Pilates Beginner - what to wear?!

[AHGiraffe]

Hi everyone, I have booked myself onto a Pilates course starting at the end of the month. I have no idea what to wear for this, please help with suggested clothing items, mainly tops. I have sports leggings from other exercise and have ordered some grippy socks. I am wary of being cold as the venue is a high school hall at night!

Only thing about t-shirts is that you may want to tuck in or wear a more form fitting top (or one underneath) as you’ll be bent over in various positions and it will bag out IYSWIM.

In all honesty IME Pilates is much more the domain of women peri and beyond (I’m 65, been doing it since I was early 50s).

Thanks for all the kind encouragement! Updating to say I’ve been to M&S today and got a white vest top with built in bra, then a t-shirt type sports top (also white) from their Good Move range to wear over. The tee is maybe a bit big/loose and I probably should have got the 10, but i CBA to go back with the 12 - if it’s flapping around I can always take it off and just have the vest top. I’ve loads of nice sweatshirts I can stick on to go, and presumably my regular Nike or New Balance leggings will be fine. (I also got some thong knickers for with those as I would usually wear a bum covering top with them.)

The TikTok girlies seem to wear Birkenstock Boston clogs and long puffer as they arrive - both of which I have. I’ll report back after Sunday…

Good stuff! Uniqlo also do very decent thick leggings with a nice high waist that doesn't roll down. I have loads of pairs for yoga and pilates.

Good to hear! Take the TikTok girlies with a big pinch of salt, I’ve found that the vibes vary wildly between Pilates studios - my favourite matwork class is mostly 40+, very relaxed, no dress code, whereas the reformer studio I go to is 20-somethings in matching sets. The important thing is showing up and giving it a go - you’ll be glad you did!

Hope you enjoy it! Do let us know how you get on.

If you have a large bust, get a good sports bra. Make sure your knickers are big enough to not give you a wedgie, there's a fair bit of bending and twisting. If you need your own equipment, don't use a yoga mat, they are too thin. Decathlon do good, thick pilates mats.

Class complete! I nailed the outfit (took the sweatshirt off when I got in) and think I did okay. There was actually only one other person there, it’s a brand new studio and I guess she’s just building up a client base, so it was practically one to one tuition. I can’t really afford to go more than once a week, plus I don’t know if I could find the energy after work, but I’m booked in at the same class next week.

Excellent. A small class really helps when you're starting out.

That’s great!