Yoga Pants That Bend Expectations

Think your yogi has everything? These should get their attention – Canadian-designed 100% Dream Pants from Dear Lil' Devas.

Turning the skin-tight lycra mold on its head, these loose-fitting, lightweight pants harken back to traditional yoga wear, but incorporate innovative design features like high-quality (read: non-chafing) seams, a non-knotting drawstring and a specially designed bottom for vigorous twists and turns. What's more, they come in a range of colors (bye-bye boring black!) and funky eco-fabrics like Indian Cotton, 100% Bamboo and Hemp/Cotton. So comfy! Many people also use them outside of the studio as an ultra-comfortable lounge pant.

An added bonus is the company's ethical production practices, which mean you don't have to sweat that your gift has bad karma. Package a pair with their Easy-Load Yoga Mat Bags for the perfect present to enhance yogic serenity.

Available at dearlildevas.com

Canada's Dear Lil' Devas' New Easy-Load Yoga Mat Bags are cozy!

The EASY LOAD Yoga Mat Bags are a fabulous bag to begin with, with their "serenity preserving" yoga mat loading advantage you think they couldn't get any better, right? Well think again...they now come in three new cozy wool fabrics - Chocolaty Herringbone, Hot Pink Houndstooth & a Colourful Tartan.

So rest assured when you are bustling to a class during those chilly winter months your mat can stay nice and toasty too.

Available at dearlildevas.com

— Jennifer Malisauskas Yoga In Canada

THE BUY: Big-Bottomed Bamboo Bag

Hey big Momma, have we got a bag for you.

The Big-Bottomed Bamboo Bag from Dear Lil’ Devas is soft and curvaceous, pretty and colourful ... just like you. It’s also every Earth mother’s dream bag, made from 100-per-cent biodegradable bamboo fibre. (Bamboo is a sustainable crop that requires no pesticides or fertilizers and matures to a height of 23 metres in less than two months.) You can use this fun number as a handbag or gym tote, machine wash it when it gets dirty, and, when it wears out, bury it in the backyard, where it will slowly break down and return to whence it came.

The bag is available online for $54 in four bright colours: burnt orange, deep sky, pale yellow and young green. It comes with a handy shoulder strap and a stylish printed flap-closure. (Prints are very big this spring, dontchaknow.) And best of all, it’s made in Canada.

Available at www.dearlildevas.com.

— Cecily Ross

Rhapsody in Bamboo

Daphne Gordon, The Constant Shopper:
Loosen up in looser pants

These loose, drawstring yoga pants, made from super-light Indian cotton by local label Dear L'il Devas, are the alternative to the tight, flared yoga pants that have been all the rage as a fashion item for the past few years.

The Constant Shopper hs been a big fan of L'il Devas since a yoga retreat where I wore a pair of amethyst capris from morning to night. In fact, sometimes I wore them morning to morning — they're comfy enough to wear to bed.

You'd think a pair of loose pants wouldn't work for yoga, but they do. L'il Devas are designed to be functional for the twists and turns of a vigorous yoga class, thanks a deep panel sewn into the rear that allows for a full squat without bum-baring side-effects. As well, smooth French seams won't chafe, and the drawstring waist makes them useful during pregnancy and beyond.

Fashion Notes: Hot for yoga

Local yoga line Dear Lil' Devas has been tapped by Roots to create a special yoga-mat bag that will be sold at the new Roots Yoga shop opening on Monday (August 14) at Yonge and Roxborough. The bag opens completely flat so your mat can be easily rolled inside. After picking up your bag (and the Roots eco-friendly mat for which it was designed), log on to www. dearlildevas.com to check out their Indian cotton yoga pants, which quickly wick downward-dogging sweat away from your limber body.

Kelly Mcgrath, Director at the Joy of Yoga Studio, Montréal

Kelly Mcgrath was featured in Yoga Mondô magazine. Kelly chose to wear Dear Lil' Devas Indian Cotton Yoga pants for the photo shoot!

Huxley and Wispy Johnston of Kamala Yoga, Toronto

Huxley, at five months old, chose to wear his light blue Dear Lil' Devas Yoga and Lounge Pants for the photoshoot.

You can view the very informative article "Yoga for Two" at www.ohbabymagazine.com on page 52. If you would like a copy of this magazine, we would be glad to send you one free of charge - just e-mail your request and mailing address to info@dearlildevas.com

Best Yoga Wear - Dear Lil' Devas

Oh, stretch fabrics, how we loathe thee. Which is why we love, love, love the baggy cotton (and now hemp) one-size-fits-all stylings of Dear Lil' Devas yoga pants. Breathable, movable, washable, rollable (thats a lot of -ables), these pants are a gift, especially if youre ready to get your body moving and want to avoid the sausage casing effect that comes with most workout wear. Lulu Lemon used to be the only game in town, but that's all changed now.

Best clothes to get down (-ward dog) in

We Want... Dear Lil' Devas Yoga Pants

Be it a housewarming or birthday, now that most people (and their grandmothers) are practising yoga/Pilates, or at least intend to, consider these unisex one-size-fits-all cotton yoga pants - now available in two cuffed and un-cuffed lengths and in six new shades - as the ultimate no-brainer present. Thoughtful and pseudo-bohemian in a way gift certificates could never be, they're somehow just as practical - and great as re-gifters (to yourself) if plans with your giftee fall through.

Resolution Solution

Like the next person, you want to get your om on, but fashion intimidation (Lycra can be a very scary thing) and personal embarrassment (bending over wearing said Lycra) can go a long way toward preventing you from joining a group of sinewy yoginis on the quest for spiritual and physical gain.

Fear no wardrobe malfunction. Get downward in these one-size-fits-all elastic and drawstring-waist cotton yoga pants by Dear Lil Devas. Also available in other fabrics

Chafe- and lycra-free