Ridgewood Hosts New Jersey's First Ivivva Athletica Showroom

A trendy, yoga-inspired athletic clothing line owned by breakout brand Lululemon has come to Ridgewood - and they’re angling for the under-14 crowd. 

Ivivva Athletica opened Thursday, May 16 on Godwin Avenue, across from Whole Foods. Its walls are bedecked with a menagerie of bright, high-tech clothing designed for girls sized 4-14. 

Manager Michelle Dumont ticks off the features built into each tank-top, running skirt and pair of shorts - anti-stink technology to keep BO at bay after a long workout session, hair ties secreted away in the zippers, fingerless built into the wrists of jackets. 

“We try to build the best way for people to sweat,” Dumont said. And for the age group they have in mind, she adds, “there’s always a splash of color.”

The line is aimed mostly at dancers, runners and practitioners of yoga, though Dumont says their gear is fit for any sport. She recommends the rhythmic crop pants in particular. 

“The goal is to find something that you don’t have to think about when you’re wearing it, that feels like a second skin,” she said. 

Ivivva also plans to host weekly educational dance events “to get the girls involved,” Dumont said. Carly Harper, the store’s educator, will start with a hip-hop dance lesson. Other lessons may include different forms of dance or yoga. 

Harper, who graduated from Long Island University with a degree in dance, said it was exciting to work “beyond the clothing.” 

“It’s great merchandise, it’s functional fashion, and it’s great to be able to work with local girls,” she said. 

This is a new career move for Dumont, whose previous jobs included running a combined restaurant and theater with her husband in Colorado and, before that, a role in the long-running Broadway musical The Lion King – something that Harper said has always been a dream of hers. 

The Ridgewood store, which is partnered with the Lululemon shop in Garden State Plaza is open Thursday through Saturday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Still, Dumont says, running it requires a 40-hour workweek. 

“Outside of those 40 hours, I’m running around after my two kids - and that’s a full-time job too,” she adds. 

Correction: While owned by Lululemon, the showroom is solely for Ivivva Athletica products. Dumont's name was also misspelled in the first version of this article. The article of clothing she referred to is a rhythmic crop, which are pants, not a shirt.