WORKOUT WARDROBES

By ASHLEY FANTZ
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
LOW-CUT HALTERS, BUTT-REVEALING shorts, flared pants with V-waists, capris with comets of color bolting down the calves, spaghetti strap tanks. In exercise wear stolen directly from Sabado Gigante's costuming department, women are working up a sweat over the latest workout wear from the land that gave us the lower-than-low Brazilian jean.
What accounts for the trend? Chalk it up in part to Latina role models who aren't afraid to shake what they've got -- JLo, Shakira, Thalia -- and the approximately 184,000 Brazilians who call the United States home.
"Latino culture has always been more flesh baring, more comfortable with the body, whereas Western cultures, in general, tend to approve of surgical changes and constant unsatisfied improvement," says Ana Pelayo, former Fitness magazine assistant editor.
For Miami marketing consultant Claudia Castillo, a triathlete and cyclist, Brazilian sportswear conveys an appreciation of the female form.
"I know that American athletic sportswear lines are trying to mass market to their idea of the American woman. They have a mannequin in mind of, like Katie Couric, and most Latin women like myself don't fit that shape."
In Brazil, it's common for people to spend half their day at a gym -- a place where exercise blends with socializing and exercise gear makes a lasting statement. And although Americans most often adopt the get-in, get-out workout mentality, more gyms are opening across the nation that have adopted the Brazilian philosophy.
Tired of step
The Latino influence within that burgeoning gym culture has answered a thirst for diversity among members who are tired of the same old step class. Hundreds of aerobics instructors across the country teach Afro-Brazilian dance or high intensity cardio set to live drum and salsa, merengue, and cha-cha rhythms. But sex appeal and leisure don't at all conflict with athletic prowess.
Says Pelayo: "The Williams twins, Mia Hamm, all the WNBA players, they represent a kind of body image freedom thanks to their proven athletic ability. And that, by some definition, is the ultimate in sexual power."
Brands like Nike and Reebok market high-chested tanks and pants with waistbands a mile above the navel; designers of Brazilian gym attire cut their designs differently. Waistbands are tapered with deceptively slimming V-lines. For women who are bustier, the jog bras have shelf-supporting harnesses, creating a 'lift up and separate' effect only thought possible with lots of tape.
Made from a form of nylon called Supplex, Brazilian sportswear appears to fit a Barbie modeled after supermodel Giselle Bundchen when it's on the hanger.
"It's so tiny. My clients usually take one look at it and think their 10-year-old niece would look great in it," says Shirlee Fernandez, a Miami personal trainer and creator of RIO! "But as soon as they get it on, they're so amazed!"
One of the biggest successes in Brazilian sportswear is Miami-based Blue Fish, which reported sales last year of more than $3 million.
Bea Pares, 25, assists her mother, the company's chief designer Malu Pares, with handling the burgeoning chain founded in 1998. This year, Bea Pares is coordinating the opening of Blue Fish boutiques in Iceland and Moscow; the company already has stores in Japan, Taiwan, and China. Their U.S. boutiques are scattered throughout the United States, with a flagship store in Coconut Grove, Fla.'s Cocowalk.
In the Midwest
But does it play in Peoria?
"I've been a little pleasantly surprised by the demand in the Midwest," says Bea Pares. "Women who you would think are conservative -- or live in traditionally conservative towns -- are buying clothes from our Web site."
Part of Blue Fish's success lies in understanding how far is too far. "There's some wild things that Brazilians love to wear that I don't think would ever sell in America," said Bea Pares. "There's a bra made out of mesh. And pants that are cut up through the thigh and on the backside."
Originally from Sao Paolo, where roughly 70 percent of the world's Lycra is produced, Malu Pares began Blue Fish as a swimwear company. Her success led to active wear. People wanted cover-ups (as oxymoronish as it may sound to have a cover-up for a Brazilian bikini).