Oh boy, where to start.
If you're relatively new to my blog, you should know that my posts follow a schedule and I'm not talking about just new posts on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays. My Tuesday posts cover new product drops and Fridays are what I call Fit Review Fridays. Monday posts however are a bit more free form. Sometimes I'll review a new pair of shoes, do a bag review, or I'll post an additional fit review. I've been consistent with that cadence with the only exception really being when my husband wrote my blog for a few weeks when I was back in New York to take care of my grandma.
Typically I have my Monday and Friday posts planned out 2 weeks in advance; meaning I've already taken the photos of what I'm going to write about and a draft in my head of what I'll be saying about the items.
I'm bringing this up because I've been running into an issue as of late on what to post for Mondays and part of the issue is that I'm just feeling very blah about the athleisure wear scene. I know I've said this in the past and that trends are cyclical, but it feels different this time.
Lately, whenever I go into Lululemon or Athleta, there isn't much that I'm seeing that I want to try on. Between the two, Lululemon is worse and I'm curious if maybe it's because of where I'm located or if it's truly a national trend. My local Lululemon store seem to be catering to the pre-teen crowd more. There are shirts and skirts that look insanely small and I'm saying that as someone that is 4'11" tall. There was one shirt in the store today that when my husband saw it, he felt like it would be a tight fit on his upper leg. 😂 It was a size 0 Swiftly Short Sleeve Cropped Tee and it really did look like a five year old could wear it. What's worse is when he saw the price was $68, he said that if we ever had a kid, no way in hell would he spend that kind of money on an item that she would outgrow in a few months. 😆 I'm curious if any of you are noticing the same thing in your local Lululemon stores. Do you feel like the stores are abandoning those that actually earn the income and focusing on the kids of those income earners?
The other thing that is making me concerned about the appeal of Lululemon is the stock price. Now, I don't own any stock in Lululemon, but I am an active investor in general and Lulu's stock is something that I keep an eye on. Currently, Lulu is trading at a price that the stock hasn't seen since the start of the pandemic when everything was down due to the uncertainty of the time. Even as the stock market has been hitting new highs, Lululemon is trending downwards.
I know with the closing of Ivivva stores, Lululemon has focused on bringing the tweens over to the adult brand by offering smaller sizes, and trends that are geared toward the much younger crowd. As an elder Millennial, most of the styles I'm seeing are not my cup of tea. I really miss the days when the drops focused on items that seemed special enough to get me really excited. I walked into Lulu today, hoping to try on the WovenAir Cinchable Cuff HR Jogger for Lola, but the store did not have it. Leaving empty handed, I went to Athleta to see if they had anything new I wanted to try on. I noticed even the new items that were released last week seemed like the same old styles, just in different colors. I left feeling very uninspired and walked into Anthropologie in the hopes of something, anything, to catch my eye.
I'm asking my readers here, are you noticing if your Lululemon stores are catering towards the tweens more than the adults? I am going to assume the younger teens prefer to shop in person versus shopping online. Is Lululemon banking on the adult shoppers will just order online versus shopping in stores? I want to know if this is what's happening or is Lululemon going to leave the adults with nothing eventually? I say that because so far this year, I have only purchased two items from Lululemon. A pair of Hotty Hot Shorts and a pair of Beyondfeel shoes.
In other news, I'm planning some fall reviews from Quince, Varley, and possibly Vuori. I'm starting to think I need to look at other brands. Let me know your thoughts! Let's start a conversation in the comments below.
With that, I hope you all are having a wonderful start to a brand new month!
Hi Leslie! During the pandemic, I purchased a lot of athleisure clothes, I would say mostly Lululemon and Vuori because Athleta wasn't available in Canada at that time. Now that work and social life are back to normal, I find myself more drawn to casual chic styles, like a linen shirt over a tank and nicer shorts. Over the past couple of years, I definitely purchased more from Athleta than Lululemon. I think Athleta offers more styles that are suitable for both work and weekends, and I'm able to find bottoms that fit just right (thanks to petite sizing). I have also been impressed by Uniqlo, particularly the collabs with JW Anderson and others. I'd love to see more fit reviews from Uniqlo. I'm interested in Quince as well. It's too bad that they don't ship to Canada yet. Hopefully that will happen soon!
ReplyDeleteHi Karen! Agree! This summer has all been about linen button ups and linen shorts. I'm still having a hard time finding a nice short sleeve linen button up. I'm waiting for an order from BR to come. I hope the cut isn't too boxy on me.
DeleteAthleta will always have a one up on Lulu with their petite sizing. Lulu is losing out by not offering extended sizes, but maybe they are just focusing on the younger teens to make up for it. Who knows.
I'm sad there isn't a Uniqlo store here in Atlanta. Would love to try them out, but Andrea pointed out and I did check to see the return ship policy and it is $7 per box. That's kind of a bummer. I'll still take a look at the site. Can you give some tips on the sizing?
Hi Leslie! With Uniqlo, I usually check the size chart for each product and also find the product reviews to be helpful. For tops, I am typically size 4-6 for Lululemon, and I'd be be anywhere from size XS to M at Uniqlo, depending on the style. Shorts are easier, as size S usually fits me well (26" waist). For pants, I sometimes need hemming, which is offered as a free service in stores. It's too bad that there's no Uniqlo store near you. I hope they will expand in the US soon!
DeleteLike AC, I also really enjoy your shoe and bag reviews. I also very much enjoy your travel, food and lifestyle blogs as well!
Thanks Karen! Good to know each product has their own size chart. I'll take a look around and see if there's anything that catches my eye.
DeleteAppreciate you hanging around my blog. It means a lot to me!
Yes, at the end of the day, athleisure is still the same old. There is the odd time they try to do something different, for example the gathered hoodie from last week, but overall it is the same styles different colors. If you are worried about changing gears to not Lululemon content, I would still read! I think it’s the cadence of the posts that really draw me back to read. I think it is also due to a more sustainable mindset of not buying so much clothes anymore. Lastly, your shoes and bags content is quite interesting. So if it is worth anything, the cadence, schedule, and varied content has been a pleasure to follow!
ReplyDeleteThanks AC! Appreciate your thoughts on changing gears to non Lulu. I would still want to cover items that I find interesting and new every week. But we may see even more varied content in the future.
DeleteThankful for all your fit reviews over the years! 🩷
DeleteHi Leslie,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you and I too miss the good old days of Lululemon. I have items from over 10 years ago which I still love, cos they have unique details and quality is better. Now all you can find are hoodies, joggers and tees etc that you can find elsewhere at much lower prices, sometimes even with better quality. Instead of releasing more interesting designs, they are offering new colors in the same old styles. Just how many Scuba Hoodies does one need?
Lululemon is definitely gearing towards the younger generations. There's nothing wrong with expanding their clientele but I feel like Lululemon is losing its identity. Like Karen, I've purchased more from Athleta than Lululemon in the last couple years, especially pants in petite sizing that fit perfectly. I'm also shopping more at Uniqlo now that they are opening up more retail stores in Canada. Their prices are unbeatable and quality not bad. It might be difficult for you to do fit reviews though, Leslie, if you have to order everything online, cos you have to pay for return shipping and can only do exchanges in stores. Not sure if they have the same return policy for US but do check it out before ordering.
Andrea
Hi Andrea! I've definitely bought a lot more Athleta this year so far, and that's been a first for me. It's so strange because I've been a die hard Lulu fan for a long time, but it may be time to switch to something else. It's a good question, what is Lululemon's identity now? I think it's definitely geared towards Gen Z shoppers and younger. It makes me feel even older.
DeleteI checked out the Uniqlo return policy and you're correct, it's a $7 return charge per box. Technically I can put more than one order in a box to save on the return charge. I'll think about it some more. Unfortunate that there aren't any stores here for me to check out in person.
Thank you for trying to check out the pants I was interested in; I appreciate the effort!
ReplyDeleteI can't compare notes about Lululemon and Athleta brick and mortar stores, because my city has neither. However, just looking online, it does seem to me that Lulu is trying to cater to a younger demographic. The branding on a lot of items is super prominent, which I feel would matter to tweens/teens more than adults. And I agree with you on the sizing - stuff is getting smaller, and now that they're moving away from numerical sizing, the size-inclusivity is definitely reduced even more.
Pre-pandemic, I would get excited about the upload and usually be interested in a few items. Now, I'm lucky if one thing catches my eye. Lately, Athleta has been ho-hum for me as well. I agree with everybody - seeing the same old things rotate to different colors every couple of weeks is so boring.
And as for your Blog, write about whatever you like. I will keep coming back to check it out :)
Hi Lola! What city are you located in? Answer only if you don't mind sharing. Yes! the alpha sizing totally throws me off, I end up having to try on multiple sizes to see which fits best.
DeleteI guess the only upside is my closet is happier there's less things coming in and my wallet is somewhat happier. Since I'm not spending as much on clothing, I end up spending it on a bag. LOL.
Thanks for your support! I really appreciate you all for coming back after all these years. 💓🤗
I moved a few years ago from a big city in the South where both Lululemon and Athleta were easily accessible to a much smaller city in a different state. Now I have to drive an hour to visit either store but luckily they are in the same center. Now that I have a puppy, I don't get to shop in person very often.
ReplyDeleteThis year I have bought nothing from Lululemon. From Athleta I purchased several linen pieces and lately some new, much-needed bras. I absolutely hate that Lululemon has no petite sizes. I'm 5'3" and their pants are entirely too long for me. I thought the recent seersucker plaid pants were cute, but why bother to order when I know they'll be entirely too long. Athleta wins by far by offering petites. However, even Athleta has fewer pants in traditional 4-6-8-10 etc sizing and is now offering fewer options by changing to s-m-l etc. I don't like that.
All that said, I would welcome your reviews of any brand you choose, any brand you think your readers might be interested in. That includes clothes, shoes, bags, whatever catches your eye.
Hi there! I have not bought Athleta pants in a while, I might try their Endless Pant again. It's still offered in numerical sizing for now. But agree, Athleta petites are amazing. It's another reason why it's been hard for me to branch out to other brands.
DeleteA puppy is way better than new clothes anyway! 🤗
Hi, I've found the same thing. I shop Athleta too much and any new top styles are cropped or tight fitting catering to a young crowd. And, the bottoms are big, baggy sweatpants etc. The rest is old styles in new colors. They have even shortened one of my favorite skorts, the Brooklyn Skort! I expect the prices to only increase with the tariffs and maybe the uninspiring items will benefit my wallet as I won't be buying!! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Kay! That's a good point, I haven't even mentioned the tariff situation. It will be very interesting to see what happens in the next few months and how much will the prices go up? I checked out Vuori and they just released a new hoodie that is super cropped. SMH. Guess they're going in the direction of the younger crowd as well.
DeleteI’ve been over lululemon for some time now. The quality of their swiftly material is sooo bad now! It’s paper thin! My first swiftly tank from 13-14 years ago is still going strong. Would love to see your reviews on regular clothing brands, including shoes! I also love your bag reviews- so fun! As a fellow petite, it’s so helpful seeing your try on reviews.
ReplyDeleteHi Jen C! Yeah, looking back I really haven't liked anything for a while, and started slowly last year and really just kind of built up. I haven't bought a Swiftly in a few years. I am going to check out other brands for sure. Thanks for sticking around!
DeleteI totally agree with you, Leslie! I miss the fun style names, the quality, the details, and the technical options. They have made such poor decisions over the past few years, and it's catching up. Full price items used to sell out, and now markdowns sit for ages. Quality has gone down while prices continue to go up. You know I'm salty about the Define Jacket losing its back vent - and now it has a price increase, too!! Where's the technical gear? Where's the yoga gear? I like casual items from other brands and miss the reason I started buying. Why are there so many tennis collections, but they choose to ignore they HUGE pilates trend? So many misses. All that said, I still haven't found technical gear that fits and performs as well...
ReplyDeleteHi LZ! I was shocked when I found out the Define Jacket lost the back vent. I wonder if that happened when everyone started wearing them as the BBL jacket. Lulu realized that no one was actually using these jackets to exercise lol.
DeleteI wonder if the tennis collections are meant for those who play pickleball? I do not do either one so I don't know if people are actually wearing these items.
TBH though, I have enough workout clothes to last me years, only add one or two items a year as they need to be refreshed or replaced and I am okay with that. I wish I could have this mindset with my daily clothes. I really need to reorganize my closet though. I have my workout clothes, my work clothes, and then my home clothes, and going out clothes. 😅