Carbon38 is a women’s activewear retailer. They carry popular and high-end activewear brands such as ALO Yoga, Nike, APL, Beyond Yoga, Spiritual Gangster, and much more!
They also have an in-house line that offers proprietary fabrics and clean designs that you can both live in move-in.
If you’re not familiar with Carbon38’s fabrics, we will offer a quick breakdown of all their fabrics in this guide. Use this guide to determine what collection will work best for your needs.
Carbon38 Fabric Guide
Use our fabric guide to determine which fabrics would best fit your needs.
Here are the different fabrics offered at Carbon38.
You can click on the fabric type to see the fabric features and more.
#1 Takara
Takara is Carbon38’s best selling fabric. It’s no surprise that the fabric is named after the Japanese word for “gold.” It’s sleek, stretchy, and lightweight. You can easily wear these in and beyond the gym or studio.
We recommend going with your true size or sizing up in the Takara collection.
The Takara fabric offers the following qualities:
- 4-way stretch
- Lightweight
- Quick-drying
- Stretchy
- Shiny (or cire) look
- Comes in lots of colors and patterns (ie. leopard and croc)
- Elastic waistband for a stay-put fit.
- Comes in high and medium rise
What We Don’t Like
Our biggest gripe about the Takara fabric is that it does pill and snag easily and not compressive at all. We recommended hang drying and avoiding rough surfaces to preserve the fabric.
Carbon38 claims they are sweat-proof, but I have seen sweat marks while wearing my Takara apparel to sweaty fitness classes.
The Takara fabric also does not hide lumps and bumps very well. This is due to the fabric not having any compressive quality at all.
No pockets!
Takara Fabric is Perfect For
- Yoga
- Light to Medium impact exercises
- Casual Wear
#2 Ribbed
Carbon38’s Ribbed fabric is a fan favorite! I love wearing these while working out and casually. It’s definitely more of a warm weather fabric.
We recommend going with your true size or sizing down in the Ribbed collection.
Carbon38’s ribbed fabric offers the following qualities:
- 4-way stretch
- Cool to the touch
- Stretchy
- Vertical ribbed texture
- Quick drying
- Comes in lots of colors and patterns (ie. leopard)
- Comes in high and medium rise
What We Don’t Like
Ribbed fabrics are not compressive and do not retail their shape. Over time, the ribbed fabric will start to stretch.
Their lighter colors are see-through. We recommend wearing nude color seamless underwear to prevent the visible panty line (VPL).
No pockets!
Ribbed Fabric is Perfect For
- Yoga
- Light to Medium impact exercises
- Casual Wear
#3 Cloud Compression
Cloud Compression 7/8 Leggings in Indigo
Carbon38’s Cloud Compression fabric is, well, compressive, and super stretchy. It reminds us of Girlfriend Collective‘s compression fabric.
We recommend sizing up in the Cloud Compression collection.
Carbon38’s Cloud Compression fabric offers the following qualities:
- 4-way stretch
- Quick Drying
- Compressive
- Brushed feel
- Matte look
- High rise fit
- Comes in different solid colors
- Side Pockets – our favorite feature!
- Sustainably made
What We Don’t Like
We had a hard time trying to figure out what we didn’t like.
Takara Fabric is Perfect For
- Medium to High impact exercises
- Casual Wear
#4 Diamond Compression
Carbon38’s Diamond Compression fabric is their most compressive fabric yet. Their leggings are made with a structural fabric that holds everything in really well.
We recommend going with your true size or sizing up in the Diamond Compression collection.
Carbon38’s ribbed fabric offers the following qualities:
- 4-way stretch
- Quick Drying
- Compressive
- High rise fit
- Brushed feel
- Matte look
- Comes in different solid colors
- Made from used water bottles
What We Don’t Like
The waistband can be super compressive. It has a more structural feel, which is different from the rest of the pant. If you’re in between sizes, we recommend sizing up for a more comfortable waistband fit. For example, I am a size 6 and would size up to a medium in Diamond Compression leggings.
No pockets!
Takara Fabric is Perfect For
- Medium to High impact exercises
- Casual Wear
Carbon38 Coupon Code
Did our Carbon38 fabric guide convince you to give them a try? We have a coupon code you can use toward your first purchase.
Use code SHMGY25 to save 15% off your first two orders at Carbon38.
If you enjoyed our Carbon38 Fabric Guide, please share it on Pinterest. Thank you!
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