Alala Spring 2015 Review: Blocked Crop Tight + Cropped Tee + The Cut Bra

As I’ve written before, NYC-based startup brand Alala has quickly become one of my favorite new brands for stylish fitness wear.  A couple of the reasons I love their brand: they have a great eye for style, they mind the technical/functional details, and all their products are made in the US or Canada.  I’m really excited to share some of their new spring goods I’ve been testing out.

In this post, I’ll review the cropped tee, blocked crop tights, and the cut bra.  Ok, ok, technically, the cut bra I have is from this past fall, not spring.  But it matches, and the style is one of their core styles that’s also available in spring colors anyway, so I decided to roll it in with this review.  So sue me. ;)

Disclosure: the crops and tee were complimentary from Alala.  I did, however, purchase the bra separately with my own $$$.  As usual, everything written here is my honest opinion.

The cropped tee is the quintessential summer top: breezy, cropped, lightweight, and white hot.  The fit is loose, which balances the cropped look so you can rock the crop without, you know, feeling like a hussy (just me?).  If you’re not wanting the full belly-baring look, this top looks cute layered over a tank, too.  The hem is high-low, extending a couple inches longer in the back.  There are geometric mesh accents at the shoulder to give this tee a little something special.

Confession: my shoulders get sunburned more often than they should, so I like that this style helps protect my shoulders without the overheating problems that often come with other tees.  For that reason, this will be a really useful top for long days outdoors, in addition to its usefulness for summer workouts in my AC-less gym.

The fabric is tactel, a type of nylon that Alala uses in a lot of their products.  It’s luxuriously soft to the touch, but still has all the stretch and wicking properties technical gear needs.  I did notice that this tee is somewhat prone to wrinkles, so I’ll need to hang this one instead of fold it to keep it looking its best.

I’ve been wanting to try the cut bra ever since I first laid eyes on it last spring, but I’d been trigger-shy due to sizing concerns (more on that below).  I finally snatched this up on sale because I love the eclipse color so much.  I absolutely love the styling of this bra, which is unique and stylish but doesn’t compromise function.  On the front of the bra, there’s a small reflective strip at the top of the bust line and contoured seaming that’s flattering but subtle.  In the back, the cutout is really the selling point for me, and the mesh upper panel adds style too.  The sides are also mesh.  Besides sweatier pursuits, this bra will look great casually, since the styling is more sleek and stylish than your average sports bra.

On their website, Alala notes that the cut bra runs a full size small, which is definitely accurate.  Lined up, the XS is just a touch smaller than my lululemon size 2 bras, and feels about the same on.  The fit seemed to be the tightest when I first tried it on, but the fabric relaxed slightly after the initial wear.  I love the semi-long-line cut, since the extra-wide band helps with support.  The fabric is slick nylon, not cottony supplex.  I’m usually not as fond of supplex/luon bras, so this is a plus for me.

The cut bra is a low support, low coverage bra, but offered more in both areas than I expected.  I wear a small band but a fuller D cup, and the front did not cut into the breast tissue like many lower-coverage bra styles do for me, which is a big win for me.  For comparison, both support and coverage are considerably higher than lululemon’s free to be/free to be wild bras, and probably a bit higher than the flow y as well, but less than the energy bra.

The straps are not adjustable, but they’re a good length for me.  Since they are thin, they might dig into your shoulders a little bit, which is pretty common with straps like this.  Although I do like the delicate look of the thin straps, I might like this a little better if there was a version with similar styling but somewhat wider straps.  There aren’t any slots for cups, but this isn’t a big deal for me since the fabric is double-layered and the color is dark enough to help hide any show-through.  Overall, I will definitely want to go back for another color (or three) of this bra.

The blocked crop tights are a new addition to Alala’s line of bottoms.  My pair is black accented with the new water print, which is an abstract pattern in black, purple, and white.  The side and knee accents add just the right amount of print for me–it pops without being overwhelming.  It goes well with just about any color in my wardrobe, but looks especially good with blues and purples (tip: slightly brighter colors like my bruised berry tank really bring out the color!).

The blocked crops have a lot of design elements similar to the captain crops: back zipper, front waistband pocket, and reflective detail around the waistband.  And I always love Alala’s signature gold plate logo sewn onto all their products.

The fabric on these crops is the best out of my three Alala crops.  It’s a slick running fabric, like lululemon’s luxtreme, that will be resistant to pilling and feels cool against your skin.  I really love the fabric on this pair especially; it’s thick and substantial without being heavy, and it feels especially silky and soft to the touch.  These are totally opaque.  Compared to my captain crops, the cut is nearly identical when I line them up, though the blocked crops feel slightly tighter.  I’m guessing this is because the fabric is a little more solid.  I suggest sticking with your usual bottoms size for these.

These crops have already been put into heavy rotation for my workouts in the short time I’ve had them.  They look and feel great, and they’ve performed well for all my workouts.  Overall, this style is definitely a winner for me and I will be keeping my eye out for more colors.

In this post:

Cropped tee in white / Blocked crops tights in black/water / The cut bra in eclipse (this color is on sale!)

(Water bottle: bkr)

More Alala:

Shop all spring ’15

Agent Athletica reader special: get 15% off anytime at Alala with code AA15!

Alala is also stocked on Carbon38 and Revolve Clothing, where you can find a couple more styles not on Alala’s site currently, as well as more sizes if yours is out of stock.