Duuude… I did a RARE THING tonight. I went into lulu. I tried on a bunch of new stuff. I walked out with nada. I had my heart set on trying on and hopefully snagging a pair of the new Beat the Sleet Pant II, but my local store didn’t get any in their magic boxes.

Side note: some of the girls at my local store like to recite the line that new product that drops online usually takes 1-2 weeks to make it to them. The last 2 Wednesdays I’ve stopped in, they’ve had things that literally just uploaded 24 hours earlier. You know you’re a luluholic when you know more about the stock than the educators do.

After scouring the place, it was unfortunately true that they, in fact, did not get the rain pants in. So, I took in a handful of new items to try on and see how the latest & greatest fared.

(For any new readers’ reference, I’m 5’9″ and generally take an 8-10, depending on how many cookies I’ve eaten and what style I’m trying on.)

The Fitting Room: Down for a Run Pullover ($168) in black grape

At first try feeling snap judgement, I got a bit excited. Thought to myself… you don’t need to be spending $168 on another piece of outerwear. REMEMBER, SELF… YOU CAN’T HAVE THIS.

Ugh. You can see the mischief written all over my post-massage makeup-free face. Must! Resist! Black Grape fluffy item!

Not gonna lie. It’s pretty snazzy, and this sucker is indeed WARM. Shown here is a Size 10.

It’s fitted, but wasn’t uncomfortably tight in the shoulders, which is usually one of my problem areas. However, you can see below that the side flares out when I lift my arm.

Nothing too bad, but still noticeable to me. Moving on to the sleeves. I know I have long arms, but it seems like the sleeves could have been a little longer. Maybe they’re on the shorter side to accommodate the fact that someone wearing this piece will likely be outdoors in gloves. Bunching sleeves to accommodate mittens is a total PIA.

I still like these sleeves MUCH better than those Kanto Catch Me LS ones!

Lastly, I’m sure some of you with broader shoulders are wondering how the hell you’re supposed to slip into a piece like this without getting stuck? I totally have that problem while dress shopping.

I managed to squirm my way in, thanking the existence of the Rulu side panels. Once I took the pullover off, I noticed a zipper along the side seam that comes undone to help you in your on/off endeavors. Doh. Of course the blonde finds that feature 30 seconds too late and a dollar short.

Overall, I certainly liked the Down for a Run Pullover, but I did not take it home with me. It’s very flattering, and would be very useful for someone training longer distances in winter temps.

It’s not entirely easy-on easy-off, so that removes the realistic possibility of wearing this as a casual to/from to keep warm. That’s what the Down for a Run Jacket (and an extra $30) is for.

Survey says: B+. There’s a snowball’s chance in hell this makes it to WMTM, but a girl can dream.