Friday, March 15, 2024

Year In Review! Best And Worst Of Lululemon 2018

by Cristina

CEO and Creative Director Drama

Lululemon had a very rocky start to the year with the dramatic resignation of Laurent Potdevin and followed by Lee Holman (creative director) ghosting his position and then resigning. Read the scathing rundown of the toxic culture these two cultivated at Lululemon here. That entire situation was just gross and an unfortunate part of Lululemon’s history that I’m really glad is over and that I’m very glad came to light. It really helped answer a lot of questions about what was going on with the company in terms of design and integrity.

Inclusive Sizing

The bright spot for Lululemon this year was their inclusive sizing. I wish Lululemon had made more fanfare of the fact that they now go to size 14 in all of these items because it’s a really important change. At one time pre-2013, Lululemon had size 14 in a few of their core pieces as an afterthought but then went extinct due to incorrect assumptions about size economy, and their target market.

This year I got really excited about the inclusion of size 14 in non-core, seasonal items. This to me shows a true commitment to investing in a new customer base. Lululemon heavily invested in the male customer base in 2016/17 under Potdevin and put the men’s designs front and center at their stores, and even opened exclusive men’s stores. I would love to see the same investment in specialty sizing within the stores – perhaps more ad campaigns geared towards inclusive sizing, a focus on inclusive sizing in their ambassador program, and inclusive sizing in their merchandising in stores.

In the past, Lululemon has really glorified a specific body type, and that attitude can really trickle down to store level when a specific age range, race, body type make up 90% of your customer-facing workforce. Expanding the size range is just one small part of capturing the customer base you want. Health and fitness go hand in hand with body positivity!

The prominent inclusion of this beautiful model on the Lululemon website makes me giddily happy. It makes me feel proud to buy and wear some of the pieces she models, not shy and ashamed to go into the store and pick these items out.

Designers

Another bright spot for Lululemon this year was the glorious prints and colors. Lululemon has an incredible print designer which was hired during the old guard (pre-Potdevin/Holman restructuring) and this year she really shined. Many of the incredible floral prints we saw this year where designed by Florence Angelica Colson. I’m a huge fan of her prints and love the depth, scale, and perspective. It’s really something to have such a work of art designed into your running tights so that the print flows with the garment. Honestly, Lululemon has an incredibly talented pool of designers and I’m glad they are really getting to shine now.

Night Garden Ice Grey Black

Night Garden Ice Grey Black

In Bloom Multi

Floral Bloom White Star Ruby

Floral Bloom white Star Ruby

Lush Lilies Multi

Web Stylist

An honorable mention in the designer category goes to the new web stylist. I know we laugh a lot at some of the odd shoe selections for the website but I have really loved seeing the immersion of different brand accessories on the site. It gives really great context to the brand and creates a lot of visual interest.

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Special Capsule Collections And Collaborations

Lululemon Capsule Collections 2018

Lululemon had several great capsule collections this year. My favorite was the Royal Ballet Collection. The 20 Year Anniversary Collection was especially popular with the Scuba Hoodies and embossed print Wunder Unders selling out within a day.

Central St. Martin

Chinese New Year

20 Year Anniversary And New Manifesto

Royal Ballet Collection

Heritage Designs

There had been lots of whispers this year that for the 20 Year anniversary, Lululemon would release a bunch of heritage designs. This was very exciting for old fans of the brand like myself which generally regard the older 2013/14 designs the very best. I’m forever a fan of Lululemon, but the designs from that era are really the pinnacle. Although Lululemon did bring out some old loved heritage designs, they really didn’t capitalize on the potential and bring out really iconic pieces. I would have loved to have seen the Hustle Jacket, Inspire Jacket, or Method Wrap. I know a lot of people were hoping for a Gratitude Wrap comeback and most especially, Quiet Stripes.

Stride Jacket

In Stride Jacket

Transformation Wrap

Transformation Wrap

Coast Easy Wrap

Coast Easy Wrap

Parallel Stripe Wunder Unders

Some Of My Favorites

Scuba Hoodie Plush

The Scuba Hoodie Plush is my #1 favorite purchase this year. I hate telling you my favorite purchase is also my last purchase of the year, but the Lululemon holiday products always shine for me so it’s not really a surprise. I adore sherpa fleece but over the years I’ve not liked a lot of the designs Lululemon has put out, or, it’s only had a small portion of the garment lined in sherpa. I always get super excited when something sherpa comes out, but ultimately don’t purchase.

The Chaturanga Pullover is an old favorite sherpa item and I chased that one down on ebay. It’s heavy and thick and incredibly warm. I love the look of that pullover but it’s so warm that it’s not as wearable as the Scuba Plush.

Lululemon came out with the most incredible fully sherpa lined scuba hoodie and bumped up the design by including special features like gold zipper pulls and shiny hardware. I’m not generally a scuba hoodie wearer because I find them stiff and restrictive but I’ve been wearing my plush scuba non-stop. I originally purchased the adobe color but last week as the stock was dwindling on the black one I decided to pull the trigger. I’ve purchased very little Lululemon this year so I figured a double purchase of a favorite was worth it. I still can’t believe how lux this scuba is with sherpa lining even the cuffs and hood, and the entire sleeves.

Garment Dye

Another one of my favorite purchases this year was the Lunar Washed Wunder Unders. I only purchased these but I really admired all of the Garment Dye items.

Lululemon Wunder Under Crop (Hi-Rise) Full-On Luxtreme *Washed Luna
Scuba Pullover Washed Blue Charcoal
Define Jacket Garment Dye
Define Jacket Garment Dye

Honorable mentions for best purchases are as always, the In Movement 7/8 Tight and Crop. This is bar none my favorite material for workout tights. I love the simplicity of the design and lack of mesh, only relying on simple seam details, and the everlux material is my favorite. Simple, basic, versatile and technically perfect. This is the type of legging I will repurchase over and over again in black, grey or navy. I also got super excited about the Transformation Wrap making a comeback. I love that wrap and especially loved the colors it came in this year. The only thing they could do to improve the Transformation Wrap for me is if they made it in Merino Wool instead of Boolux. Speaking of Merino Wool, the Sit In Lotus Wrap is a very versatile and well-used piece in my closet. I love the quality and look of the merino wool and I’ve worn this wrap year round. I’m much more of a wrap person than I am a sweater person so if I could I would own this wrap in multiple colors. The Jericho SS was a late discovery on boxing day markdown. Besides loving the cut of this tee shirt, it has a blend of my favorite fabrics – Tencel and cotton. I love my Jericho SS’s more than any of my Love Tees.

What was memorable for you this year from Lululemon? Best Purchases, Best Discoveries etc. etc.

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31 comments

Ashleigh January 1, 2019 - 12:37 pm

Is the Jericho SS the same size/fit style as the love tees or are they a looser fit? Should I size down?

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Cristina January 1, 2019 - 12:53 pm

They are a looser fit around the torso, and a bit shorter. I purchased my TTS and a size up for an oversized option and I love them both. The oversized is great too since it’s not a v-neck, it’s not reavealing.

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Anonymous January 1, 2019 - 1:06 pm

Love ❤️:
1) Scuba Hoodie Plush
2) Dance Studio Jacket
3) Groove pant Flare
4) 28” Fast and Free tights

Duds ?:
1) All the Right Places leggings (love how they look… but they don’t stay up on me)
2) Luminosity foil bra (thought I’d love but nope)
3) Time to thrive sweater ( the Merino wool smells when wet)

Wishing for ?:
1) striped leggings in colors other than black/white
2) saturated shades of blue, red, and purple in Fast and Frees
3) extra mile 1/2 zip pullovers in rulu

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Carrie January 1, 2019 - 2:29 pm

The Seawheeze collection is always a highlight for me and this year did not disappoint!

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Anonymous January 1, 2019 - 2:37 pm

Thanks for the great write-up, love hearing your thoughts on best and worst. I thought what came to light about Potdevin was disgusting and am so happy a guy like that is not running the company any longer.

I spent less this year and last year than in previous years. I was disappointed they didn’t do more in the way of celebrating their 20th anniversary. I personally didn’t care for the anniversary product they put out and was hoping to see more encore returns of some oldies but goodies. I too would have loved to get another Hustle Jacket but I have to say the Gather Me Slightly Jacket is quite a close cousin. The similarities are: style, loose fit, lined, same stretchy cuffs (same material as lining), stowable hood, cinched hem, elasticized seam on arms, thumbholes. I think they missed out on some great marketing opportunities for their 20th but I blame Potdevin for that as he was too busy screwing around plus he had zero interest in anything lulu before his arrival.

I really liked the detail on the Scuba Plush but I just couldn’t justify buying one as all the colours it came in I already have or very similar to them. If I were to choose I really liked the lighter pinkish one with silver piping.

For me mostly it was colours that got my attention in 2018. Although there wasn’t much product I liked I did pick up a few things in colours I just love: Trackers Shorts in Smoked Mulberry and Boysenberry; Love Tee Crew in Crest; Gather Me Slightly Jacket in Cyber.

What I didn’t like in 2018 was that they didn’t correct the change in fit of their newer versions of Dance Studio Pants and Street To Studio Pants, very disappointed I can’t buy those anymore.

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Anonymous January 1, 2019 - 3:02 pm

I love the Cyber Purple also and seriously thought about getting that jacket but wasn’t sure about the sizing on a WMTM item. I did get the Cyber Purple in the Power Lines 28” legging just because I loved the color so much. The unexpected bonus was discovering the Everlux fabric that I ended up really liking (and will buy more of in 2019).

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Anonymous January 2, 2019 - 1:50 pm

I love unexpected bonuses!!! I know what you mean about buying a jacket on WMTM if you haven’t tried it on before and are unsure of sizing. This jacket does fit tts.

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Rise and Shine January 2, 2019 - 6:08 pm

Took the words out of my mouth. It’s great to see colors back, but the cuts are still unwearable, so it’s not much good. Bring back old cuts of speed tights, speed shorts, dance studio pants, etc. please.

Potdevin and Holman were scumbags. Can’t say enough bad things about them, but would rather focus on the positive future. It feels like the spirit of Lulu may be back, and they’re listening again.

I bought only a little more than last year, but that was because we bought a fixer upper and the house is sucking up all my money. There’s a ton on my Lulu wishlist.

Thanks for all you do, Cristina! Wishing you all a joyous, wondrous New Year!

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Becs January 1, 2019 - 5:47 pm

I’ve aged out of Lululemon apparently – a quote from The Globe and Mail Chip Wilson interview on Dec 29th: “To elevate the world from mediocrity to greatness for 20- to 40year-olds via transformational development in technical athletic apparel.”

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LS January 1, 2019 - 8:38 pm

I find the above quote funny since “mediocre” is a word I’ve come to associate with Lululemon over the last few years. I’m 31 and I feel like I’ve aged out of it but the opposite way. Everything is very safe/bland, and the trendy pieces are either poorly executed, after the curve, or both. There are also very few technical options. The things I see offered on sites like Carbon38 resonate with me much more – even their house brand tends to be more creative than Lululemon these days. There just isn’t anything to keep me coming back, and the prices keep going up without justification in the form of style or function. I’d rather spend more somewhere else, and I have been.

The entire culture around the brand also just kind of grosses me out at this point, both from a corporate standpoint and certain aspects of the larger community (Facebook comes to mind).

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buggie January 2, 2019 - 8:18 am

i agree with all this. lulu feels like a mediocre, mainstream mall brand at this point. and don’t get me wrong – i buy several mediocre, mainstream mall brands when i need basics and don’t need to be excited… plus, i still think its a great first stop for people who have been wearing old navy leggings all their life and want a step up in terms of fit and technical fabrics, but for seasoned activewear owners it is feels a bit amateur and dated.
i still love this blog though! the sprinkling of high-end beauty products and alexander wang steals keep things fresh. LOL 🙂

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Anonymous January 2, 2019 - 9:16 am

Lululemon is my go to when it comes to leggings. For me, the fit, fabric, and quality of Lulu’s leggings are far superior to other leggings I have purchased in the past (Sweaty Betty, Bandier, Alo Yoga, Athleta, Prana).
But Lululemon is not my brand of choice for workout tanks and bras. Athleta gets my dollars for these items.
I think it’s all about finding what works for your own body and buying what makes you happy and feel confident.

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Anonymous January 2, 2019 - 12:55 pm

Cristina, what size did you get in the Scuba plush? I want one, but will have to order from a store. I wear a 12 in Defines, but mostly 10 on tops and 8 on tights. The online reviews on sizing are all over the place, but I trust what you say.

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Cristina January 2, 2019 - 1:13 pm

I sized up to my Define size (12) in the plush. My TTS fit well, and even looser than other scubas I have in a 10 but I just feel like the plush material feels more luxurious when it’s draped over the skin vs. pressed. Because it has the scuba shape it doesn’t look too big or sloppy, it’s just longer. I’m really happy with the sizing I chose.

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Lulubell January 2, 2019 - 6:46 pm

I totally agree with you on having the plush fabric draped on the skin vs pressing. It makes a big difference imo. I bought my usual size 6 in Adobe and then a size 8 in black (because I couldn’t find a 6.) The black one feels more luxe and soft against my skin. I’ve been wearing the size up more than the tts for sure.

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Anonymous January 2, 2019 - 9:21 pm

I too love the In Movement 7/8 tights, but they do fit a bit loose and long on my legs (I’m only 5’1″). I will have to try the crop version, though I prefer 21″ or 23″ crops.

My other fave is the Final Lap 23″ crop. It’s one of the only pants at Lulu that fit me right. They fit like 7/8 tights but without the excessive ankle gaping (short ladies know what I’m talking about). Plus, I’m a fan of nulux and how streamlined the pants are. I wish there was a hidden pocket without zips in the back though as I don’t like zippers on my leggings.

While these are great staples for me, I’ve found pieces from other designers that fit me better or that check specific boxes that I have. Basically, I don’t think I could ever be a brand-loyal type of person (wearing only one athletic brand!)

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Sarah January 3, 2019 - 9:35 am

Thanks so much for writing this! I am in no means the typical Lululemon body type of years past. Their new models and increased sizes definitely make me feel better about shopping and going into the stores.
I must say that design wise, Athleta has been getting more of my $$ this year.
I just read an article about how the Athleisure trend is waning and how stores carrying only athletic wear are moving into different markets. I’m interested to see where this takes Lulu

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LZ January 3, 2019 - 11:27 am

I have definitely spent more on older items from Poshmark, Mercari, ebay, or Facebook groups this year vs direct purchases. Very few new pieces have been must-haves for me, and I think I’ll start looking to other brands this year–though I do still love my basics: swiftly tanks, ATRP pants, In Movement tights, and Invigorate bras. None of the special collections appealed to me, and I really hated the huge LULULEMON printed on the anniversary pieces. I’m 31 and not going to wear that.

Although now there’s a close-up of the color, Lulu still has work to do in their model pics–like ensuring colors are accurately represented and really showcasing the details that make pieces special. For example: vivid amber was not the pretty goldenrod depicted online. It was straight-up orange and had to go back. Dark sport red was more burnt orangey than blood red. I probably would have pulled the trigger on the scuba plush if the details were better shown as well.

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Anonymous January 3, 2019 - 1:03 pm

I totally agree with you about the inaccuracy with colors. I mostly order online and it’s a crapshoot as to whether the color will be close to how it is depicted in the website photo. (I was also disappointed with the dark sport red).
And the only reason I bought the Scuba Plush was because I saw it in person. I had seen it on the website and it didn’t look like anything special. They need a much better group of people working on their website marketing.

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anonymous January 3, 2019 - 2:33 pm

Personally I thought it was one of the worst years for Lululemon. The photography, stylist, and photoshop people have to be one of the worst. Colors are inaccurate, models don’t look happy, the website it still glitchy with stock and ordering at times. I feel like things have gotten worse, not better. Other than a couple of prints, I’ve not liked anything they have put out. Everything is very “meh” overall, extremely plain and something I might find elsewhere and I literally went from spending thousands of $$ to maybe a couple of hundred $$ over the year (and those on a couple of basics. Fast & Free and maybe a swiftly on deep deep MD). Maybe I also aged out, or it’s that I have enough but I find myself buying other brands and being just as happy with the quality and happier with the sales and prices (Athleta for instance). I am apparently not their target market but that’s too bad. I have way more disposable income than a 20ish year old college student but eh, i’ve moved on. Lol!

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anon January 3, 2019 - 6:25 pm

Spot on. This year only had a few prints that I thought were decent and not clownish and over the top. Lulu always has a way of executing the current trends in a weird way. They do the classics like Herringbone well but that is literally the ONLY thing I am buying from them. The new stuff bores the #### out of me, and yes, I’m over 40. Keep on catering to the millennials and you’ll lose your base. Scratch that…you already have. Lulu is old and outdated, I only buy the basics out of necessity now. Carbon38, Bandier, Neimans, Nordstrom, Athleta, Alo and Alala all have stepped up their game and have made Lulu irrelevant now. Took too long, in my opinion..

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Anonymous January 4, 2019 - 8:07 am

In 2018 I believe I returned more product than I actually bought and kept mostly due to colour discrepancies, change in fit and sizing, quality issues and product just not measuring up to my standards of what I expect from LLL. I have to say I have become very critical of LLL the company and their product and if it doesn’t measure up I don’t keep it and that attitude arose from those dark days when Lululemon stopped listening to their base when they dropped “Hey Lululemon”website, dropped many favourite styles, increased pricing while reducing quality, changed their website for the worse, brought Potdevin on board who was so arrogant and gave off an attitude of I don’t care about the base and I don’t care about the classics and what made Lululemon so great. My love of Lululemon on a scale from 1 to 10, went from a 10 to a 1.

I am beginning to see an improvement now with Potdevin gone and hints of “old Lululemon” coming back in some designs and I am feeling more respected as a customer. However, I too feel like I am being “aged” out when it comes to many designs as well as not being able to buy certain classic designs I depended on due to change in fit. So the amount I spend now is definitely less because of this. Since they haven’t screwed up the s/s Swiftly I still buy those but I stopped buying the l/s Swiftly as I don’t like how large the neck opening has become. I still believe LLL makes the best technical running jackets with better designs and colours than most other athletic companies. However, I still see cutbacks in design features and some fabrics but I always hold out hope that every few years a good one comes along that I will want to buy.

As far as their website, yes I am happy with the new models and their use of different footwear and that’s about it. I think most of the styling has been horrible and got sick of seeing tops knotted or tightened in the back giving the illusions of a more fitted top. I especially don’t like that the second look of a product before going into that product page is no longer a view of the back of the product.

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anonymous January 4, 2019 - 11:37 am

Your last sentence! Ding, ding, ding! This has really pissed me off. When I hover over I want to see another view of the item, i.e. the back if the main pic is the front and vice versa. What I DON’T want to see is a farther away photo of the shirt I’m looking at now covered up completely by a jacket, because that’s so helpful…NOT. Makes no sense. Does not want to make me click on it to get better views. What it does is frustrate me even more and I click the window closed and don’t even continue shopping.

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Anonymous January 4, 2019 - 3:47 pm

EXACTLY! The other view is taken further away and covered by other product pieces, how much sense does that make?

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anon January 4, 2019 - 9:27 pm

Yes, horrible photos and no closeups of the fabrics and colors. Atrocious website altogether. Try scrolling to the bottom of the photos and watch your browser choke for 5 minutes while the photos load. Oh, and try using Paypal! The problems are endless, too many to mention here.
This company is cheap and pathetic.

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anon January 4, 2019 - 9:48 pm

One last complaint and probably the worst of all.
To find out that a month or two ago that only the *best and brightest* received a special discount and nothing was offered to those of us that have literally and ridiculously spent TENS OF THOUSANDS of dollars on their clothing through all the scandals and steady decline of the brand, was like pouring salt in the festering wound that is Lulu. It’s appalling and downright ABSURD that this company cannot do a simple database search on it’s top, say 50% of customers and combine it with overall years of purchases and give us 25% off. Not asking for a repetitive discount or sale, but a simple ONE TIME recognition of your best customers? None at all. Even Neiman Marcus offers rewards now. It’s absolutely the main reason I am making a solid and firm commitment to end it with this lousy company. The smaller brands have picked up speed and capitalized on Lulu’s decline. There are simply better designs out there.

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Anonymous January 7, 2019 - 4:01 pm

Totally agree! So annoying that they play favourites!!

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Leesbee January 6, 2019 - 4:06 pm

Hi everyone!
Here is my 2 cents for this year: I bought some… mainly replaced my old black leggings with new ones. I live in California and work in healthcare, so my off work wardrobe is very casual/ lazy! Here’s what I’m upset about… why the hell cant Lululemon offer different lengths ?! I love some of the leggings but can’t wear them because they don’t offer petite! Yes, they can hem, but sometimes an item can’t be hemmed without ruining the whole garment. I think at this point, Athleta is on point with their petite and tall sizing… I’m ready to switch over! This blog is great BTW, I check it every week to see what’s new!
Happy New Year!

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JP January 8, 2019 - 6:20 pm

I did buy more from lululemon in 2018 than I expected too based on my opinion of them at the beginning of the year. I liked the colours they came out with especially in my go to favorited like swiftly LS/SS. I was so hoping for the return of swiftly half zips but no. I was incredibly irritated that the tuck and flows were not offered in NA. Lulu, please don’t plaster them on numerous website photos and then don’t offer them to your core original market! ( yes, that’s North America in case you forgot)
I did love that they made dance studio joggers which I adore and purchased in many colours ( this was especially joyous to me since the redesign of dance studio pants rendered them unwearable)
I was also very happy to see the return of the sit in lotus sweater (one of my favs) and most especially the transformation wrap which is my all time favourite lulu wrap. Bought two and still stalking the Canadian website hoping to grab the silver.

That’s my two cents although many of the comments above I absolutely agree with ie, the losers they hired and fired, website photos etc
Happy New Year everyone!??

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Anonymous January 9, 2019 - 6:21 am

So you aren’t happy with the newest version of the DSP?, ME TOO! Their killing my wardrobe with their newer versions on classics. Due to change in fit I no longer buy the DSP, Street To Studios, Run Times Shorts and even some of their newer joggers are off on fit with smaller, tighter waistband and shorter crotch, HELLO CT, NO THANKS! I love all my older versions and don’t know what I will do once they are worn out! Hopefully Athleta will be in Canada when that happens… They bombed with the new version of the Dance Studio Crop, IMO they shouldn’t even be called DSC. I am glad the Dance Studio Joggers have worked for you. I did try them on and I found them slightly tighter in my tts and would probably have to size up if I were to buy them. What I didn’t like most of all and the main reason I don’t buy them is I don’t like the seam down the front of the legs. Dance Studio pants have the seam down the back of the leg so I don’t know why they changed it on joggers. I didn’t like the feel of the seam when I bent my leg or sat down.

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RC February 28, 2020 - 9:18 pm

Thank you for this post. I just found it this week (I know, it’s 2020) and the Scuba Plush Hoodie is on wmtm online here in Hong Kong. I had to go with white as the dark adobe just doesn’t work for me. It just got delivered and is so incredibly cosy! Absolutely love it. Thanks ever so much for the recommendation!

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