Lululemon REALLY couldn’t keep their pants on today. For most of the summer, upload was around 7pm ET. Then, it kept creeping closer to 6p in August. Today… 4:32p I fire up the app from work and see PANTS galore.
That’s been the gimmick of the week… pants. Lulu’s trying to tech it up and step it up in the bottoms department, where flattery is no longer enough to keep you at the top of the class. Yeah, Wunder Unders look cute at yoga and a casual Happy Hour, but it’s my Under Armours that I just can’t give up when it comes to going on a long run. I’m wearing UA RIGHT NOW as I write this lululemon-related post. Blasphemy, I know. Deal with it.
Well, lululemon is finally paying a bit more attention to the fit and functionality of their pants & crops, in the name of Sensation Innovation. The new names for how lululemon pants fit and feel are broken down into 5 different categories (aka sensations).
Lululemon’s Sensation Innovation
- Tight – They actually tell you to shimmy into these like pantyhose.
- Hugged – The embrace of a close friend? Well, I consider my High Times Pants close friends, so I’ll bite on this one.
- Held-In – What I am dubbing ‘selective Spanx’, with more compression in some areas than others
- Naked – Teehee. Introducing a new fabric called Nulu to help make you feel like you’re not wearing any pants at all! The Align Pant is the newbie available in this fabric, will have to try them on soon.
- Relaxed – All the big stuff you throw over your tight stuff in the winter time after class. Because snow.
Given the huge focus on pants this week, there were only a few exciting additions this week that weren’t designed to cover your arse. Without any further ado…
5 Faves & a Dud – 9/1/15 Upload (#OMGitsSeptember)
Favorite #1: Daily Practice Jacket ($118) in sapphire blue
Holy credit cards Batman, I’m not the only one who saw this and fell in love with it. Only sizes 2 & 4 left at the time of writing this. I saw it in my local store over the weekend and absolutely LOVED IT, but I have a Studio Jacket in Black from last year that I wear all the time, so the ‘stupid cute hoodie to wear around the house all the time’ position in my closet has already been filled.
Favorite #2: Pace Rival Crop ($88) in cyber stripe naval blue black/black
I’m just liking these for the rear view. The curved stitching on the backside plus the tiny piping of stripes perpendicular to the rest of the pattern is subtly fun. Look and see for yourselves.
Favorite #3: Align Pant ($98) in black
They’re very close to the High Times, which you all know I’m a big fan of. Blindly including them on my favorites list, giving this newfangled Nulu the benefit of the doubt.
Favorite #4: Tight Stuff Tight *Reflective ($148) in black
One can be out of their mind to think I’d pay $148 for a pair of Full-On Luxtreme pants, but it’s the details around the ankles that’s got me going all “Ooh! Shiny things!”
Favorite #5: Vent it Out Crop ($88) in kanto stripe sapphire blue black/black/sapphire blue
Continuing my love trend with sapphire blue. Emoji face with hearts for eyes. That’s me right now.
The Dud: Swiftly Arm Warmers ($34) in heathered neon pink
Dude. If your arms are cold, WEAR A LONG SLEEVE SHIRT.
Who is the genius at HQ who honestly thought this was a good idea?!
9/2 EDIT: So I have been shown the errors of my ways on this pick. Thank you, comments section! Being a CrossFitter who still doesn’t know all that much about distance running, it didn’t make a whole lot of sense for these in the functional fitness world. My fault for tunnel vision!
With my first half marathon coming up on 10/10, Connecticut mornings get nippy, but quickly warm up by 9am. Now these don’t seem like a half bad idea at all.
Now I must search for a new piece of fugly! Stand by…
The Dud (Take TWO): Universal Wrap ($118) in black
Let’s try this dishonor of the week again. There actually wasn’t anything outrageously horrible, so it came down to one of the new visors and this piece. Try as we may, long floaty cardigans and I don’t get along. Wearing a blanket-ish pieces may be cute and flattering on smaller girls, but for quasi-Amazons like me, a giant piece of fabric just makes us look bigger. I prefer more form-fitting stuff. The Universal Wrap will surely find a good home in someone else’s closet.
Additional Notes
- The FTBW Bra now comes in solid Alarming. An odd choice given the fact that Alarming was released with funky straps, but it’s a welcome change IMHO.
- The Ebb to Street Pant gets a fun tie dye treatment as previewed in last week’s WWL. Liking the look, but have never gotten into the whole seamless cameltoe-inducing style of the Ebb to Street.
- Fun fact about how oblivious I am to the world: for YEARS, I thought the lined vs unlined Studio Pants meant they had a liner a la Speed Shorts (built in skivvies), until I grabbed onto a pair about a month ago in store and felt that the lined version was warm & fuzzy inside. Who knew? Surely everyone but me. Doh. The blonde hair is real, folks.
- Judging by the looks of things on the international side and one the heathered cranberry/bordeaux drama Scuba II’s, we’re about to see an influx of polka dots as the theme du jour. Brace yourselves.
- Favorite Scuba III to date: the Scuba III *Terry in tonka stripe heathered black angel wing/heathered black. Want.
- Ultra Violet also seems to be the next trendy color, with a heathered version in the High Times Pant, What the Sport Singlet, plus the Pace Rival & Pleat to Street Skirts. Shoot, it’s even popping up in the underwear section. Also spying a UV bra in the photo of the Fast Paced Run Visor. Wonder which one it will be?
This is one place where I will have to disagree with you on the dud. Where I live it is never cold enough for a true long sleeve shirt, but can be nippy when first going out. Having the arm warmers is good for people like me (I live in the tropics but it gets very nippy in the winter) as I can keep my arms warm until I warm up and then remove them as the run progresses. I can’t do that with long sleeves. I will be purchasing a pair!
However, I can see how people who live in places with more traditional 4 seasons wouldn’t find these of use.
You know, I never thought of it that way! The part about taking them off mid-run and not having to carry a full shirt with you makes sense. Living in CT, my rule of thumb is either a tank (60° and warmer), or a LS (59° and below) – not leaving much room in between 🙂
They look a bit out of place on the model, which is what drew my attention in their direction initially.
Yes, I live in NYC, and love arm warmers for the same reason Beth does. Start out with them and slide them either around my wrists, or if it’s a long run, will take off completely and tie them around my belt.
I have so much to learn about distance running! Now you ladies are making me want a pair for my upcoming half marathon in October. Who knows if it’s going to be 80° or under 3 feet is snow!!
Haha! Yes. I know! While I love lulu, I actually have asics arm warmers simply because I found them on sale for $8. You can’t beat that price! Lulu’s are cute in the grey with the reflective a but a bit pricey where I’d rather spend the money on speed shorts 🙂
I bought your dud, and I’m sooooo excited about them! I go to Crossfit at 5:30am, and Arizona in the winter gets nippy, about 37 degrees on our cold days. We often have to run outside, then come in and do something else. Now I don’t have to rip a LS on and off!
I also caved for the ultra violet heathered high times and the align pant, because clearly I don’t have enough black pants (ha). I’m in love with the $148 tights, but nooooo way can I pay that. My girlfriend did though, so I can live vicariously through her. I can’t steal them because she’s a size 2 (huh), so she’s safe there.
This is clearly a reflection of how much I know about specialized running garb, which is equal to zilch.
Hi my name is Katy and sometimes I’m wrong about stuff! 🙂
They could totally suck and I just fell in to the hype!
So Lululemon stuck the tags to the arm warmers through the material itself, leaving tiny holes. Not so brilliant. Maybe you were just seeing the future?
The ultra violet heathered high times are thin and sheer. Waaaaaaa.
I really love how you are so genuinely sweet and open-minded! As an ex-marathoner arm sleeves do have their place but I also agree with you that they look SO out of place on that model…they are supposed to be really tight and they look baggy on her?? Arm sleeves that fall down are THE WORST. She just looks so awkward and ouch.
Agreed!