I wasn’t planning to write this post, but I noticed that the Seva Sweater is in We Made Too Much (Lulu’s sale page), so I wanted to add my voice, in case you were planning to pick it up- or thinking about it. I had checked it out last week in-store and tried it on because I thought it looked interesting. I knew I would never pay full price. Every year Lulu comes out with a sweater that looks something like this, and every year it ends up in WMTM. In any case, I took some photos and I hope someone can benefit from them. The color I chose was Black Cherry- in addition to that one, Heathered Medium Grey and Almost Blue are also in WMTM, as of this writing. They were originally priced at $108 and are now $69.
My Thoughts on the Seva Sweater
Two words: Merino Wool. This is a very soft, very cozy sweater. It feels amazing on- and the weight was nice too. Very comfortable as a layer.
Seva Sweater Tear Out Tag Seva Sweater Hang TagThis sweater feels really nice on, but it doesn’t really look fabulous. In fact, I strongly considered not posting this picture due to the unflattering nature of this sweater.
What the Seva Sweater looks like on a human.Ok, so, maybe it’s not that bad, but it definitely deserves to be in WMTM.
My favorite part about this sweater, if I may, are the thumb holes. They’re inconspicuous when not in use, but are available.
Seva Sweater Thumb Hole Seva Sweater in Heathered Medium Grey
Hello everyone! I’ve decided to re-start a popular series I used to do last year. My outfit of the day series! I’ve decided to ignore whether I’ve done one thing or another before, which was one reason why I stopped last time (my goal was no repeats!). My collection is such that repeats are unlikely but I don’t plan on going through old posts to make certain like I used to. In any case, here is today’s Outfit of the Day!
The necklace is by BaubleBar which I love and you should check it out. (Check Retail Me Not for deals! Don’t pay full price at BaubleBar)
Under this Style & Co cotton/ poly mix yoga shirt I recently got at Macy’s is a Blue Moon Cool Racerback and a Stuff Your Bra in Angel Wing. One of my favorite pairs of crops are my Beach Runners in Aquamarine/ Beach Blanket Blue. And of course, I’m wearing my Vibrams, which I wrote about after the lawsuit, here.
Like I’ve said in previous posts, Lululemon is coming out with all the fabulous things right around now and I’ve gathered a few great examples from Facebook of what these new items look like in real life. I really like the Fluffin Awesome jackets, even though I don’t love the shiny quality, I think they look really cute, IRL. My only question has to do with sizing. I have often read that these are a size-up item if you expect to be able to layer a Scuba Hoodie underneath. I have yet to see them in-store, but if I do, I will update with an opinion on size!
Fluffin Awesome Jacket in black, top viewFluffin Awesome Jacket in blackFluffin Awesome Jacket in AlarmingFluffin Awesome Jacket in black :: Scuba Hoodie II in washi weave angel wing naval blueFluffin Awesome Jacket in blackScuba Hoodie II in washi weave angel wing naval blue
This is the Scuba that was peeking out from under the Fluffin’ Awesome jacket above. This is not my favorite pattern, but it’s still cute and good to know that a thick cotton fleece scuba can fit under a Fluffin Awesome jacket.
Fluffin’ Awesome Vest in Alarming Long sleeveFluffin’ Awesome Vest in Alarming
Wow @ this vest! I love the Fluffin Awesome vest in Alarming! I’ve been kind of vest obsessed this month! Preparing for the cool fall weather I kind of want this. Maybe in a different color though, I don’t think I look great in red.
High Times *Metta
I’m not really into the High Times (weird, I know), but I really like these *Metta ones with this interesting mesh detail.
Wunder Under Stirups Herringbone Black, Regal Plum Cool Racerback
Wow. That’s an incredible Yogi! And so well-dressed! 🙂 I want to see that Cool Racerback in person to see how close it is to Paris Pink.
Stirrup Wunder Under Pants Herringbone, Bordeaux Drama
More of these Stirrup Wunder Unders. I’m not into the Stirrups, because I often worry that they’ll get dirty. But last time I checked they were selling well online. What do you like about them?
Straight Up Bra in Mini Cherry Cheetah Ultra Violet Naval Blue
I love this pattern, but not this bra style. I hope this comes out in a Flow Y.
That’s all for now! What do you think about the return of the Fluffin Awesome jacket? Did you size up for layering? Let me know!
I’m trying to get back into the swing of things & I haven’t done one of these posts in quite some time, so here are a few things I’m loving right now!
First: It’s officially the beginning of Fall and that is exactly the point at which Lululemon rolls out their best stuff. Marketing research tells us that people buy things for themselves until mid-November, then they start buying for others. So, between now and mid-November Lululemon will make things for us, and after that we will probably see that “black, white and pink,” color palette that is generally quite bland and will take us through the January “return season.” Until then, if you like color in your life, Lululemon should continue to release bold colors and new products.
Vent It Out Crop
The first thing I want to talk about are these “Vent It Out” Crops. First, I absolutely love the color. It’s called “space dye twist ultra violet multi/naval blue,” and it’s gorgeous and flattering. Here are a couple of pics of me trying them on. I bunch the shirt up so that you can see how the waistband lays in the picture.
Hang TagSide viewFront view
I like these because they remind me of my Beach Runner Crops in terms of feel, and they remind me of the Excel crops in terms of design and function. The main differences being that they’re not as thin as the Beach Runners, and not as tight around the knees as the Excels. I like the little criss-cross detail along the side. It’s difficult to see in the photo, and is certainly subtle in real life, as well, but it’s a nice touch. If I had one criticism, it would be that the back pocket is ‘zipperless,’ as they mention in the hang tag. I would not put anything in that pocket for fear that it would fall out, but since I rarely use those pockets it doesn’t really affect me.
Scuba Hoodie III *Terry
At first I was skeptical about these, but after trying one on in-store, I’m sold and I might seek these out in the future as a replacement for the cotton fleece of the traditional Scuba Hoodie. The biggest difference I noticed was the Terry one was stretchy, while I find that the fleece ones tend to be a little stiff- especially when you first get them. Does anyone else find that too? In addition, and this is why I think I’m interested in seeing these in my closet: they’re thinner. Living in the South brings a lot of mild weather, which can sometimes be cool, but is seldom unbearably cold. These Terry Scubas incorporate one of my favorite styles with a more wearable fabric. This pattern is gorgeous!
Diamond Jacquard Wunder Unders
It is the beginning of Fall and Lulu has released some pretties for cold weather comfort. Enter diamond jacquard space dye black slate Wunder Under Pants. They’re gorgeous and soft, and warm and cozy… And they’re online and in-store right now!
The first photo shows a close up of the pattern. If you already have some pique Luon pants, you made not need these. They feel and look very similar.
Good day internet people! It has been quite some time since I last wrote, and part of the reason is that I was out of town, another reason is that I have not felt inspired to write and still another part is that I have been writing more often for academic purposes rather than simple pleasure. In any case, I’m back in town and looking forward to adding my voice to the recent changes in a key part of Lululemon’s marketing strategy.
The Pant Wall
The pant wall is one of Lululemon’s key selling features. During on-boarding (training) educators are thoroughly acquainted with The Wall. Hours are spent training, learning how to educate guests about the different features of the different types of pants, all the while folding and re-folding pair upon pair of Lululemon pants. Sometimes it can get lonely at The Wall…
http://gameofthrones.wikia.com/wiki/The_Wall
No, not THAT wall!
Lululemon Pants Wall
That’s better.
So, they’ve updated the infamous pant wall to reflect how their guests want to FEEL. Personally, I think this is a fabulous marketing strategy. Naomi Klein talks about brand dissemination in her book No Logo and in an interview in the 2003 documentary “The Corporation,” she said that
“Branding is not advertising it’s production. And very successful corporations, the corporations of the future do not product products, they produce brand meaning. The dissemination of the idea of themselves is their act of production, and the dissemination of the idea of themselves is an enormously invasive project. So how do you make a brand idea real? Well, a good place to start is by building a 3D manifestation of your brand.”
These ideas remind me of photos I took in China. These photos depict a globe, engraved with several well-known brand logos.
This work of art exists between an under developed residential area and a highly developed financial area.This is a picture of the same globe, from a different angle. Whereas in one photo you see a rather old residential building, in this one you can see the brand new tall structures.
While these are 3D depictions of brands, this is not what Naomi was talking about, but this globe represents how strongly people associate with brands. I imagine myself as the artist, considering what progress means, and maybe it means the growth of large companies all over the world, but particularly those that come to developing nations to start operations such as the brands featured on this globe. I originally took both of these photos for the juxtaposition of old China vs. new, but I’m glad they could make it into my blog.
So, Lululemon is attempting to increase its brand penetration by helping its consumer base associate it with positive feelings like ‘feeling hugged.’ While I applaud the effort, (however transparent it seems to me) I remarked a slight discrepancy between the positive feelings I was experiencing after being hugged in their *Special Edition* Laser Dot Wunder Under Crop, and the negative feelings I associated with the not so minor price increases that accompanied this new marketing campaign. Many pants were re-priced and new pants are now more expensive that they would have been had they been released a week prior.
Laser Dot DetailWunder Under Crop *SE Laser Dot “Hugged” Sensation
In this case, Lululemon is attempting to change the way you choose pants shifting from function (because who cares if you can actually work out in them?), to how they make you feel. Regardless of my skepticism, this marketing campaign probably tested well with the focus groups and was likely designed by a professional marketing firm. It’s a great idea that I hope they’re able to transition across all product lines. This idea is founded in current research on marketing psychology and I think it’s a winner despite my ability to see through it.
So, now that I’ve explained my opinion on the marketing strategy, let’s discuss those pesky price increases. Lululemon is a luxury brand. In order to maintain the illusion of exclusivity they must tread delicately between being so expensive as to evoke hostility and being so cheap as to be replaced by another brand in its competitive ‘luxury athleisure wear’ category. While I am not completely stoked about the price increases, I understand pricing strategy and respect the brand for making an unpopular decision. Those who don’t like the price increase will move on to other products (such as Athleta, whose quality is comparable, yet prices are lower), and those who are brand loyal will stay the course and continue to make their purchases regardless of such increases in price. It’s the boring answer, but I am confident that it represents the reactions of the vast majority of the Lululemon-buying public.
What do you think about the new marketing campaign? What do you think about the prices? How about my analysis? I’d love to hear from you!
In case anyone is interested: I did not buy the *SE Laser Dot Wunder Under crops, they’re pretty, but I already have a pair of Bordeaux Drama WUCs, and did not see what was so *special* about these. 🙂
