lululemon: crack cocaine for the middle aged woman?
Cats: Uncategorized, culture|Brand hype is nothing new. Think Apple, Halo3, Sex in the City.
Yoga wear is nothing new, either. It’s great for kicking around the house and things like, well, yoga. But the lululemon phenomenon is curious.
Sure, the iconic brand appeals to young girls and young women still in the process of forming their identities and making the statement with the brand. I AM lululemon therefore I am.
But when I visited* the newly-opened lululemon store in town, it was full of middle-aged, middle-class women breathlessly ripping yoga trousers off the shelves and trying on matching bomber shell jackets. We’ll leave the matter of yoga wear fashion crimes aside for now, other than to say yoga wear should go no further than the house, yoga studio or running route.
Why are these women throwing themselves at something that is essentially overpriced elastic when they can purchase equally nice brands of stretchy yoga pants for half the price? (Women were lined up outside the store and around the corner on opening day. This wasn’t a rock concert with a finite number of tickets. It’s a store that would remain open in the days and weeks and presumably years to come.)
Is the lululemon brand the female equivalent of the male middle life crisis little red convertible? Is it code for youth? I wear lululemon therefore I AM young?
lululemon has nice yoga pants and the service is good, but it is overpriced and overhyped. And there are less expensive equally attractive alternatives. I do not get lululemon. And I don’t get why middle class, middle aged women are throwing themselves at this brand.
* the lululemon visit was on the request of a certain young lady who will soon be a Grade six graduate. She chose lululemon yoga pants as her present. She shares a nickname with part of the lululemon brand name but there is no lemon in her name.
May 29th, 2008 at 10:34 am
I have been wondering these same facts for years. Years. My university was populated with lululemon and Ugg boots and I never understood what the craze was about.
When I was living in Vancouver I noticed more men wearing lululemon than women, which was somewhat refreshing, so I don’t think its just a middle aged female trend. Although its defintely geared towards that audience in the marketing.
May 29th, 2008 at 3:32 pm
Some people will complain loudly about the price of gas but then go out and pay an astounding price for…….yoga pants. I don’t get it either. I’d buy them if I could find them at Frenchy’s
May 29th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Something tells me the majority of people who buy lululemon don’t actually do yoga.
Seems kind of stupid to buy something and not use it for what it was intended. You know, like buying warm fur-lined boots and wearing them in the summer with mini skirts and leggings…oh, wait, nevermind…
May 29th, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Allison, I was quite surprised to see men’s garb in the lululemon. But there was not a man to be seen in the store.
YAM, go figure. And I bet you can find last year’s lulu pants in Francois.
Melissa, lululemon brand uses yoga to market it’s product. They don’t give a damn if you wear the stuff to your yoga class
May 29th, 2008 at 11:54 pm
Wow! It’s so pretty in here!!!
The Lululemon craze is insane and so insane, in fact, that it has turned me off and I stick to Nike for my workout gear. It’s better quality, too.
May 30th, 2008 at 1:11 am
I thought it was just me who didn’t understand lululemon. I’m so glad to have found kindred spirits here. And besides, what the hell are yoga pants anyway? Aren’t they essentially just sweat pants?
May 30th, 2008 at 8:18 am
I must admit, I own a Lululemon sweater, the sweater is lovely but you’re right it overpriced and my inpulse buying was not because I couldn’t live without the sweater but it was ultimately about the brand, and the simple fact that upon my return home (from Edmonton, prior to Lululemon being in Halifax)very few poeple would have the same sweater. Well that was until lululemon came to Halifax. I’m not sure if it’s the brand itself or simply the fact that it was not available here, like for instance Abercrombie and Fitch, whats the hype, I don’t get it, similar to Lululemon, it is/was not available here and therefore if you owned it you must have been traveling (these days most poeple travel, so thats no biggie). I have a feeling the hype will die for Lululemon now that it is in Halifax, as many of my friends, myself included, do not see it as being worth the extra money anymore because now everyone in halifax can have it. I have not yet even visited the store and I work within a 5 minute walk away. It I were to buy something at Lululemon now (within weeks of opening) a large percentage of Halifax will be sporting the same thing, and I’m not really a fan of everyone wearing the same clothes.
May 30th, 2008 at 8:42 am
Jacy, thanks, which theme are you on? lululemon is hype and hype always dies off. We’ll be doing the laughing when that happens
Barbara, remember the 1970s leisure suits? Or the stretchies our moms wore in the 60s? yoga wear is just today’s version of that. lulu has branded the 1960s stretchy and people are going mad for it.
Stacy, interesting. I think you’re right. The more these brands spread themselves around the more they dilute themselves. Who wants to look like a lulu clone anyway. Not me.
May 30th, 2008 at 10:55 am
Yes, it’s pretty in here…some orange flowers or something.
About three years ago I joined Goodlife Fitness and ended up buying some Looloolemong pants, not realizing the whole hype thing…and then a few months later I was buying my workout wear at Costco. $17 vs. $99? Yeah.
But I still use my original pants and I do wear them to yoga. I’m not middle aged. Yet.
May 31st, 2008 at 7:28 am
Me thinks it’s important to note how Halifax folks continue to feel so deprived of everything in life as soon as they hear that it MIGHT be coming to town. Now that Lululemon is here, it’s a mad dash for the $100 sweat pants just in case they might take it away again. For further reference see MicMacMall’s Aeropostale, and next spring’s H&M…
June 1st, 2008 at 9:08 pm
Espanya, I’ll take the 17 dollar jobos any day.
Ben, h n m you say? Now that is something worth getting excited about as they tend to be cheaper, rather than more expensive.
June 2nd, 2008 at 10:40 pm
I have 2 Lululemon head bands,,,the only product that I could afford…and they are really very nice. Sister Jane gave me a very flashy silver gym bag for my birthday. Too bad I don’t go to the gym to show it off!
June 3rd, 2008 at 6:50 am
Nanc, nine bucks for a head band. I don’t know if that’s normal but it seems excessive for a piece of elastic.
June 3rd, 2008 at 7:54 am
you could probably get similar for a buck at the dollar store…but it doesn’t put my head in a vice grip and keeps my hair out of my face!
June 12th, 2008 at 6:19 pm
I have to say that I disagree strongly with yout post. I own lululemon not because of the symbol but because of the quality. I was given my first pair of pants by a friend whom they no longer fit….. this was 3 years ago….. and they are still in perfect condition. Ok maybe they are a bit pricey, but does that really matter if you only have to buy one pair of yoga/running pants the rest of your life. I think its a good trade off. I will agree that 9$ for a head band is too much.
June 12th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Nanc, I saw them in other place, less expensive elastic
Meg, i have no doubt that the product of three years ago was good, but my daughter’s yoga trousers from lulu came out of their first watch with “pills” around the waistline. That is not what I would expect from a pair of yoga trousers that cost me over $100
June 13th, 2008 at 11:08 am
Did you follow the washing directions? Don’t wash with towels, no fabric softner and no velcro?
June 13th, 2008 at 12:03 pm
Meg, no towels, fab softener or velcro. The “pills” showed up just inside the waistband. The trousers are reversible, but now they can’t be worn that way. I will blog on this more.
June 20th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Well, I suppose if you were absolutely desperate to get goodyoga gear then you could go to lululemon. It is very expencive but from what I understand its very good quality. However, I don’t want to waste 100$ on something that probably doesn’t cost that much to make. If they had a sale, I would probably get them if they were under 50$. But for now im buying my yoga stuff from winners. Brandname clothing without brand name prices. Ahh. Best of both worlds.
July 12th, 2008 at 4:42 am
What I don’t understand is why people have to attack it. If you don’t like it, don’t buy it. I (a man) have pants, a few shirts and a jacket from lululemon and those are the most comfortable clothes I own. I have yet to see any of these issues from the wash that you describe on my items or any of my friends. Basically, my point is that it’s popular for a reason. It is very flattering to a woman’s figure (and I’m sure MANY others will agree), it is functional, it is comfortable and it isn’t made by children in 3rd world countries.
I’ve made an observation about people that try to speak out against big corporations and popular brands: 9/10 times the person either can’t afford it or doesn’t look good in the clothes. Now, I don’t know you and I don’t have anything against the less fortunate but what really gets to me are the complainers. Does it really make you feel that much better? Your next blog should be about how wrong it is to buy a Ferrari because you can buy a Chevrolet for $150,000 less.
July 12th, 2008 at 5:21 am
Matt,
It’s not an attack; it;s a critque and that is fair game for a consumer product which premium prices for a leveraged brand.
lulu looks good on people for sure, but you can get yoga clothes that look equally good on the female and male forms for less than a third of the price.
lulu’s marketing department is well aware of this. They are premium pricing for the brand - lifestyle and spirituality.
I understand why a young person might buy into the brand which contributes to the formation of identity. I don’t get why older - presumably more sophisticated consumers - buy into something that is overpriced compared to other products of equal quality.
To imply that those who critique just don’t look good or can’t afford the product is simplistic and detracts from your counter argument because it looks defensive.
I’m glad you’ve had no quality issues with the product. That has not been my experience.
July 16th, 2008 at 2:28 am
Okay I don’t love lululemon, but I do like it. I own a few things from there (including a sweater) and I wear them frequently, still in mint condition. I live in Vancouver so it’s not a big deal when someone comes to school wearing something from there.
I’m contemplating weather or not I should buy a pair of the yoga pants for work. I need some sort of black bottoms (not shorts) and i’m getting tired of wearing my leggins.
Lululemon is a great product I don’t care what you say, sure it can be a little pricy but I agree with matt that if you complain about the cost it’s because you can’t afford it. Now I wear lululemon, but both of my parents do too, no it’s not so they can feel young again, it’s because they wear it for the main purpose, yoga.
I also don’t understand why the “older” generation wears this brand of clothing, but it’s so much better than when they wear TNA, now that is a problem.
July 24th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Gifted-
I absolutely agree with your point in that you can get equal quality for less cost, which is the fiscally responsible choice imo. I’m an absolute Consumer Reports loyalist, and value is huge with me. If you can afford it, get it. Being able to afford lululemon doesn’t mean that it isn’t fiscally irresponsible to do so. If you have the kind of spare change on hand that allows you to be fiscally irresponsible, that’s great! But amazingly enough there are still those of us out here (spare change on hand) who would rather spend $40 on a quality pair of yoga pants from Lands End and have a lifetime guarantee on them as well, than pay $100 for a pair that’s excitingly labeled. IMO, I can find equal style, quality, and comfort for less expense, and that’s how I choose to spend my money. It has nothing to do with my size or my bank account. If you choose to buy lululemon, than understand and admit that you’re paying for a brand, because there are other choices out there. And equally production-sensitive as well.
I’d have to buy a turd to give one (if you’ll excuse the expression) about how people spend their money, as it’s their priveledge. If you’re going to get defensive about someone’s opinion of said clothing though, there needs to be validity to your argument.
July 30th, 2008 at 8:54 pm
gifted typist
Jun 12th, 2008 at 6:44 pm
Nanc, I saw them in other place, less expensive elastic
Meg, i have no doubt that the product of three years ago was good, but my daughter’s yoga trousers from lulu came out of their first watch with “pills” around the waistline. That is not what I would expect from a pair of yoga trousers that cost me over $100
Hi , absolutely agreed, they must have quality problem recently. local people told me it’s worth to get from Lululemon as each piece last for few years.. I arrived here to study this spring and to date I bought 5 items from them ( some store really bad services, I wrote to them about my pants quality and they never reply ) and after 6 months use, all hand wash alone, ( each wore one time one week for yoga practices ) , the jackets are so-so, tank stay as though it’s new, the pants are disaster.. the waist, butt area are thinning with tiny white balls all over .. 3 pants , each over 100 dollar ?? such quality ?? SOS !!!!!!!!!!!! anyone who often buy Lululemon please share your opinion. thanks