Hello everyone!
I noticed that some of the reviews on the Kanto Catch Me 1/2 Zips mentioned changes to Rulu fabric and I wanted to do some comparisons for you from this year’s to previous year’s Rulu fabric content. Quality is extremely important to me and it’s the main reason why I LOVE Lululemon as a brand- though, I must admit that they do an excellent job of marketing towards people like me. Whenever there is a quality issue, however, I hope I get a chance to address it.
What I want to start with is the complaint:
She is clearly upset that what she imagined was a high-quality fabric, turned out to be (nearly) half Polyester. I understand that. I also understand that she feels as though she’s been deceived. I agree, particularly to the degree that the blue top is 44% Polyester. That is unlike all the other Rulu I own. To the degree that the white top is polyester, that is more common among other Rulu I own and I would not be upset if I had purchased the white top. However, it is on the cusp. For comparison, I chose last year’s half-zip incarnation, the Race Your Pace, of which I own two.
On the left, is the Coco Pique/ black one I wore in yesterday’s OOTD, the other is a Heathered black grape one. This is actually a great example of how a particular style can have two items with radically different fabric composition. The first is 91% Nylon, while the second is only 53% Nylon. The first is definitely softer, and more “cozy,” while the second, in my opinion, works better as a functional piece (it’s not as warm). I do find them both “soft,” but it’s obvious which has the higher Nylon content. I personally agree with this other reviewer, who agrees that, while the Rulu is not the same, it’s still nice.
Full disclosure: I have tried on the Kanto Catch me LS, but not the half zips. I will next time I’m in-store, if my store has them!
While I do love me some Rulu, I can definitely see the point of people like this other reviewer who was expecting Rulu and got something that they can literally feel is different.
Bottom Line
Lulu is probably gonna have to eat some of their margin on this one. Too many bad reviews already. Let’s hope these go to markdown, although we probably won’t find out until after the holiday season.
I still love Rulu, but will definitely be checking out the inner tags just to make sure I’m getting what I’m paying for.
What do you think? Is the fabric content a deal-breaker for you? Or do you love Rulu regardless? Let me know in the comments below!
UPDATE: These actually did go to WMTM 🙂 Yay!
I had the chance to try and buy 🙂 the Kanto Catch Me 1/2 zip and I also agree that Rulu is different for the Sapphire blue color. It’s not the regular Rulu but it’s still a very nice top. I really like it and although it’s not a deal breaker for me, I would like it if there was a way to let us know that it’s a different version of Rulu. I buy most of my Lulu online so it’s something I’d like to know before I order. It can be really deceiving when you’re expecting something and it turns out to be different than what you were expecting. I recently moved so now I’m close to a Lululemon store so I had the chance to try this one before and I love it!
Exactly. If they would just post the different fabric contents for each color that would help people make their decision, and then no one would feel put out. Thanks for commenting. I am actually fairly proud of this post, and I think that it will be the first of a series… Although I’m not entirely sure as to what kind of series… Fabric content/ quality/ changes year over year? I don’t know. I hope people notice these changes though! Thanks again! And I’m glad you agree with me LOL 🙂
Yes, I did notice and I really like your post! I can’t wait to see what you’ll do next! The sky is the limit 🙂 I just find all your posts interesting, I love when you post your outfits and I also love posts like this one! Lulu gives us so many different subject to talk about :), great job!
Thank you, you’re very kind!
[Kindly delete the previous comment in which I accidentally published my address, please.]
I’m choosing between one of the new vinyasa scarves uploaded on the lululemon website (92% nylon, 8% spandex) and one on ebay that’s purportedly a 60-30-10 mix with polyester. They’re both marketed as being rulu, though. Based on what you mentioned above, can I expect the one without polyester to be warmer? I’m confused because the nylon-only scarf has the same design on both sides, and they say those are generally thinner and less warm than the reversible vinyasas with different designs on each side (the one that has polyester mixed in). Would really appreciate hearing about your experience, as I’m new to lulu.
I deleted the previous comment but had already replied to it! I hope that what I said is helpful!
Thanks so much for replying. Alas, I think your original reply got deleted along with my comment, so I never got to see it. 🙁
Would actually love to hear more about the vinyasa scarves and how the feel and warmth differs depending on the fabric (rulu, pique, herringbone) when you have the time and inclination. Thanks again!
Oh dear! Let me see if I can copy-paste it here! I’ll have to do it from my computer though! I will create a post in the future! I will come back & comment here when it happens! 🙂
That would be really kind of you, definitely still interested in hearing your answer to my previous question on the warmth of different rulu compositions.
Looking forward to that post!
Here is my original reply: Hi there! Thanks for reading & thanks for your question! Although Nylon does tend to be warmer than Polyester, I would just pick the scarf you think is prettiest! It’s up to you though! I found this article online that does an excellent job of comparing the two fabrics. http://www.diffen.com/difference/Nylon_vs_Polyester Which ever one you choose, I hope you enjoy it! Thanks again!
Another thing to add here: Pique and Herringbone are just patterns, all Rulu is Rulu, but some Rulu has different fabric composition. So, while almost all Vinyasa scarves are made from Rulu, some Rulu may be 75% Nylon & 25% Polyester, other “Rulu” scarves might have higher or lower concentrations of Nylon. I hope that helps. As far as warmth goes, I’d pick the higher concentration of Nylon one.
Thank you, that is very helpful. For me, the warmer, the better, so I guess I’ll be looking closely for more nylon in my vinyasas.
Your kind responses are much appreciated!
My pleasure! Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
One more thing: I hadn’t heard that any particular design was thicker or thinner (exception the 100% cotton vinyasas that I know are just way too warm for me), and in my opinion, they feel the same. I own about 12 Vinyasas and they’re all of similar thickness with the exception of the pique and herringbone patterned ones- those are the thickest in my opinion. I think I may do a Vinyasa collection post and talk about this in greater detail.
I got this impression from reviews on the lulu site itself, where people were complaining about the thinner fabric on the single-design, “summer” vinyasas. Oddly enough, those seem to be no-polyester versions. But again, thank you!
Interesting, it’s possible that the weave is thinner… You’d have to weigh them individually against other Vinyasas to know for sure
As a follow up (and maybe I should just wait for your Vinyasa collection post for this), may I ask about the composition of pique and herringbone fabric? Would you say that those are significantly warmer than the other rulu vinyasas? I’m looking at an old-school (circa 2011) pique vinyasa and wondering if it would be worth the purchase.
It’s hard to say for sure, unless you weigh it out specifically, but there are many Lulu collectors out there, such as myself, who would say that an older Rulu version is likely to be thicker than a newer one due to dips in quality. However; I am also always cautious when buying any Luon or Rulu item online for condition purposes. I always worry that Rulu/ Luon items will be pilly. So, before you buy, you may want to ask about that.
Pique and Herringbone patterned Vinyasas are, in my opinion, the warmest and also the softest.
Also: I probably won’t have my post up for a while, so ask away! I hope my opinions can be of some use!
Thank you so much, your thoughts are definitely of the utmost help and I really appreciate your taking the time to enlighten me.
Thank you for the warning on pilling! I only look at new with tags and new without tags items when buying online, and even so, i do ask about the condition of the fabric and of the snaps. I actually read your post on fakes yesterday, which I thought was also very informative.
After hearing from you, I’d like to get one pique or herringbone scarf, and quality is the primary reason I am leaning toward getting an older vinyasa instead of the newest coco pique (I also understand that new herringbones have 2 additional seams :() . The trade off as I understand it is the rolling/unfinished edges and unreinforced snaps of the old-school vinyasas.
I’m glad I could help you with your decision! Feel free to stop by any time!
Hi there! Thanks for reading & thanks for your question! Although Nylon does tend to be warmer than Polyester, I would just pick the scarf you think is prettiest! It’s up to you though! I found this article online that does an excellent job of comparing the two fabrics. http://www.diffen.com/difference/Nylon_vs_Polyester Which ever one you choose, I hope you enjoy it! Thanks again!