I really do love all of my Lulu gear. It is comfortable, washes well, works well in tough situations (ie. couch time or running in freezing Rochester winters) and I feel good when I wear it. I know that may sound strange, but I am sure you have a favorite article of clothing that just makes everything right in the world while you are wearing it. Now, I have much less expensive athletic wear that I have purchased at Target or Marshall's or have gotten with a race entry, that is equally as comfortable and has worn well over my last three years of running.
Where I do struggle with the Lululemon brand is in its sizing. I do not have the typical runner body and this body changes easily depending on what I am putting in my system and what I am training for. What?! You can't train for a cookie eating contest and expect to fit into your body hugging athletic gear, what is wrong with the world! Not only does Lulu clothing only go up to a size 12, it is very rare to be able to find a size 12 in the product and style you want. And is the "12" even a realistic 12, probably not. The kicker, is that Lulu does this on purpose, because the the plus-sized customer isn't someone who they want representing their brand. We aren't part of their demographic, and they admit this. Out loud. To play devil's advocate though, if you walk through your typical mall, there are stores that you simply will not go into because you don't fit into the demographic. Am I going to shop in Hot Topic or Abercrombie and Fitch, probably not. Are the young and skinny going to step into a Lane Bryant or Christopher and Banks, doubt it. So why does Lulu get in trouble when they are simply doing what most stores in the mall do? Is it because the chauvinistic, male co-founder (spokesperson) of the company comes off as a douche bag? Here's another little gem from Wilson: "It takes 30% more fabric to create plus-size clothes, meaning that he would have have to charge a higher price for them. Something that Wilson said he would never do because plus-size people are sensitive and the company would feel intense fallout from the community." Sensitive?!? So what is your excuse for selling $98 stretchy pants to skinny people, you have no problem doing that. If you haven't been able to tell already, I am struggling with this whole topic/issue. An article I read recently said that consumers are expected to spend about $332 million on athletic wear sold at plus-size women's clothing stores this year. That is a crazy number! In fact, the article went on to say that the plus-size apparel industry is worth about $14 billion. So If Lulu chooses to not be a part of it, just to protect the image that only skinny people should be squeezing their butt into transparent yoga pants, then so be it. Maybe that is why analysts are seeing their growth slow. Don't I sound so smart?!
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| Taken from Lulu Rochester FB page. |
The Rochester Lululemon "showroom" recently shut its doors to make room for a bigger and better full size store later this month. Will I go and check it out? Probably. I am actually more curious than ever to see what the stock is of their size 10's and 12's. Naively, I used to think maybe they didn't have many "larger" sizes because they were just a showroom, which offered limited amounts of their products. I guess I'll find out the truth soon enough, even though I probably already know the answer. If you are interested in a male perspective on the Lululemon issue, check out this link.
Have you ever boycotted a store/product because of the company's philosophy?
Stars and Stripes Veterun 5k Race Report coming soon!
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