Calia by Carrie Underwood Try-On Reviews

I know I spend a lot of time on this blog talking about pretty high-end brands, so today I want to switch gears a little bit and talk about a more budget-friendly brand (well, at least a little more budget-friendly).  Calia by Carrie Underwood has gotten a lot of buzz, in large part because of its celebrity backing.  Besides that, Calia fills the niche of stylish, feminine workout wear at a price tag that’s cheaper than higher-end brands like lululemon, but still pricier than budget brands like Old Navy.  Dick’s Sporting Goods is the only brick-and-mortar store that carries this line currently, so I went in to check thing out.

Reviewed in this post:

Essential printed tight fit leggings – charcoal geo
Essential printed tight fit leggings – dark and stormy
Essential striped tight fit capris
Effortless dip dye hooded sweater
Cold weather tight fit leggings
Moto leggings
Ruched knit vest

Essential printed tight fit leggings – charcoal geo

 

I tried these leggings on in XS.  They actually fit me surprisingly well; I’d say overall they run a hair small.  If in doubt, I suggest taking your larger size.  The rise is a comfortable medium height.  The polyester/elastane blend used on the printed fabric is slick to the touch but holds you in nicely.  The seaming details add a flattering touch.

The charcoal geo print is a nice feminine geometric pattern.  Since these pants have a lot of white in the print, I was honestly expecting them to be horribly sheer.  You can imagine my surprise when they weren’t sheer at all!  Upon further investigation, I discovered that all of Calia’s prints are lined with black fabric on the inside.  Most printed leggings are white on the inside, and this is the first I can recall that use black inside.  Not only does the black base help with opacity, it also means the white “grin” you often see on printed leggings is less noticeable.  Very clever, Calia folks.  Very clever.

All of the Calia bottoms have a front invisible zip pocket you can see here.  You can’t fit a whole lot in it, but it’s useful for keys and such.

Essential printed tight fit leggings – dark and stormy

The same fit notes I mentioned for the charcoal geo print all apply here, too.  Like the charcoal geo print, these are also lined in black and are totally opaque.  The dark and stormy print is a winter floral with a lot of red tones.

Their leggings have ruching at the ankle, but you can’t really see it on me since there’s already the scrunch from these being a tad long on me.

Essential striped tight fit capris

These capris fit the same as the full-length leggings.  Again, they are fully opaque.  The fabric does have a slight natural sheen to it, but isn’t too noticeable.  The regular solid colored fabric is supplex, so it has a more cottony feel than the printed bottoms above.  Supplex is also used by higher-end brands like Beyond Yoga and Splits59.

I like the mid-calf length of these capris.  Like the leggings, the crops also have ruching at the sides, but you can actually see it this time. :) The subtle stripe accents are nice for those who don’t want to go full-on stripey-butt.

Effortless dip dye hooded sweater

The size XS I grabbed in this sweater was roomy on me, but not too baggy.  Comparing my pictures, this one appears to actually fit slightly slimmer in XS than lululemon’s sweet savasana pullover in a size 2.  Depending on how baggy or fitted you want this, you could go just about any direction with sizing.

The fabric is a cotton/modal blend knit in a waffle texture.  It’s comfortable, though not quite as lusciously soft as other sweaters.  It’s decently thick and reasonably heavy, which bodes well for the warmth factor.  The length is fully booty-covering on me, which is handy for wearing over leggings.

Overall, this is a pretty cute sweater.  If you like lululemon’s sweet savasana pullover, this is a more or less comparable alternative for $40 less.

Cold weather tight fit leggings

These ran just a little bigger than the other tights above.  Overall I’d call them somewhere around true to size or slightly to the bigger side.  The fabric was soft and not sheer at all.  The thermal fabric felt warmer and cozier than their regular fabric, but not quite as warm as an extra-thick pair of fleece tights.

There aren’t a lot of bells and whistles on these tights: just a basic black pair with a waistband zip pocket and some seam details.  But, at their current sale price of $45, these are a good value for a fully opaque pair of basic thermal tights.

Moto leggings

The moto leggings are one of the most popular styles from the Calia line.  Like the cold weather tights, these fit a bit bigger than the other tight fit leggings.  I couldn’t have made the XS work in these, they felt just a little too big.  Going with a smaller size might be a good plan here.

The moto leggings were also fully opaque in this color.  I’m impressed that all the bottoms I tried on were not sheer.  Like the plain black fabric, this olive-colored fabric also has a more cottony feel.  I was also pleased to note that despite my petite stature, the moto knee detail still hit in roughly the right spot.  The ankles were a tad baggy on me, but nothing too bad.  Overall, these were the poorest fit of the day since there wasn’t a size small enough for me.

Ruched knit vest

Rounding out the list, we’ve got the knit vest.  I have a little bit of extra room in the XS, but not a ton.  I’d go with your true size here.  I didn’t find it to be terribly flattering on me and I would’ve preferred an XXS if it had been available (aka my usual size).

The puff is actually pretty substantial considering the low-ish price tag.  The fill on this is synthetic, so this is a vegan-friendly option.  The long back length also helps with the warmth.  I tried fussing with the ruching on the sides (it’s somewhat cinched in the photo above), but the results weren’t all that remarkable.  The outer fabric is not as slick or shiny as a lot of other vests, but is a somewhat softer knit (though not as soft as a t-shirt).

In sum

Overall, I have to say I was pretty impressed with the Calia line.  The styles are cute, and the pricing is fair for what you’re getting.  Besides being about 25-30% cheaper than lululemon in general, you can often find Calia styles on sale for some *really* great deals.  Although I didn’t buy anything this visit, I would consider buying in the future.  These lunar ombre tights I found online are cute!

Shop this post

Essential printed tight fit leggings

Essential striped tight fit capris

Effortless dip dye hooded sweater: black

 Effortless dip dye hooded sweater: pink and merlot

Cold weather tight fit leggings

Moto leggings

Ruched knit vest