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Workout attire for the curvy-inclined

Rachel Blumenfeld was constantly fidgeting with her clothes during her CrossFit classes. With a size 8 waist and a size 10 or 12 legs - "my wonder thighs," she calls them - broad shoulders and a large chest, her pants kept falling down. The shirts of the 5-foot-9, 170-pound CrossFit competitor were creeping up.

Manifesta clothing is sold online and in pop-up shops, and is produced locally. (Nomad Nirvana Photography)
Manifesta clothing is sold online and in pop-up shops, and is produced locally. (Nomad Nirvana Photography)Read more

Rachel Blumenfeld was constantly fidgeting with her clothes during her CrossFit classes.

With a size 8 waist and a size 10 or 12 legs - "my wonder thighs," she calls them - broad shoulders and a large chest, her pants kept falling down. The shirts of the 5-foot-9, 170-pound CrossFit competitor were creeping up.

"You don't focus on what you're doing; you're adjusting your clothes the whole time," she recalled.

Spending six to 10 hours at the gym each week, it was hard to ignore that other hourglass-shaped athletes she encountered - CrossFitters, gymnasts, rowers - were in the same boat.

Her lightbulb moment came in 2013 when she noticed a woman at the gym wearing baggy sweats and a T-shirt. "She was clearly not very confident," Blumenfeld said.

But what could curvy people wear instead? When she realized the perfect workout attire didn't exist, Blumenfeld, 30 - an attorney with zero experience in fashion design - decided to make them herself.

That was in April 2013. She called her collection-to-be Manifesta - and then spent the next 16 months working with four designers to appeal to the market of women who are bigger in the hips and butt, smaller in the waist, and broader in the shoulders and chest.

"The first few designers weren't getting what I wanted or understanding my ideas or taking too long," she said. Ultimately, she chose Paul Francis Designs, a Baltimore area-based apparel product development firm. After the team came up with an initial seven designs, Blumenfeld brought in women of various shapes and sizes "to be sure they worked whether you were a 2 or a 28," she said.

Then she got rid of the traditional sizes, opting for a chart named for flowers - willow, rose, dahlia - that are associated with bust, waist, and hip measurements. "Some people try so hard to fit into what they think society says they should be, instead of just accepting and being proud of how they are," she said.

Blumenfeld believes her brand's success comes from the design - the height of the rise; the design of the waistbands; the fabric that's thick for support and wicking, so it has a cool, soft feel.

The clothes are sold mostly online at mymanifesta.com, although studios including East Eagle Yoga in Havertown and pop-up shops are starting to carry them.

Key to the brand is that every piece is made by Greco Apparel in a Philadelphia manufacturing plant, where 30 employees design, cut, and sew products for about a dozen retailers and online sellers. Blumenfeld is hands-on, inspecting all of her product once it's made. "It's a community-based company, and I like knowing the people who are making the clothes," she said. "I like being able to check in on them and be sure the clothes are being made well."

Manifesta currently has 10 products on the market, with three more about to launch. Blumenfeld produces 300 pieces of each item, and plans to create new designs as the originals sell out.

Ideas for pieces come from customers - and life. Manifesta's crisscross chested hoodie, ideal for breast-feeding, was introduced before her pregnancy (daughter Dawson was born in December), but her experience encouraged her to keep the top breast-feeding-friendly when other aspects of the pattern were adjusted. She's continually inspired by her vocal fan base. "There's so much that I want to add," she said.

Sales are good - she says in the past two months, monthly sales have more than tripled - despite an intentional lack of marketing (although her catchy size names did garner a lot of press, leading to sales increases). Blumenfeld counts on word of mouth. "I want to see what will happen organically," she said. "If you don't do marketing, any sales increases show your product is really good quality and people are telling other people about it."

Of course, that her clothes are produced stateside translates to higher prices, ranging from the All the Right Moves tank at $54 to the Just Prance Pant for $79. "It's not a sweatshop - it's ethically produced," she said. "They are part of the design team and that's important to me."

Also important to Blumenfeld is promoting "body positivity . . . feeling confident and accepting your body and working out because you love your body."

With each order, customers get a dry-erase whiteboard with a Manifesta pen and magnet that says, "My manifesta is . . .," with the hope they will write what's motivating and inspiring them to work out.

In the works is a custom line for Jill Angie - blogger, personal trainer, and author of Running with Curves: Why You're Not Too Fat to Run and the Skinny on How to Start Today - who shares Blumenfeld's vision. "The clothes are well-fitted, well-constructed, and hang right in all the right places," Angie said. Under the banner Running with Curves Special Edition, a tank ($54) will debut this fall, with plans for running skirts to come later.

Lauren Lind, who describes her body as pear-shaped, discovered Manifesta clothing last summer when Blumenfeld wore some pieces during a CrossFit class. "Curves will always be a part of my life; it's genetically what my makeup is," said Lind, of Kennett Square.

While she appreciates the fit, it's also the quality of the clothing that keeps her buying. "I feel totally comfortable wearing them out-and-about going shopping because they're stylish and so comfortable," Lind said. "They're thicker, so you don't see any cellulite ripples - they look better on your body."

Despite getting a lot of wear, she says, the clothes still look great - no pills, fading, or torn seams. To her, that's worth spending more money.

Born in Wilmington, Blumenfeld went to middle and high school in Lower Merion, and graduated from Villanova Law School in 2009. She practiced for a couple years in Colorado, then came back in 2011 to get her Pennsylvania license. She and fiance Adam Turkington recently moved back to Wilmington, but the only law she's practicing these days applies to Manifesta as she tries to grow the business.

"My goals are to be large enough that we start a movement of body positivity and inspiring people who otherwise wouldn't be comfortable to work out and feel confident," she said.