Something rare happened last night. I went into lululemon, tried on a bunch of stuff and didn’t buy any of it. One of my favorite Eds was working, and even she was like “WHOA I don’t think I’ve ever seen this happen before.”
I’m trying to reform, people. Vacations. National Parks. Redirection of funds. Running out of space in my closet. All are contributing factors. I say this as I shoot a text to one of my best friends asking if he will snag my latest lulu delivery off the doorstep in case I’ve already skipped town for the weekend when it comes. Baby steps.
The Fitting Room: Cool Racerback *Exhale ($48)
THE FIT: Seeing that it was a seemingly simple modification of the classic Cool Racerback, I wasn’t expecting it to feel drastically different than usual. Joke’s on me. While both the classic CRB and Exhale edition are listed as “tight” on lululemon’s website, this one actually is. If you’re in between sizes, go UP. This one is the same size as all the rest of my CRBs, but felt significantly smaller.
LENGTH: Same as usual, which is what keeps me drawn to the CRB year after year. Generous length.
DETAILS: The main draw on this design is the mesh paneling and keyhole in the back. Taking my own advice from 5 Faves a couple weeks ago, I put a contrasting Flow Y IV Bra underneath. It lined up great.
There are two other things about this tank that I didn’t expect, the neckline and extra seaming. The neckline is not as low as it is on a standard CRB. With a Flow Y on, ALL of my CRBs leave a little extra room for a pop of color in front. Not this time. If one of your gripes with the CRB is its low cut, this is an improvement for you. For me, I wasn’t a fan.
As for the extra seams, there are 2 vertical seams running down the full length of the front, one on each side. Unnecessary, IMHO. There’s also one running down the center of the back.
THE VERDICT: Pass. The Exhale is only available in 3 colors (black, heathered slate, hero blue) and I already own regular CRBs in black, heathered slate & deep navy. While I appreciate the effort to jazz up a very popular style, not enough sets this design apart from its original inspiration to be worth spending the money.