Local woman launches athletic pants line
‘There had to be a better way,’ Oakwood inventor said.
Patty Vanderburgh had three bad options when she was running off to her boot camp exercise class on cold January days five or so years ago:
1. freezing her tail off as she ran between her car and the gym in her shorts in 5 degree weather
2. pulling basic sweatpants on over her shoes and shorts
3. buttoning up a pair of oldschool tear-away pants
“There had to be a better way,” Vanderburgh, who was taught to sew by her grandmother, told this news organization. “I just kind of kept playing with every fabric I could find.”
Rare Active, the University of Dayton alumna’s patented athletic outwear pants line, was officially launched last month during an event at Up & Running in Centerville, according to Dayton Tech Guide. Made in the United States using Italian materials, the pants are a cross between joggers and leggings and retail for about $148 each.
Legs upzip all the way up, and the waistband stretches.
“The key is that you don’t have to take your shoes off, and there is quick-and-easy layering,” said Vanderburgh, an Oakwood resident and former educator.
Featured on Dayton Tech Guide’s website, the pants are being sold at Up & Running and online at rareactive.co.
About 280 pair of pants were part of the product’s first run in five sizes from extra small to extra large and three colors: black, grey and blue.
Fewer than 80 pants are still up for grabs.
Vanderburgh, a past participant in Dayton Tech Guide’s Early Risers monthly pitch event for local startups, wants to expand her company’s offering to items such as rain and hiking pants.
The outwear pants could have applications for the military, she says.
Vanderburgh said she is thrilled the line is off and running.
“It is really super easy, and I think it is a flattering pant,” she said of her product. “A lot of things are happening this year, and it is exciting.”