Get on The Bus

Faith Nelson gets up before 5am to drive a school bus for special needs high school students. She’s also the single mom of three kids of her own. “I’m a deeply curious person,” she says, “attempting to live my life in a way that leaves no room for regret.”

That sort of courage didn’t always apply to physical feats. “I was as far from athletic as you could get as a kid. I had asthma and it made me nervous about running around too much.” It wasn’t until she was twenty-one and pregnant with her second child that Faith started learning the value of exercise. She’d decided on a natural childbirth, and all the books she read stressed the importance of being fit and flexible. Out came the yoga videos, and long, fast-paced walks.

“Childbirth this time was so different. I felt incredibly strong when it was over. Something inside of me clicked and I realized that I was physically capable of so much more than I’d thought.” She took up running.

Fast-forward a dozen years to last October, when Faith ran her first half marathon. Although a foot injury has her sidelined, she plans to start training for a full marathon soon. Her usual regimen is to run three times a week (two to five miles), plus two or three days of yoga, and two of strength training. That’s a lot for many of us, but how does she pull it off?

“It can be very hard,” Faith says. “Taking advantage of lunch breaks can be a great way to get in a workout. But sometimes it’s just a matter of running out the door before I have a chance to think about it too much.” She also makes exercise a family affair: “A lot of the time I can drag one or two of them down to the beach. They’ll roller-skate or ride their scooter while I run.” Walking is always a plus: “Moving is so important and there are opportunities all throughout the day to do that.”

None of which would work without the right attitude. “I used to think I was supposed to have a strict schedule, but one thing I’ve learned as a single mother is that real life just doesn’t work that way. When it matters, you find a way. And on the flip side, when life gets ahead of you and you miss a week, you shrug it off and start over again.”

And the result? “I’ve learned to appreciate the journey as opposed to ‘results.’ Running has changed me in such fundamental ways. It has taught me the beauty of the process.” Still, some results are undeniable. “It feels good to think about how I went from a kid who couldn’t even run a mile to a thirty-three-year-old, single, working mother of three who has run thirteen. I’m the strongest and healthiest I’ve ever been, physically, emotionally, and spiritually.”

Stats

 

Home: Long Beach, CA
Occupation: School Bus Driver
Education: Some college, Psychology Major
Partner: Single
Children: Three, ages 16, 12, and 8
Age: 33
Height: 5’2’’
Weight: 115
Sports, past and present: Running, swimming.
Athletic accomplishments: Half marathon.
Little known fact about you: I can stand on my hands and do backbends pretty well.
Environmentally incorrect preference: I take too long in the shower.
Guilty pleasure: Coffee overload on the weekends.
Most embarrassing moment: Never.
Greatest triumph: Every day that I can be true to myself and love the people in my life with everything I’ve got is a triumph.
Favorite thing to do when not working or working out: Relaxing with my family and friends.

Moment of Inspiration: Warming up at the starting line with thousands of people at my first half marathon. I felt so connected to them. I saw our diversity, and I realized we’re all on our own personal journey. It was beautiful.

Favorite Quote: “Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.” —Anais Nin

workout_hdr

Before my injury: Two or three, three-mile runs during the week, and a longer five-mile run on the weekend. Two or three days of yoga. Two days of strength training. Whenever I could fit it in.

 

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Women’s History Month

Women’s History Month is winding down and you can bet that we’re going to give it some air time. It is rare to find an all female owned and operated company, but Title Nine is proud to be just that – by women, for women. We are all who we are because of women who have gone before us- those that have inspired, encouraged, supported, loved and motivated us. They are women like our mothers, coaches, teachers, friends and teammates. They don’t take ‘no’ or ‘later’ for an answer. Fit women. Fit for office, fit to run, fit to win, fit to eat bon-bons and mostly fit for everything. We’re in the business of outfitting all types of fit women just like you. Women like Amelia Earhart, Babe Didrikson Zaharias, Eleanor Roosevelt, Billie Jean King, Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner (google her). So, we asked ourselves, “Selves, what would some of these inspiring women choose if they stopped into a Title Nine store chock full of new Summer awesomeness? What pieces fit perfectly with their busy, active, exciting (and probably sometimes less than exciting) lifestyles?”. They need clothes and bras to carry them through whatever the day throws and still look fresh. Here is what we came up with for when you want to channel your inner and/or outer ‘fit woman’:

Amelia Earhart was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean, she set a kajillion (exactly) records and to top it all off, was a best-selling author. Her classic style called for functional practicality with a touch of femininity. – we can see her in the Urbanator II Jacket in Smoke, the Lifesaver Sweater in Bouganvillea, the Take a Hike Capri in Silt topped with the Maybe-A-Matador Scarf blowin’ in the wind

Babe Didrickson Zaharias was the queen of multi-sport long before that was code for triathlon. She was a golf, basketball, baseball, diving, and track super-star. Oh, and she was a 3 time Olympic medalist 40 years before the Title IX amendment. No biggie. We’re pretty sure this gal would have rocked the Swing Skort in Blue-Black, the Aplomb Merino Tee in Citrine and the Spector 70 Jacket in Island Blue.

Eleanor Roosevelt worked tirelessly to advance the status of working women in a time when that wasn’t such a good thing. She was a First Lady, a civil rights advocate, an author, speaker and politician in her own right. This lady stone cold knew what she believed in and fought for it. We think she would travel in the Print Breeze Dress in Cyan, the Texture Wrap Sweater in Cloud Dancer and (obviously) the Crusher Hat in Aubergine.

Billie Jean King. Do we even have to explain why she’s here? She beat Bobby. But she also won a total of 39 Grand Slam Titles and went on to found the Women’s Sports Foundation. We see her in the Tuck-N-Run Skort, the Print Paradigm Tank in Citron, the Paradigm Zipneck in Campanula and of course, the 3-Reasons Bra.

Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner is an Austrian mountaineer and the first woman to summit all 14 mountains over 8,000 km (a.k.a. 26,247 ft) without supplementary oxygen. Think K2, Everest and Annapurna. She’s certifiably hard core. She would totally rock the Boulder Knicker by Kuhl (get it? Kuhl is German for ‘cool’) in Indian Teal, the Tip Top Tank in Turkish Coffee and the South Fork Shirt in Grecian Blue.

Take some time out this month (and every month for that matter) to thank the strong women that have been a part of your history.

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All I am Saying Is Give Skorts A Chance

Skorts?? Eww. I mean, really? Those things from the seventies that looked like shorts in the back with a skirt flap in the front? You’ve got to be freakin’ kidding me.

Yep, that pretty much summed up my thoughts when I was first aware of the fact that I would need to start considering skorts as a category when I was a merchandiser for Title Nine. It pained me to think that I had succumbed to buying something that I not only didn’t feel passionate about, but that I out and out despised. I equated it with pull-on polyester “travel” pants.

Then it happened. I wore a skort. In public. And loved it.

The first step into my spiral of skort wearing was realizing that skorts have come a long way from the stereotype that I had in my head. Skorts these days actually look like skirts – like CUTE skirts, but with a point and a purpose. No one should know you are wearing a skort until you need them to know that you are wearing a skort. Skorts are sneaky little tricksters like that. With my newfound love of skorts, I often find myself wondering why in the hell anyone would ever wear a skirt. In response to that, I have inadvertently upped my collection of athletic shorts to create DIY skorts out of my favorite skirts. I can feel my skirts giving me the stink eye from the depths of my closet, but I don’t care.

My first skort was the Title Nine solid Dream Skort. A simple black skort – a true skirt in disguise. Wearing it to work was not that big of a deal – people in the T9 office are much more liberal minded when it comes to this sort of thing. However, the first test was wearing it outside of the safety of the walls of T9. I took a baby step and wore it roller skating with one of my good friends. As I was sitting to put on my skates, the skirt portion flipped up to expose the (gasp) attached boy short. Below is a sampling of the conversation

“Are you wearing a SKORT?”
“Yep.” (insert smug face)
“YOU are wearing a SKORT.” (this was, in fact, said more as a statement than a question)
“Yep. Crazy right? I freakin’ love it.”
“Wow. I’m shocked, but it’s kinda’ cute. I would have never expected it.”

Unexpected AND cute – score! This upped my confidence and prompted me to wear a skort in a much more frightening arena – roller derby practice. This is NOT the place where you want anyone to question your bad ass-edness. This is NOT the place where you want to be heckled or make yourself a target (or more of a target that you already are by the nature of the sport). I was not only a newbie to this wicked sport, but I was a newbie wearing a skort in front of seasoned rollers. I hoped to leave practice in one piece, with all teeth in my head and all bones in alignment. I did.

The reveal came about at my own doing, which again, is what makes skorts fabulous. Someone on the league mentioned that my skirt was cute, to which I responded, “it’s a skort!” and proudly flipped up my skirt to show off the “ort” part of the garment. It was met with a “Wow!” but more of a “Wow!” of “that’s a pretty good idea!” It was followed with the “I didn’t know skorts were cute like that” type of response that I love. No one targeted me for additional pummeling. No one rolled their eyes and told me to sit out of the next drill. It was a pretty seamless, if not uneventful, reveal. From that point on, I have worn pretty much nothing but skorts as my bottom of choice to derby practice. It has become kind of my trademark with some of the girls, who ask in a joking, kind way “Are you wearing your skort today?” I now own approximately 5 skorts, and I am looking to grow this number.

The practicality of a skort is immeasurable, especially in a sport like derby, where falling is part of the game, and you are ass over teakettle in front of a lot of people on a regular basis. A skort gives you the mobility that you need to get a deep plow stop but the modesty you need to feel comfortable enough to fall doing it (trust me, I know about falling at derby practice…) Sure, I can just wear a super tight legging or hot short or Capri, and a lot of girls do, but I personally feel much more comfortable with a little covering over the hind quarters.

There is more function, however, than just keeping me covered during my spills and tumbles. After practice, if I want to, I can change my top and go out get a cocktail with the girls or meet my husband for an after practice food frenzy in the skort – throw on a pair of chucks, and you are cute as a (in my case, sweaty) button. How is that for practicality? I actually feel pretty damn proud of myself for being so after-practice ready in record time. Look at me, aren’t I just a smarty pants?

Yes, I have come around to and totally embrace the skort. I am no longer thinking “The seventies called, they want their horrible fashion back” when I hear the word skort. We have taken to calling them Skirts With Benefits, but no matter what you call them, I’m sold.

TOP 5 REASONS TO WEAR A SKORT

o Looks innocent, plays dirty
o Transitions from function to fashion in the blink of an eye
o Can’t be beat for ease of movement – movement in any direction
o Not everyone wants to display their “assets”
o Skorts today are not your mother’s skort!

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Title Nine Madison Summer Picks

Working in a Title Nine store is a constant exercise in restraint. While we can’t have it all, we can have our favorites. We’ve already gotten our excited hands on these favorites; have researched and tried them on all of our body types (here in the store). So in case you need a little inspiration for summer, us Madison T9ers are sharing our favorites with you:

Title Nine Madison - Moving around the tire from left to right: Cathi, Dale, Erin, Anna and Lauren. Pam and Kate are in the tire.

Dale: “I love my new Skip Skirt in the Gravel color. It fits me wonderfully, is cute “as all get out,” goes with just about everything AND I get tons of compliments every time I wear it (which is all the time). Plus, it is almost 50% recycled polyester, so I can feel more environmentally justified in getting three of them.”

Lauren: “I’m going with the Drench Dress. So simple, yet so flattering. LOVE the adjustable side ruching and the ability to dress it up or down.”

Cathi: “The Breakers Hoody Dress! It’s so versatile – throw it on at the beach or pool, OR wear it as a casual dress every day. I have its winter sister, the New School Dress and it’s getting ridiculous how much I wear it. The good kind of ridiculous. The fabric is so soft, smooth and comfy.”

Erin: “Though hard to choose, I think the Wrapper’s Delight Skirt is my favorite. I love the length and cut. I often like to take off running or bike shorts on the fly and the wrap around/dressing room design expands the horizons of socially appropriate places to change clothes!”

Anna: “Mountain Hardwear Unrivaled Run Short. I am in love with the built in spandex boy short underneath that won’t roll up – unlike most shorts that try for a built-in, these are actually long enough (4″ inseam)!! I love running in spandex because it protects my upper thighs from rubbing against each other during long runs, which can spoil a run real quick (nobody likes the dreaded ‘chub rub’). THANK GOD someone finally got it right. Now I can enjoy my long runs with no worries! YAHOO!”

Stay tuned for more updates from our Title Nine stores as well as some updates on things you didn’t even know you wanted to know!

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