stuff first). I love them more than I think I should.

The bra is comfortable and supportive. The pants are comfortable and have pockets. The shirt fabric is lovely, and soft, and true to advertisement does not yet stink as badly as my other workout gear. My shirts even have fun sayings on the inside seam, such as “I run for cheese.”

I guess I’m a convert. And reminded that while I like to stay simple and cheaper, sometimes it is worth paying more for quality. I’m a bit ashamed to admit it…but I feel better in these clothes. I think they will last a long time. Even when not in an emergency situation with someone else paying the bill…