Happy Memorial Day weekend! Besides the new stuff that’s popped up over the last week or two, there’s also a whole heap of sales for the long weekend. News first, then scroll to the bottom of the post for sales!
Bandier dropped a couple of exclusive collections in the past couple of weeks. First up, Monday Active made its debut. This label is the brainchild of Natasha Oakley and Devin Brugman, co-founders of A Bikini A Day and Instagram superstars. Their line only has a handful of pieces and is very simple, rendered only in black and white. I’m curious to try the Tash bra.
Next up in the Bandier lineup, Cushnie et Ochs is a fashion label that ventured into the world of spandex. Their line is geometric and a little vampy. Think mesh, cut-outs, and head-to-toe black.
Thirdly, Bandier also added designer Laain to their line-up, which is a brand I hadn’t heard of before. Their style is very geometric and athletic, and if you look closely you’ll see bonded seams, too. Both of these new lines underscore Bandier’s relentless determination to become the go-to active shop for the New York high fashion set, versus the more approachable vibes from other retailers.
Last thing from Bandier: they just added a couple new Alala styles in white shadow. I ordered the captain crops and woven shorts pictured above. Since the opacity was so good on my electric stone captain tights, I’m hoping I’ll have good luck with this print, too. The shorts are a little bit of a gamble, too, since they had a similar short last year that didn’t fit me very well. It was a different material though, so we’ll see how this year turns out!
Alala has been releasing a ton this season. Every time I think they’re done, I see something new. I thought I was just about done with my Alala wishlist for the season, but apparently not! I also like a couple pieces in their new heather grey lineup, which you can find at Bandier or the Alala main site.
Vimmia released these new speed pants in a speckle print that I found on Carbon38. I have the speed pants in python from last season and they were one of my best purchases. The fabric is thick with just the right amount of compression, and they fit me like a glove. Although I would recommend the speed pants based on my experience with my pair, the downside is that the fabric is very thick, making it more appropriate for fall/winter than spring/summer. I found the splice capri version of the same print for 25% off via Backcountry, so I’ll report back on whether they’re more suitable for warmer weather.
Speaking of Vimmia, these edge capris in ultramarine popped up on Bandier. Reminding myself I don’t need a third pair of cobalt crops.
In the lululemon world, one of my recent favorites is the run with the sun capsule. Even though the run with the sun tights above are a bit crazy, I think they’re actually kind of cool. The cropped version is also pretty.
This new wee are from space color is especially pretty. This color hasn’t been added to the website, but is in some stores so will probably upload shortly. I would actually consider buying these, but unfortunately, I’ve heard reports they’re sheer. But if I get a chance to try them on, I’ll definitely give them a shot. [Pic credit: Lululemon Westport store]
Lulu also released a couple new speed shorts. Above are pop cut fatigue and palm lace tofino. None of the latest colors are ringing my bell, but they’ve been popular with others. In fact, there was another more color variation of pop cut, but it’s already sold out!
Since my last news post, lululemon launched their brand new website. I definitely think their previous site was getting a bit tired, so I think it was a good decision for them to freshen things up. That said, functionally, the site is a little bit frustrating. It’s easy to miss new colors of items, because you can’t see the color swatches unless you hover over the item. The swatches are also tiny, so it’s hard to see what they are in general. You also can’t hover over for the name of the color like you used to be able to. Also, since everything is bigger and the top menu takes up a lot of space, it feels a bit cramped (at least on my laptop).
Also, visually, I really don’t like that the featured product images are now “floating”. I prefer to see the styles on models, and it makes the clothes look a bit teeny-bopper-ish. That plus something about how the images are floating just looks very unnatural, which really does not make the clothes look appealing. Speed shorts, for example, are a perennial favorite of mine but look really bad in the floating pics (example).
Overall, not loving the user experience, so it’s definitely going to take some getting used to!
I’ve seen this bag in a few pictures, and it’s now available here on the Calia website. Love the stripes, and I really like that the sides snap down for a more sleek look. It’s $90 and looks like it has quite a few internal pockets for organization. I’ve yet to buy anything from Calia, but this might have to be my first.
UK-based label Adanola just released their sophomore collection, featuring more simple, neutral styles. This season, they added a peach-tinged nude and navy to their lineup, in addition to black and heather grey. This brand is all over Instagram and I’ve been curious to see whether they live up to the hype. Their prices are pretty reasonable–after the exchange, a pair of leggings is around $70 USD.
Memorial Day Sales!
This isn’t an exhaustive list of sales, but here are a few deals to know about this long weekend:
Alala | 20% off all full-priced items; excludes custom tights
Bandier | 15% off select styles with code MEMORIAL15
Carbon38 | 30% off select styles with code KICKOFF30
Lorna Jane | Up to 50% off select styles
Nordstrom | The half-yearly sale is underway!
Splits59 | 30% off select styles with code MD30
Uzima | 40% off sitewide with code SAVE40
Zobha | 40% off sitewide with code LONGWEEKEND. It’s the perfect time to grab some of my favorite workout undies.
C38 has 30% select styles including Michi, alala and Lucas Hugh with kickoff30! Yay!
Thanks for posting this, I added it to my post! :) I wrote and scheduled this post Friday night but Carbon38 didn’t start their sale til Sat morning–d’oh.
I had been waiting for carbon to have a decent sale.. Snagged a pair of Michi magenta suprastelle leggings xs and l’urv leggings in curious adventures xs. I was actually pretty disappointed in the Michi leggings. I had been dyingggg to try Michi, but sadly I found the magenta part of leggings see through, and there was zero compression. Sadness! I heard about l’urv from your review (thank you!) and am pleasantly surprised. The print is gorgeous and the material is plush and compressive. I wish c38 starts carrying the l’urv crops!!
Darn! : I read somewhere else (don’t remember where) that someone else also wasn’t thrilled with the colored Michi fabric. Their black seems to be better. And yes I agree, I’d love L’urvs in crops!
Thanks so much for the heads up at Uzima. The 40% works on sale items as well which resulted in two sports bras and three capris for $104 for me.
Wow!!! Amazing prices!
Oooh thanks again! My package ariived and all 5 items are keepers.
1. Nux Paloma bra in soft pink, super comfortable, low support will be kept for casual wear.
2. Solow Multi Stap bra in multi stripe. Very cool a little more support than the Nux, the strap will be cute under the right top.
3. Nimble Sophia 7/8 tight in black/tonal. Very cool and light weight, will require appropriate undies.
4. Vie Active Tessa 7/8 tight in black charcoal pixel. There are opaque but they fade out a bit, very cool print but not the best for squats and such.
5. Vimmia Vee capri in black. Love. Opaque a bit compressive, material will be a bit thick for the summer. They do have a bit of a sheen which I’m not thrilled with but the flattering fit and opacity make it well worth it.
Grand total $104.40! Thanks!! :)
Thanks for sharing! Sounds like it was a mostly successful haul, especially considering it was like $20 per item. ;)
Thanks for all the reviews and for spotting UK based brands! I live in London and have been meaning to try out ALALA after reading your posts however shipping from the US is $55 and honestly not worth it. I have however found a few retailers in the UK that stock a few of their items though not extensive to be useful. Have a look at thesportsedit.com for UK Bank holiday weekend sales! Their world wide shipping is a lot cheaper!
Thanks for sharing, I hadn’t seen that site before! Hopefully someone steps up their game with their Alala selection for you. :) I wouldn’t want to pay $55 for shipping either!!
Alala has 20% off custom captain for Monday only code: KICKOFF16
Thanks for adding this!!! :)
AA, to you know about the brand Dharma Bums? I want to buy a pair of their 7/8 leggings but I’m wondering if the brand is on your radar for a possible review. it’s an Australian brand so it’s one of the most affordable ones currently on hemm.ca (I’m Canadian!). and they look like a luxtreme material which I like. thanks!
also, what did you think about lululemon’s Wanderlust collection? I wasn’t tempted by anything. I’m over mesh leggings, I don’t like writing on my tanks and that kimono is not my style. the bag is cute, but I don’t like that it doesn’t have a zipper to close it and I preferred last year’s colours. cool that they offered men’s items this year though!
I’ve seen Dharma Bums around but I haven’t tried them yet! They have some really cute prints.
As for the Wanderlust capsule, I’m pretty underwhelmed this year. I really don’t care for olive or red-orange so that pretty much turned me off to the whole collection. Overall, definitely doesn’t feel as exciting or novel as previous years, but that could be my personal preference coloring my opinion.
Montiel Activewear has a special of $20 off $99 with free shipping. It ends 6/1 at midnight. Use code TWENTY. I have been eyeing this brand for a while, and I might finally bite the bullet and order a few things!
Report back if you do!! ;)
Hi Samantha. I have several Montiel Activewear pieces. I like them as far as design but the quality isn’t the best. Not if you are used to higher end brands like Koral, Alala, Vimmia, lululemon. Construction on some of the bras are not consistent and they definitely don’t offer the support needed for cross training or high intensity workouts like kick boxing or running.You can tell because the straps are super thin and not really reinforced with stitching to strength it. Also if you look carefully at the pictures on their site the sports bras bunch up on the front band and arm pit area. It’s kinda unsightly if your wearing a tight fitting cool racerback tank because it shows the bunched up fabric and doesn’t lay smooth. I love the cowl back tank. I mean love it. I own 3 of them and I get compliments when I wear them but these are NOT made of sweat wicking fabric they’re made of your run of the mill $8 tank top fabric from Target for the price they’re expensive. The sports bra and support tank fabric reminds me of a cheaper version of Lululemon’s luxtreme. This is a brand that I was not disappointed I own because it supported a small business but they need to work on quality control if they want to continue to charge the prices they charge. Oh stay far away from the seinna bra the elastic they used on the back is terrible. The tiny elastic bands that make the elastic break off in the wash. Kinda the same way those tiny elastic bands break off with underwear that has been washed a bunch of times.
Hi, I’ve bought some ALALA gear from https://thesportsedit.com as well. Amazing shop with some really cool brands.
I got 10% off by signing up. Highly recommend this shop.