Welcome to this week’s lulu upload: where everything is made up and the times don’t matter.
Upload was somewhere in the neighborhood of noon Pacific today because…why not I guess? The times have been creeping up earlier and earlier the past couple of months, from the official time of 4:15 to 3:45, then earlier again to about 3:15, and then today jumping back several hours. My knee-jerk reaction is that it’s a little bit annoying for it not to be predictable, but to be honest, nothing really sells out quickly anymore, and even fewer things sell out quickly that I would actually want to buy, so in practice it doesn’t make much of a difference to me if I don’t see upload the minute it happens. It’s actually kind of nice not to have to stress about the time.
As for upload itself: the new lululemon pants collection/marketing strategy debuted today. Everything now is based on sensation: held-in, tight, hugged, naked, or relaxed. I really, really don’t care for how they’ve gone about this feelings/sensation thing. If I was new to lulu and an educator came up to me asking how I want to feel while wearing pants, I would feel pretty weirded out and uncomfortable, especially if they asked me if I wanted to feel naked. Uhm, no? Can I #choosefeeling not to feel awkward about my pants-buying experience? (Side note: why can’t it be choose a feeling, choose the feeling, or choose your feeling? “Choose feeling” is not a thing.) The whole campaign feels very wishy-washy to me–it feels like it’s been marinated in a little too much lulu kool-aid. (Caveat: I’m a scientist and pleas to “feelings” ring hollow in my cold, dead heart–hah.)
That said, there is some redeeming value to the campaign in that it does help to point out that not all fitted pants are created equal. That differentiation has some legitimate merit to it, but the language its couched in just comes off as kitschy and lame. I think what would provide the same valuable information while still sounding a little less cheesy would be to provide two lines for product information: fit and feel. The fit could be categorized as “tight” for several kinds of pants, but then the feel might be different: lightweight, compressive, etc.
All that said, I do 95% of my shopping online anyway, so I can basically just disregard and move on with my lulu shopping life.
Also: is it just me or do all the thumbnails of the featured pants today look remarkably similar? I’m having a hard time keeping track of all the new styles, especially since most of the featured photos are black and from far enough away that you don’t see any detail. They’re also all yoga poses, which doesn’t help to quickly and visually differentiate the use of each new product.
Anyway, enough with the prologue, here are the new pants and such:
The align pants are already getting quite a bit of hype due to the fact that they’re made of a brand new fabric: nulu. So far I’ve heard that nulu is lightweight, super-soft, and not sheer. It is not compressive at all, though, so be aware of that. I’m curious to try this new fabric, but I don’t have much interest or need in solid black right now.
The all the right places tight and crop mix full-on luxtreme and regular luxtreme panels and are on the maximally compressive side of lulu’s new compression/fit scale. The full length pants look remarkably like speed tights to me. I’d be a little surprised if they ditched the speed tights, but they do seem awfully similar. These are pretty steep at $118 and $128.
The tight stuff reflective tights have a lot of features, but a lot of sticker shock to go along with it. These 7/8 luxtreme pants will run you $148. The features include side dot reflectivity, scalloped hem, and the usual running bottom features like the zip pocket, drawstring, and seaming. They don’t have a side pocket and are categorized as “tight”, which is a firmer fit than wunder unders but not ultra-compressive.
The zone in tights are another “held-in” fit, meaning they’re supposed to be more compressive. There’s also a crop version of these. They’re made of seamless material, so I’m guessing they’ll feel similar to the sculpt shorts. The waistband makes them look a bit like control-top tights, but…I guess they kind of are? So.
This new daily practice jacket has been in stores for a few days and was also sneakily uploaded to the Canadian side a couple days ago. It’s so pretty in sapphire blue, but I’ve had poor luck with jackets like this. Sapphire has already sold through most sizes in the US!
Speaking of sapphire blue: pretty scuba hoodie iii in sapphire from Canada.
Ultra violet is reappearing in more items than I would’ve guessed. Here it is in a new stuff your bra for Canada. Still no stuff your bras in the US. I can’t see the rationale for why lulu’s buyers would think Canadians would love this style so much more than Americans.
The regal plum cool racerback is back in Canada. Ummm huh? This is definitely not old stock, because the logo on this one is reflective instead of plastic. It’s a bummer that lulu has skipped out on so many beautiful potential CRB colors and has instead done lots of similar (or even identical) colors instead.
Canada also got the windy blooms sapphire cool racerback.
Canada got this new space dye twist regal plum alarming define jacket.
Sculpt tank fans, be on the lookout. This pic is from the cardio cross trainer headband product page, but shows what looks like a static sculpt tank.
New sweaty or not kit, designed to hold toiletries and other essentials for the gym.
Other upload notes
The lumberjack/cranberry camp check scuba hoodie ii dropped in Canada after a couple weeks of lagging behind the US.
Another thing that Canada was lagging behind on: the herringbone vinyasa scarf. I felt this in stores and didn’t find it to be nearly as soft as last year’s.
The lighten up bra is now in Canada.
More in Canada: the heathered ultra violet high times pants.
The stuff that secretly (accidentally?) uploaded a couple days ago is now officially up and in the what’s new section. This includes a new cranberry dot scuba ii and universal wraps in the US.
The bhakti yoga jacket is back in fatigue and black.
New snake pattern in the flow crops: heathered slate on both sides and sapphire blue in Canada.
The twist long line bra is back in Canada in new colors.
I can’t with the prices on the new pants…. and is it me or are a lot of other older things gone up in price as well? I think Jet Crops went up $10. But pace rival crops went down $10. Still, I can’t with the prices on the new items. There’s no way I will pay $100+ for crops. I have to draw the line somewhere. lol
You’re right, the jet crops did go up and the pace rivals went down. Honestly, I would still pay what they’re asking if I really loved the piece but…I’m also a little insane. I seem to be alone in this, haha.
I agree with you, but LLL is not really releasing things that I absolutely want. I had no problems dropping $300 on an order almost weekly years ago, but now, I struggle with spending money that’s been sitting in my PayPal from returns and sales…. :(
Choose feeling? Sure Lulu, how about the feeling of outrage? What is up with the pricing scheme? It’s insulting. Raising prices on things like WUCs that were $72 to $88?!? No thanks. I bought zero today and if prices creep up across the board, my spending will drop off considerably. I’m also upset with the pictures of all the striped items. They all show up aligned in the pics but everything I’ve seen in stores and gotten in the mail are all misaligned.
Yeah, I wonder if the ones they take photos of are samples, and then when they scale up to mass production level, pattern cutting and line-up goes to hell.
The prices are just too much- it’s only a matter of time before they raise the prices on other things (that they haven’t already). The “feeling” thing is sooooo tacky, I’m actually hesitant to go into a store now because I don’t think I can keep a straight face when an ed asks about how I want my pants to feel while I’m working out. The only thing I want to “feel” is like my backside isn’t exposed- Lulu should try and master that before they move in to any other feeling.
Thanks AA for taking the time to educate us about more brands- I usually just enjoy reading your posts but don’t actually try the other products. Looks like it’s time for me to start checking them out.
I’ve checked out stuff she has reviewed on here. And I’m happy she does and would like her to do more and more. It’s fun to shop other brands that are still great quality… and prices are either worth it or a steal! Gone are the days of me being a pure luluhead. I love mixing with other brands… Actually makes me feel better and not so “culty” with everything I wear having to be head to toe lulu lol I’ve realized how extreme that is… And also how unhealthy it is to have that “only lulu” obsession. You really end up missing out on so much more fun stuff from other brands AND spending money on stuff you don’t really want but because it’s lulu and you’re afraid it will sell out, you buy it. Not good at all. It’s great to break free!
Yeah, I’m guessing most of my other beloved staples like bras, shorts, and tanks are going to be creeping up soon too. :(
Also: “Lulu should try and master that before they move in to any other feeling.” You nailed it.
Pricing GAH…I mean, arbitrary price jumps and drops of absurd percentage points…It would be one thing if Lulu set and adhered to a standard and reasonable yearly price increase, justified by improvements in design and materials. But clearly that’s not what’s happened here. They arbitrarily make reflective items $40-50 more than non-reflective ones, arbitrarily raise the price of some crops and drop the price of others…who the heck is running this crap show? It’s nonsensical. And it’s a shame because honestly there are some decent products coming out, but terrible pricing, inconsistent pricing online and in stores, and highly questionable choices of what items get released in what country (and when) are turning customers OFF.
My other gripe is…wasn’t this supposed to be the first big fall season upload?? The US upload was positively DULL. I haven’t ordered anything (though I probably will try the Zone In Tight and maybe the Tight Stuff Tight if I can find it in store for $40 less LOL), and that is unheard of for me!
Yeah, I also think it would’ve made more sense if the price increases were distributed more evenly across products as well as time. Granted, it’s been years since WUs were raised in price, but I think people would be much less up in arms if everything went up by a few dollars rather than such large increments. And yes I found upload a bit dull also, but I skip uploads more often than I buy, so that’s not saying much for me. :)
Our showroom-turned-store just opened on Friday, so it was interesting to talk to the manager today about the new pants marketing. They had to organize everything for the first three days according to purpose, and then rearrange last night according to the new fit scheme. I agree the language is a bit much, but the college girls who are “new” to lulu that were in there at the same time I was were eating it up. It was also easy for me to tell them that I’m a runner and prefer Inspires for working out but like WUs for casual wear, so the ed was able to show me both the align pant and tight stuff tights that would appeal to both of my needs. I can totally see how if I were middle age-ish and new to lululemon, it would be difficult to find what you wanted if you weren’t accustomed to the lingo. I’m a scientist like you, so it seems like everything should just be organized according to purpose. However, the tanks and bras are also organized according to support, so maybe they are trying to make the organization synchronous? I don’t know…it makes sense for the tops, but its less intuitive for the pants. At any rate, I walked out with the align pants and I’m crying on the inside that they aren’t appropriate for the lab.
Interesting insight! I definitely think there is a certain personality type they are trying to appeal to with this campaign, but it’s pretty much the opposite of me so it really puts me off. As I mentioned in my post, I also do think there is some legitimate value from a sales perspective to the way they differentiate each level of tightness, but the language surrounding it is just…oof.
Also, I cry inside daily that lulu isn’t appropriate for the lab. :)
I am only tempted by the diamond jacquard black high times pants…and am considering waiting to see if that color comes in a high rise/roll down WUC instead just to save the $10 (I will probably end up having the high times hemmed to a true crop length if I did get them). I have been waiting on the black diamond jacquard to come out in a high waist style. I recently exchanged my pretty plume high times for the dark gray (slate?) pique high times…but I love gray and texture so I still want diamond jacquard too. I also like the herringbone high waist WUC that uploaded but no “need” for those. I have a couple other things on my wishlist in case of MD, but it’s basic stuff.
The price hikes are getting way past the point where I can justify these purchases. I also agree that I will feel really awkward in store if eds ask me “how I want to feel” in my pants! Odd descriptions. I already feel awkward enough always browsing in there – tons of the eds know me because I stop in a lot but don’t buy all that much (relatively)!. >_< What can I say? I want to try things on, and I'm on a budget. I realize that knowing customers by name is part of their sales pitch but it makes me feel so weird!!
I would probably like the "nulu" pants and/or the new soft seamless styles, but I'm not going looking for them unless some great irresistible color comes out.
Also got the pink lemonade Free to Be in store last week. LOVE. Feel like I was waiting forever for a nice bright pink FTB (solid and not wild) and it came!
I want to try nulu too, but I can pretty much never get excited over solid black. I’m thinking/hoping they introduced black only first in hopes it would sell like hotcakes (which it has), people will get hooked, and then buy up tons more colors when more come out. If they released black along with other colors, people would probably go for the others and black would be neglected. This way, black gets its time in the spotlight.
Also, totally feel you on the just browsing thing. Every time I go to the store I try on like 20 things so I can do posts about them, but I almost never buy anything! I don’t know anyone at these stores since I’m there so infrequently, but when I used to live near a store I would go all the time and still hardly ever buy. It’s so awkward, but I also remember that when I worked in retail I seriously did not care if people tried on half the store, so I try to remind myself of that, haha.
I like the style of the All the Right Places pants but can’t see what features/functionality they have over Speed Tights that would warrant the price increase. I think the feelings theme would make more sense if it were by weight. I want to feel naked when I’m running in extreme heat & humidity and want to feel comfortable but not hot in cool weather runs.
As for the comments about the price increases warranting shopping elsewhere, there really aren’t other good options for running. If I were running casually or a half-hour a few times a week, many other brands would work. But I run so much that I depend on Lulu for long, sweaty runs. I need all the pockets in the skirts and speed tights, I need the weightless feeling of fabrics in summer & warm but not hot fabrics in winter. On the hottest days, the only tanks I can wear are the WTSS and Sculpt Tanks & would die in anything else. This past winter, I was one of few runners who ran through the -20 windchills instead if running inside on treadmills because my Lulu kept me warm & comfortable. Sure, I could spend a lot of time & effort looking into other brands that make as weightless a fabric as the WTSS, but it would likely be a boring style available in only bright pink, yellow, and blue like most of the running clothes from shoe brands. Or I could spend lots of $ on shipping & returns only to find that a new brand’s fit doesn’t work for me, which is what happened with Oiselle. Instead, I’m staying with Lulu because I know their running gear is perfect for me and has lasted years of constant washing without quality issues. Having said that, I know there are many other brands that work for me for non-running activities like Yogasmoga, Beyond Yoga, Athleta, etc. I even think Fabletics is a good option, and they’re releasing really interesting styles & pretty prints (their new print for September is just gorgeous).
In many ways I agree with you, Jenn. I’m trying to write a separate post with more cohesive thoughts about the price changes (which is why I didn’t mention it really at all here), but I was going to make a similar point. In most of my purchases, there’s a level of function, fit, and style that I’m looking for. If lulu is the only place to get it, and it happens to cost a boatload of $$, so be it. I can budget for these things and I don’t want to settle for something second-rate (this is of course assuming we’re talking about one of lulu’s products that’s truly quality, which of course isn’t any kind of guarantee). Sure, maybe I can’t buy piles and piles of tights anymore (not that I ever did), but if lulu is still delivering a product that works for me in ways that other brands simply don’t, they’ll still be getting my business, at least in some capacity.
I look forward to your post. I’ve been reading the Hey Lulu thread on this, and I do agree that abritrary price increases without a corresponding increase in quality/features is maddening. It seems like I’m in the minority of those who have not experienced quality issues…I’m not sure how that can be? The only problems I’ve ever had were partly my fault–pilling on a rulu top from my water belt & staining on a tank from my sunscreen. So I am willing to pay if something is durable & has features/functionality/style I can’t get elsewhere, but I’d also like price increases to reflect improvements to the product.
The post ended up being much more involved than I anticipated (must’ve taken me like 6 hours…ugh) but it’s finally done as of a fwe minutes ago. Most of the quality issues I have encountered are sheerness or thin, scratchy fabric. I do have one jacket that wore very, very poorly. Other than that most of what I have has held up reasonably well. That said, I do wonder to what extent you and I being relatively latecomers to lulu has affected our perception. That is, I don’t think either of us were buying during the real heyday of lulu in 2011ish and before when everything was apparently much better.
I’m just miffed that no new speed tights, full length or otherwise, have shown up yet. Ah well, the longer it takes for them to drop, the safer my money is… and guessing from the comments here they’ll probably be overpriced anyway.
Yeah they’ve been really slow this year! I need to try some full-length luxtreme tights again this year. I tried on speed tights a couple years ago and hated them, but they’ve been updated several times since then so who knows…
This whole “choose feeling” weirdness makes me roll my eyes, from one scientist to another ;) I think new products are great, but an entirely new panel of bottoms?! Too much of a good thing is just meh. I’m overwhelmed about trying to re-learn everything I’ve ever known about lulu fabrics, and I’m very likely to just stick with what I already know that I love. Don’t even get me started on the pricing…….
May your assays and asanas go smoothly today. Cheers!
Heh love your last line. My assays did indeed go smoothly! Always a good day. :)
I’m curious to see how many of the new bottoms actually stick around as core styles versus which ones were just part of the pants highlight and are actually just seasonal. Thinking from that perspective, perhaps it’s less overwhelming. I also tend to stick with my tried and true favorites, though.
I have been dying for a pair of cranberry pants/crops since last winter. So I ordered the “All the right places” crop and the WUP to compare the fit and styling.
Interested to hear about the all the right places bottoms. They look nice.
I tried the align pants in the store. Fabric was decently opaque, especially compared to most other lulu pants I’ve tried the last several months. However, the odd double seam that runs up and around the inseam created pretty noticeable camel toe. I would maybe consider buying pants in this fabric if a proper gusset existed and they were reasonably priced. With the new price hikes I don’t plan on purchasing any more pants from lulu in the future unless from WMTM.
You’re the first person I’ve heard so far that didn’t like the align pants, it’s pretty much been rave reviews otherwise. I’m interested in trying them myself if interesting colors come out, but I’ll have to be wary of the camel toe issue. Even a little bit of funny business at the crotch is a huge pet peeve of mine.
Feelings, haha! I’m not a scientist but I also take issue with this whole feeling thing. The term ‘feeling’ is far to subjective. What does it really mean to feel ‘Held In’ or ‘Naked’?
Heh I like the way you think. :) Ultra-rational lulu fans, unite!!
Greetings from Europe ????
I’m a little annoyed with the price bumps, but I completely agree. I’m probably not going to follow the uploads anymore. There’s nothing I really “need” from Lulu, and the price jumps are definitely going to make me more choosy with my purchases instead of impulsive. I have more tanks, sports bras, and leggings than I’ll ever need. I’ll keep an eye out for sweaters and maybe a running jacket…or a gym organizer like above, but I feel my love with Lulu is dying. I love what I have, but don’t need much more from them. I think the prices are fair compared to the other brands and don’t really hurt me…it just makes me more picky.
Yeah, lulu has been progressively losing me bit my bit too. Ironically, blogging has actually expedited the process of losing interest since I’m so oversaturated in it all the time. There are still a handful of areas where they maintain a bit of an iron grip on me, but I don’t get as googly-eyed as I used to. The one thing I’m looking forward to this season is rulu–that’s one thing that’s hard to find elsewhere.
Also, hope you had an awesome trip!!! :)