Why All the Lithe Method Girls Are Wearing Trash-Bag Diapers

The newest product to hit the Lithe Wear shelves are a pair of trash-bag-like shorts that make you really sweat it out.

They’re called Calorie Trashers in Lithe Method parlance, and they’re the latest rage among the studio’s many (many, many) apologists. So what’s the deal with these trash-bag diapers everybody’s wearing?

“Ballet dancers wear trash-bag pants to warm-up—to loosen muscles, increase flexibility,” says Lithe’s director of operations Melissa Weinberg. “We started offering them for our High Waisted class in December, but people have been using them for our other classes, too.”

The pants fit like knickers, sitting at the waist and extending to the knee with elastic on both ends. They’re 100 percent nylon and 100 percent non-breathable—meaning they make you sweat like nobody’s business. So in addition to making you more limber, they can help you shed some quick water weight, too.

Because the pants are so sweat inducing, they aren’t recommended for cardio workouts but are great for sculpting and conditioning. I’m told the Trashers are sold at Lithe’s Rittenhouse, Old City and Main Line studios but as of last week were sold out everywhere, except Old City. The pants go for $25 each.