听($119)听did not immediately convert me to a believer. I was skeptical of it: a baggy, shapeless, blueish-gray strip of fabric hanging in my closet. I judged it as maybe a little dowdy.听A little too weird.
This went on for weeks until one day, when I was nearly out of clean work clothes, I tried the thing on. And I fell in love. Over the course of the past year, I鈥檝e worn this one-piece for work, gardening, pub crawling, traveling, and hiking. It鈥檚 perfectly comfortable听and well suited to all those activities. 听听
Big credit goes to the fabric, which is the same stretchy recycled polyester-spandex blend that Patagonia uses in some of its听running shorts. The material makes for a jumpsuit that鈥檚 incredibly light and airy, with听performance chops. I feel like I could happily jog in this thing (let鈥檚 be real, I鈥檓 not really running), but I haven鈥檛 actually done this, because the legit听runners in the 国产吃瓜黑料 office would judge me hard.听What impressed me the most? The Fleetwith doesn鈥檛 come off as听particularly sporty; the fabric has a muted, almost linen type of听look and feel.
Then there鈥檚 the cut. The pants are loose without being boxy, and the top above the lightly cinched waist is trim but certainly not tight. It creates an听athletic silhouette听that doesn鈥檛 restrict movement. The Fleetwith also听breathes very well (thanks to straps that crisscross in back)听and听looks polished enough to wear to the office鈥攁t least to our听Santa Fe鈥揵ased headquarters. Lots of companies make that claim about their stuff, but few actually deliver.
The details are spot-on, too. I especially like the big pockets in the front and back (thank you, Patagonia!), including a听zippered one big enough to hold an oversize听iPhone.
Patagonia sent me my first Fleetwith for听free as a test sample. I just bought a second one鈥攏ot because of any durability issues with the original, but because I like black听and听this product happens to be in stock for the first time in what seems like a year. I plan to bring both rompers on my two-week trip to Spain and Morocco this summer; that should take care of almost my whole wardrobe, no stowaway bag needed.
Should you buy one? If you鈥檙e an active woman who likes to travel and be comfortable at her desk, definitely.听Heck, you should probably get two.