Review: Vimmia Mamba Print Core Pants

The mamba print is one of Vimmia’s latest iterations of their core pants.  The ombre snake print is bold and pretty BA.  I really like both the bright colors and the snake print, so I decided to give them a try.

As a small bonus, Vimmia pledges to donate $1 for every pair of leggings sold to The Women’s Alzheimer’s Challenge, which helps fund research on why Alzheimer’s disproportionately affects women.  Neurobiology research was my profession for several years before I transitioned to my current biochemistry job, so this pledge is meaningful to me.  Granted, $1 of a $110 pair of leggings isn’t earth-shattering, but I definitely admire Vimmia’s effort.  Even $1 at a time can add up.

Back to why you’re here: here’s what I thought about the mamba core pants.

I bought these leggings in XS.  I think they fit mostly true to size, although the hips and waist fit a bit loose.  If you are between sizes or have narrow hips, consider sizing down.  The rise is medium.  The ankles fit a bit loose on me and I have a couple inches of extra scrunch at the bottom.

Vimmia uses a unique gusset design.  It’s diamond-shaped with the long side pointed out toward the inner thighs.  There are flat seams throughout and a small slit waistband pocket (with a fun lime green lining).

The material on the core pants has a slick, silky feel.  It’s very stretchy and easy to move in, but does not have compression.

The fabric does “white out” when stretched (e.g., in a bend), which significantly detracts from the vibrancy of the print.  That’s definitely a bummer, considering the colorful print is the main selling point of these leggings.  Beyond the white-out issue, the leggings also came with a tag that notes “it is normal for the color to fade slightly after each wash”, which is somewhat disconcerting.  Also, not sure if it’s an intentional part of the design or not, but the black on the leggings is not a true black, but more of a dark purple.

There’s a very small amount of sheerness in the squat test.  I actually didn’t notice this at first, so it’s very subtle, not a huge deal.

With those downsides, I think Vimmia’s jacquard and heathered fabrics are noticeably higher quality than this fabric.

Overall, these fit the bill for those who want a really unique print on a basic, all-purpose pair of leggings.  That said, I do think they’re priced too high considering there are several small-to-medium issues such as the fabric whiting out.  I decided to keep these, but admittedly if I was sticking to more strict keep-vs-return rules, they would’ve gone back.  I just really like the print!  If you find these at a sale price, I think they would be a much better buy.

Where to find the mamba print

Core pants: Revolve | Carbon38

Cropped leggings: Saks

Om sports bra: Backcountry (on sale!) | Carbon38

Hot yoga shorts: Carbon38