We are just so damn pleased to introduce you to Emma, the founder of Emma Lou Athleisure. Lauryn loves her leggings and today Emma is here to tell us WHY and HOW her leggings work, as well as share the super cool story about how she came up with the idea for DEBLOATING LEGGINGS. You guys!
It’s true. There are debloating leggings out there and if you don’t have your hands on some already, you’ll be ‘adding to cart’ by the end of this post (which includes some fab, quickie Pilates exercises, btw).
With that, let’s welcome Emma to the blog.
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Hi TSC readers! My name is Emma, and I’m the founder of innovative athleisure brand, Emma Lou. I am a certified personal trainer & Pilates instructor, and was born and raised in California. I like to spend my time at the beach, reading a fictional book, hot girl walking, scouting for the best iced chai, and sketching pieces for Emma Lou. I currently reside in the beautiful Southern California area.
I wasn’t one of those people who knew they wanted to be an entrepreneur right out of the gate. High school was pretty rough, and I transferred colleges four times. I ended up graduating with a degree in Business Administration, but only after changing my major three times (3rd times the charm, am I right folks?).
I was extremely lost, so I held onto the only thing that remained constant in my life: working out. I felt at peace with my headphones in, on a run, or doing Pilates. I was good at it, so I thought that was my career.
After getting my personal training certification, I got a job at a gym a couple of months before the pandemic. During this time, I trained women of all ages, and became a sound board for most. A lot of the complaints coming from my clients were centered around their boyfriends, nutty mother-in-laws, and work drama, but the most prominent one was their appearance. I just couldn’t shake the fact that almost every single one of my clients were insecure about their stomach. More specifically, the lower stomach. It was wild. Now that I had access to all of this information on how women were truly feeling (myself included), I felt it was my responsibility to fix it.
Emma Lou came to fruition when I was 19 years old. I noticed there was a white space in the athleisure market since I kept hearing my clients complain about their bloating problems and how it was a huge insecurity for them. I realize now that every woman knows about the notorious lower stomach, but the only product I could recommend to them that targeted this area was a waist trainer. Which, no shade, but they aren’t *super* effective or sustainable. Worst of all, you can’t walk into Trader Joe’s wearing one without everyone giving you the disapproving side-eye while you’re picking out avocados.
The Problem:
There wasn’t a single product on the market that wasn’t A) a waist trainer or B) a digestible supplement that aided women with bloating in the lower stomach area.
I grew up in California where the water is beautiful, but freezing, which meant I was always equipped with a wetsuit. My wetsuit kept me nice and warm, but also, whenever I took it off, I would be sweating. I cut out a chunk of my wetsuit and had my grandma sew it into the waistband of an old pair of biker shorts. Hideous? yes. Effective? Hell yes. The stitches were bright green and showed through the shorts, but the neoprene held strong and I felt my tummy sweat immediately. I wore it to the gym, on walks, and for grocery store runs for weeks and noticed a decrease in my lower stomach bloating, water weight retention, and just overall ~flow~ of things since neoprene is a heat trapping fabric and I was targeting my lower stomach and waist.
My clients, fellow gym staff, and friends, were dying to get a pair of my magic pants after they saw my results, so I decided to make a small batch of them with a manufacturer. I did a little more research on the best fabric for the problem I was eager to solve, and landed on what we have now, which is a recycled thermoplastic fabric, that has been scientifically proven to reduce water weight and bloating. There was an apparent bloating problem in women, and most of us struggle with it. It can be uncomfortable and inconvenient, which is why targeting that area was my #1 priority.
The Solution:
Create a garment that harnesses textile technology to target the lower stomach area with a scientifically proven fabric to target bloating and water weight.
After a couple months of reading business and self-help books (shoutout to You are a Badass by Jen Sincero & Invest It, Sell it, Bank it! by Lori Greiner for keeping me afloat), researching, testing, and typing away, I now had a full-fledged business that was now catching the eyes of publications like Vogue, Forbes, WWD, Popsugar, Shark Tank, & more, because of our innovative, stylish pants. I launched during the pandemic in 2020, when everyone was online shopping and looking for a little extra spice in their at-home workouts, so I really got to know my consumers and what they were lacking in their workout wardrobe.
Since then, I have been growing my brand and adding new pieces to the Emma Lou collection (which I store in my room, under my IKEA storage bed BTW), learning new things (like what a triple-stitch is), and testing out new fabrics and designs that I hope my consumers will love. I am a die-hard mood board fan, so every piece usually has a plethora of Pinterest images behind it. As you may know, owning a business isn’t cheap, so luckily I am still able to teach Pilates and private training sessions to fuel my dream. And, teaching Pilates helps me keep my finger on the pulse of the always-evolving activewear trends so I can see what people are loving (& not-loving).
As a Pilates instructor and private trainer, I have helped tons of women with their fitness journeys and get the inside scoop on what exercises are the best for lengthening, toning, & strengthening the stomach and body. Pilates is a great way to promote mindfulness and become more aware of your movement. Below I am going to share two of my favorite full body moves to lengthen and tighten, which you can do anywhere, so it’s a win win.
️Bird Dog Crunch:
♡ using a yoga mat and optional weights (my favorites are the Bala Bars), get onto your hands and knees. Focus on forming one straight line from your fingertips to your toes, keeping your hips straight. Bring your knee into your shoulder while you bring your elbow back towards the knee (in a 90 degree angle). You should feel a stretch in your stomach, and then when you crunch, feel your waist and glutes burn.
Plank Knee Taps:
♡ get in a plank position onto your hands and bring your knees shoulder width apart. Drop both of your knees onto the mat at the same time to feel the burn in your lower stomach.
Sprinkle in these simple, yet effective, moves with your daily routine or just if you need a movement break during the day. AND to make it even more spicy and fun, throw on a pair of our Glow Band leggings.
Some of my favorite pieces are the Elle Glow Band Leggings for a pop of color and flattering flare leg with a bustier inspired top (that makes for a great going out top too BTW), and the Toby Glow band Biker shorts for a classic, staple piece, that’s buttery soft and knows your angles.
Follow us on Instagram & TikTok @emmalouthelabel and shop Emma Lou at www.emmalouthelabel.com or, if you ever want to talk business, slide into my DMs @emmamvollrath. I’d love to connect.
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There you have it. Be sure to stalk Emma & her brand on Instagram & TikTok @emmalouthelabel and shop the collection here.
x, The Skinny Confidential team.
+ learn all about Lauryn’s Air Sculpt experience here.
++ check out this DIY body scrub with coffee grounds.
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