I mentioned Albion Fit’s latest product drop in a recent post, with special attention to their new antigua slate pattern. Albion has been on my radar for a while, and I finally ordered a pair of the new antiguas to try. Since I’ve only tried these on, this is more of a mini-review where I’ll talk a little bit about the fabric, sizing, and general thoughts on the antigua slate extend leggings.
Albion’s fabric is a nylon/spandex blend. A lot of prints are polyester, so it was nice to see nylon on these, since I often prefer that fabrication. The fabric has a slick feel, not cottony at all (like lululemon’s luxtreme). I didn’t think it was quite as soft as other slick nylon blends I’ve tried, but it certainly wasn’t scratchy either. And it repels pet hair, so hooray for that!
Take note that pattern placement does vary with these! I really like the front placement on this pair, but I’m not so crazy about how the back turned out. Sparse patterns like this can be tricky in the booty area.
Surprisingly, Albion’s fabric is actually lined with white on the inside, which is unusual for nylon (but very common for polyester). I’m not sure if this is just for the prints, or if it would be true of their solid bottoms as well. In this pic you can see the white lining as well as the tagless interior (woohoo, no scratchy tags!) and the waistband slit pocket.
I really like that Albion offers a range of sizes, XXS-XXL on most of their bottoms. I waffled a little bit between XXS and XS, since I’ve found those sizes to vary pretty wildly between brands. Albion does offer free exchanges, but of course I’d rather get it right the first time. I went with XXS, which fortunately ended up definitely being the right choice.
For me, the sizing was pretty much dead on true to size. It’s basically identical to lululemon, i.e. Albion’s XXS was comparable to lululemon’s size 2 (my normal size). So, if you’re a lulu 4, I’d recommend ordering the XS, S for lulu 6, and so on.
The leg is the one area where there’s a little bit of sizing funny business happening. Compared to lululemon’s wunder under pants, you can see Albion’s extend leggings are just a bit shorter. In the pics where I’m wearing Albion’s extends, you can see there’s also minimal scrunching at my ankles. I’m 5’3″ with about a 29″ inseam. So, if you’re tall, these might end up more like 7/8 length on you, depending on the size you order.
Speaking of length: I was trying to decide between full length and crop length, so I emailed Albion first to ask about the crop inseams. They responded very quickly and the lady said the XS and XXS are 18″ and 16″, respectively. I prefer a 19″+ crop length so that made my decision easy. Keep that in mind if you’re eyeballing the crops.
The other key difference in the lower leg of Albion’s extend leggings is the opening. It’s quite a bit wider than wunder unders (and most full length leggings I try). I do have pretty small calves/ankles, so this resulted in a bit of baggy ankles on me. I don’t like the baggy ankle look, so I would probably hem these into a longer crop length to get rid of this issue. If you prefer more room in your ankles, though, these will be great for you.
Another little quirk I noticed: these leggings actually have an outside seam in addition to an inside seam. Most of my active leggings only have a seam on the inside, unless they have some type of design element or colorblocking that would require a seam. This extra seam doesn’t bother me, especially since everything is sewn with flat seams, but it’s just something to note.
As for opacity, these fell short of perfect. Because of the white lining, they do fade quite a bit in a bend or squat, as illustrated by the knee bend pic. There wasn’t any noticeable fading across the bum when standing normally. Take note you’re not actually seeing my skin tone here, you’re just seeing the white lining pictured above. That said, in a squat or bend, the white fading at the butt made the area too light to conceal my underwear. Brights would be a bad idea with these, but if you have nude or otherwise highly inconspicuous underwear, you can get away with it. The amount of underthing visibility may vary depending on your pattern placement. I noticed that any see-through issues on the cheek with more pattern on it wasn’t half as noticeable as the side that’s mostly plain black.
Overall, I am probably going to have to make myself return these, but I’m pretty sad about it. I really love the look of them, but the opacity is a bit of a problem since I am constantly squatting and bending in my workout clothes. If I was in Salt Lake City where Albion has a brick-and-mortar shop, I’d probably try to cherry-pick a pattern more to my liking (which I imagine would be a little more squat friendly), but as it is, ordering a bunch of pairs is not particularly practical. And at this point in my collection, it’s important that I be reasonably disciplined in what I spend my money and my storage space on anyway.
If these look like they would be great for you, rejoice, because Albion’s prices are very reasonable in the realm of fitness fashion. Their crops are $68 and full length are $78, though you will have to pay shipping both ways. (Pro tip: go follow Albion on Instagram if you like deals, winky winky.) Canadians will also be glad to hear Albion ships up north for only $10, although of course you still have the unfortunate exchange rate to deal with. Here’s where you can find them:
love that you review other brands besides lulu because i love variety and choice. i have a pair of the go capris in a solid color – they are totally opaque and the same color on the inside. i do find their legging sizing a little off the S felt like i was going to rip the seams and the M is not quite tight enough (i am a 4/6 in lulu). i do however love their lounge pants and casual tops, they are super soft and flattering. $10 off right now with code antigua!
Thanks for sharing, it’s always useful to compare and contrast others’ experiences. Sounds like I’ll have to try a solid. :)
Oh cool, you did get the leggings! Too bad they were a no go for you, though.
I’ll note, since you mentioned it in this post – my Albion go capris and go long leggings are all solids, and do not have white liner on the inside.
Ohh good to know! It’s nice to hear what other people think, since sometimes I wonder if what I experience is an anomaly. I’ll have to try another pair sometime.
White ground (base) fabric is easier for the factory to print patterns on… Albion, or other manufacturers who want to avoid sky-high fabric development minimums buy white fabric then print their multiple patterns or solid colors atop white (easier than printing white flowers on black fabric which can make for grey-ish dirty looking flowers – in this example). It gives the brand more flexibilty to use their white fabric in multiple ways as they see fit, rather than having to buy a bajillion yards of a trend color that won’t necessarily print well or want past 1 season…
To engineer the print to ensure the flowers fall at the same spot on every size is very very expensive b/c there is so much wasted fabric that can’t be used. Think of it like rolling out cookie dough and wanting to have as little waste as possible when you use your cookie cutters. This is even trickier when you have a fabric that is 2-way stretch and you can only lay your cookie cutter in 1 direction.
This is probably way more than you ever wanted to know about garment printing but hope this helps :)
Very interesting, thank you!
Definitely not more than I ever wanted to know, I love those kinds of details! I didn’t know that’s how white lining came about, so that’s really helpful to know and makes total sense. I did actually know the bit about pattern placement and pattern cutting, which is why I don’t begrudge companies who don’t make placement consistent, although of course I do try to cherry pick on my end regardless. ;)
The print is gorgeous! But am pretty done with buying multiple pairs to get the right placement. Pigment wave killed me.
Thought the pants looked pretty good front and back!
Looking forward to Athleta + Derek Lam’s upcoming collection to be launched soon this September, and hope the prices are not outrageous.
Meanwhile, I’m hunting down all the speeds I’ve missed out on. It had been expensive, but fun. Right now: flash jacquard SSs :)
Yes I’ve been curious about Athleta + Derek Lam too! I’ll keep my eye out for flash jacq and let you know if I see a pair! :)
totes off topic… my friend just went to lulu’s “pants party” and got us both the new “nulu” align pants. holy awesomeness. i think this whole “feelings” based marketing compaign is super LAME. but these pants are not lame. they are soft, extremely lightweight, extremely opaque and no muffin top whatsoever. they are like a second skin in a good way. love! and $98, so no big price markup.
Thanks for this! I’ve heard so many good things about those new pants. I don’t really want solid black, so I’ll definitely be watching for pretty colors to give them a try.
These tights caught my eye in your original post, and I clicked through to take a look. I could see in the website photos that where the model bent her leg they appeared sheer. So I wrote them off. Didn’t know it was really the white backing fabric so thanks for this review. Lovely print but I agree – need to be able to squat in tights without them sheering out like that!
Yeah, I noticed the same thing with the knee bend, but it is the white backing indeed. Sometimes I wish I just ran in my tights or something so I wouldn’t have to worry about squat sheerness but alas. I’ll keep my barbells. :)
Shoot! This print rocks but sheerness is a real bummer. Once again, thanks for doing my dirty work :) You’ve saved me the hassle of purchasing, being disappointed, and returning.
I wonder if the blue or red antiguas are also backed in white? There may be hope..
Yes ugh so cute! At least other commenters have said their solids are opaque, so hope is certainly not lost. I’m guessing the other antiguas would be a similar printing method (see Citizen V’s comment above) so it’d probably be the same story. That said, what’s sheer on me may not be sheer on you, so who knows… :)
I just received the antigua cobalt print (blue) and they are definitely sheer and white backing. I am so sad as I love the print and love them while standing still. However, they’re just not practical for someone who plans to move while wearing them. Sucks, because I live in Canada so returning these will cost me a fortune when the pants already cost me a fortune.
Oh no, that’s such a bummer. :( I had the same thought–love the print standing still, but just not functional enough for me.
I bought these. Your review was very accurate. You were definitely on point sending them back, they just don’t compare to other brands in softness, compression and fit. I am a 4 in lulu and I got the XS, I cannot run in them because they slip down at the waist. The material is slippery and scratchy all at the same time, it’s kind of like lulu’s swift fabric, but thinner. I don’t mind the fading to white because they are not sheer at all. I wear them casually because I love the print and it’s not worth sending them back because I’m in Canada. I do have good things to say about the matching shorts, which I also got. Those fit perfectly and are good for running, although there is no key pocket, which is annoying. I really love their prints, just wish their fabric was better quality. :(
That’s such a bummer! Sorry to hear you didn’t love them. How was the sizing on the shorts? Was the XS equivalent to a lulu 4 there as well?
Yes the shorts are a perfect fit. I’ve only tried on lulu shorts not actually bought any but I think I’m a 4 in lulu shorts so yeah the xs in albion I would say is a pretty consistent lulu 4. I think this company seems to do mostly swim suits and I’m sure they’re good at that, but I think their athletic line is not mature enough yet.
Ok, thanks for the input! I had been thinking of trying their shorts, but I think they’d be too big on me.
I think albion is a great choice for any kind of activity! They have also come out with leisure wear recently and it is gorgeous. I encourage everybody to go check out this store because in my opinion it is fabulous! Please do not let this blog discourage you to check these out because albion fit is definitely my favorite store!
I think albion is a great choice for any kind of activity! They have also come out with leisure wear recently and it is gorgeous. I encourage everybody to go check out this store because in my opinion it is fabulous! Please do not let this blog discourage you to check these out because albion fit is definitely my favorite store! I do nit enjoy all the hate because the was definitely a missed opportunity!
I’m glad you’ve had success with the brand, Linda! I happened not to love these leggings, but I clearly described why and included a lot of things I DID love. In no way was my review hateful just because I have a different opinion. I really admire what they’ve done with their business and they’ve built an amazing base of fans, but I will continue to maintain my policy of sharing clear, objective information, even when that includes constructive criticism.
Thank you for this review. I’m always an XS and ordered these in that size. Unfortunately they are DEFINTELY see-through when I bend over. Not OK!! I do Crossfit so this just won’t work. I love the print so much but I just don’t understand companies making workout pants that would ever be see-through. And I’m not seeing the white backing, you can absolutely see my crack. Ah!! I find their sizing to be weird. I have high waist bikini bottoms from them in size small and the waist fits perfect but the bum is saggy. I got the joggers in gray a while back in XS and had to send them back for XXS. So clearly their sizing isn’t very consistent. Bummer because their stuff is super cute! Lastly, I have a zip up in the same print as these leggings but the material is different. Without even washing it, it’s faded pretty good. Weird right? Anyway, due to quality and inconsistent sizing, I’m probably done buying from Albion. Makes me sad!
Awww what a bummer! :( That’s good to know that sizing can vary from style to style, I’ll have to keep that in mind if I order from them again. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Jenn!