I forgot to mention earlier that in my quick dash thru the store in hunt for the Dazzling CRB I saw the Arise Bra in Dazzling (solid) Heathered Ultraviolet and a black/white wee stripe print. I’d love a Dazzling bra to layer under CRB’s of contrasting color, I think I’d like the Free to Be or the Energy Bra. I do love my Cross My Heart Bra except that it sort of chafes my armpits when I run.
I posted real life photos of this ‘Commuter Denim Scuba Hoodie‘ in the post right below this one. The description doesn’t mention it being waterproof but it would be awesome if it is. Especially with the $168 price tag.
Now if this is a new Ride On Scuba Hoodie that is water resistant and reflective, I see this as being very popular with Commute to Work crowd. The only think I’m not liking about it is the hem which is longer in the back. Otherwise, I think this is a great idea.
And I must have this Dazzle Swiftly SS. I prefer a LS but I’ll take a short sleeve version. This will be perfect for Crossfit.
Slim fitting seamless arm warmers with compression fit and silicone grips.
Fossil and Black
I was in the store just for 5 minutes today but when I checked out the price on the new Ride On Jacket I just about spit out my coffee. This windbreaker/water resistant jacket that is pretty similar to the Wether or Not Jacket from the fall is priced at $298. $298. Seriously Lululemon, get a grip. I can just wear my Apres Run Anorak while bike riding and have the exact same function for almost half the price.
Ride On Jacket $298
I checked the price for the Ride On Vest (which is pretty cute by the way) and I have developed amnesia and cannot remember for the life of me what the price was. Exorbitant probably but I can’t be positive. The pictures seen here are of the Fossil one and in the vest material it sort of looks like ivory with a bit of tan. The orange contrasting is really nice. This jacket reminds me a lot of the Run: Turn Around Vest but without the Rulu side paneling.
Ride On Vest $139
Upon request, here is my half assed attempt at a proper Outfit Of The Day Post for Crossfit. I was chatting with an educator friend the other day and she mentioned that she really missed seeing my OOTD Posts as well as my Crossfit updates and suggested I start them up gain. I have been meaning to update you guys on Crossfit but I find it hard to write about the WODS and my workout stats since not a lot of readers are into Crossfit or know the lingo. Truthfully the only reason I haven’t been doing the outfit post is because my outfits are just sort of thrown together and most of the time the colors I wear don’t even go together. Oh well, I will share anyways.
Today was an early morning Crossfit, first back since my 5000 meter row on Tuesday which resulted in a very painful left arm. Today my arm is just about 100% better so I thought I’d get my WOD back on. We’re having very strange weather this weekend and had a dumping of snow this morning so I opted for a warm fleece over layer (in the hopes of no outdoor run) and my swiftly v-neck short sleeve in raspberry and Mind Over Matter run crops. Alas, because of my sore arm from rowing my trainer didn’t want me to do any pulling exercises today so he had me do the Wednesday WOD instead which was run 800 meters (OUTSIDE, in THE SNOW! F**CKER!), 400 meter backwards run (fun for a girl with massive quads and underdeveloped hamstrings), 800 meter run, 400 meter backwards run. So that was about a mile and a half run. Not a big deal except for the backwards running which was very painful. The fleece worked out well for the first 800 meters and then it got too warm so I just wore my short sleeve for the rest of it and was quite comfortable with bear arms. I find it funny that when I go out for a run I wear ‘proper’ layers and rely on my gadgets (garmin + music), but when I do crossfit runs I just go out in the rain/sleet/snow with a CRB or tee shirt and just get er done.
Crossfit itself is going very well. I’m totally hooked on it and really enjoy going and seeing the gains. I love love love all of the lifts and am warming up to burpees and box jumps and wall balls. I haven’t lost any weight at all but my clothes do fit way better and the most important change is how much stronger I am. Probably my biggest area of improvement is in my shoulders, back and arms which are now way more defined. On a good week I can make it in 4 days but sometimes it’s a struggle to get in for 2 because I rely on everybody else’s schedule to mind my kids. I’m now committing to going in 4 days a week more consistently by opting for the 6am class as much as possible even though I love the energy of the evening classes better. I’m not a morning person but I always hate having to look back at my week and seeing that my motivation to work out was there but I just didn’t get it in and seeing the empty unrecorded spaces in my calender. I’m also signed up for the SeaWheeze half marathon and doing the Saturday morning run club with my Lululemon store but I occasionally have to miss it. My other training option for the SeaWheeze training is to run my kids to school in the double stroller and then run home 2-3 days a week. Thats the only way I’m going to fit training in. I haven’t accomplished that first run to school yet but I know once I get out for that first run to school the rest will be easy.
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| Apres Run Pullover, Persian Purple. Mind Over Matter Crops, Costco ratty slippers |
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| Swiftly V-neck Short Sleeve, Raspberry and Mind Over Matter Crops Costco ratty slippers |
I am really curious to know how lululemon is going to explain this major quality issue they are having with bleeding dyes to their investors on their first quarter earnings call. Paris Pink has already been pulled from store shelves, warning/washing instructions stickers have been added to labels and they have relaxed their return period for anything Paris Pink or any item experiencing these issues or damaged by these issues. People have returned thousands of dollars worth of merchandise to stores since it became a commonly known issue. I’m not sure what lulelemon can really do at this point with all of this inventory that is clearly defective other than to put the garments out for sale and deal with the fallout and relax their usual militant return periods. The alternative would be to have stores empty of inventory and that is just not an option. I can only assume that they are taking this issue seriously but that they have their backs against the wall with items that are produced months in advance and nothing to put out as an alternative.
My concern with this strange dye issue is wether or not their is a health risk to us. The dyes leach onto themselves with the moisture during transit from online orders which indicates this is not an issue of someones body chemistry effecting the dyes as some customers have been told. Yes, customers have been told the dyes are bleeding because of how the dyes react to their sweat depending on the ph level. Talk about passing the buck. This is clearly not the case with these dyes. Nor is it improper laundering and nor is it ‘like your favorite pair of dark denim that requires special care’. I have never had clothing leach dye like this wash after wash after wash. The dyes are also staining peoples skin and hair and for some reason it’s really hard to remove this dye from skin and hair and requires scrubbing and multiple washes in one case ruining a customers hair extensions. That is a scary thing. I’d like to know what ingredients are in these chemicals that are staining peoples skin and hair and wether any of those dyes will cause long term health problems. What chemicals lurk in fabric dyes that we need to be concerned about, particularly when they stain our skin and linger there for days. Are they potentially toxic? Are chemicals being used that lululemon is not aware of?
What would I like to see Lululemon do besides pulling product, relaxing return periods for these items and giving customers money to replace personal property that has been ruined (couch fabric, hair extensions, other clothing)? I’d like them to do testing on these dyes for toxicity. Not taking the word of their vendors about what dyes are being used because clearly these dyes are cheaper than dirt cheap when Old Navy can produce colorful items that do not bleed for a fraction of the price. This has and is going to cost them a lot of money but at this point the magnitude of this problem cannot be ignored and they are staking their reputation as a quality brand on this and how they deal with this problem. They need to deal with the problem which has now carried on from their Winter line from November to December to the spring line for January and February. Will the new colors out on Monday have this problem as well or can they let us know definitively that this problem has been solved with Dazzle and Ultraviolet? I think they need to acknowledge publicly that there has been a problem (besides having special washing instruction labels added which puts the burden of these issues squarely on the consumer). They need to actually issue a statement and assure their customers that this problem has stopped at Deep Indigo and that the dyes are not toxic when left on our skin.
This problem of color bleeding is in luxtreme and luon fabrics as well as the swiftly material (Hustle Jacket, Swiftly Tech LS) with indigo, pigment blue, flash, paris pink. The latest items to have these issues are the Indigo/White Dance Strap Tank and the Discovery Stripe CRB which were first uploaded on Monday night. Customers are receiving their orders already damaged from the moisture that occurs with transit.
This issue has now been covered by all of us lululemon bloggers:
Erin Marie Discovery Stripe CRB Bleeding
Lululemon Addict Luxtreme Deep Indigo Bleeding
Lulumen Bleeding
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Dance Strap Tank received from online order with dye bleeding onto itself |
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| Hair extensions dyed pink by paris pink headband. It took several washes and the dye was still faintly in her hair. |
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| Paris Pink Scuba faded drastically after first wash |
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| Pigment Blue striped CRB bleeding onto itself |
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| Hood of the Paris Pink Microstripe Stride Jacket bled onto itself |
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| Deep Indigo bled onto White after a run, had been prewashed. |
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| Flash bra bleeding onto white CRB |
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| The extent of lululemon dealing with this issue publicly. Patronizing and doesn’t actually deal with the issue of color bleeding. Not when items are prewashed many, many, many times and still are causing issues and damaging property. |
Run: Rest Day Pullover and Heathered Ultraviolet Wunder Unders
Ride On Henley in Heathered Dazzle and
Wee Are From Space Dye Wunder Unders
These colors together look pretty awesome!
Ride On Blazer and Ride On Pants
The Blazer is shown with the inner fabric placket unzipped
Not loving the design on these pants. I like the idea of jean like trouser pants made out of luon but these are just too busy with unflattering seam and pocket placement on the butt. They are water resistant for commuting in.
Run: Rest Day Pullover with Ride On Crops
Ride On Henley with Energizer Pants
Ride On Pants paired with Ride On Henley
Ride On Blazer paired with Ride On Shorts
I bet you Lululemon CEO Christine Day rides to work and would wear something like this. Vancouver is a very cyclist friendly city and many downtown workers (suits and all) ride in from the suburbs, then lock up their bikes and shower at work. The Burrard Street Bridge has recently added a bike lane, and removed a car lane to accommodate these cyclists. I find a lot of people that ride to work are of the wealthier professions who can afford all of the accessories related to cycling and have a more flexible start time for work. Personally, this line is not my cup of tea but I do see how it will appeal to the commuting downtown Vancouver professional.
With thanks to ‘A’ for the fit review. She’s between a size 6 and a size 8, this is the size 6. She thinks the size 8 may be more comfortable although I think the 6 looks great on her. The banded hem twists on itself on either side at the hips as a design feature and there are no thumbholes, there are also little zippered pockets on the front which you can see in this picture. Made out of cotton french terry and priced at $88. Also spotted in black.
