Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Fit Review: Nulu Fabric, Align Pant, Zone In Crop, Tight Stuff Tight *Reflective, All The Right Places Pant

by Cristina

*Note on pricing I forgot to mention that all of these new pants come with significant price increase. I really don’t feel that any of them are worth that increase except maybe the Align pant with a slight increase to accommodate the double fabric. The Tight Stuff probably can get away with the steep price since it is a new ‘compressive’ material that lululemon doesn’t already have a bench mark price for. I suppose the Tight Stuff pricing is in line with other brands that specialize in compressive clothing. 


Align Pant – Nulu Fabric

The Align Pant where a pleasant surprise. They are very soft, opaque, thin and cool to the touch. I couldn’t quite place what was going on with the fabric but I’d describe it as feeling sort of like a thin RULU material without the warmth or lack of compression. I tried these on in my size down which I can sometimes take in crops (my run crops and my roll down wunder unders) since I am starting the Whole 30 diet today and don’t want new pants to be too big in 30 days. I was impressed that they were opaque in my size down and quite comfortable.

Looking at the fabric tag I can see that it’s got a lot going on with the material. It’s actually lined with a different material called coolmax (the jersey material lining many run jackets). The outer material is 81% Nylon 19% Lycra so I’m pretty sure this is a version of RULU (texturized luon). When I tried these on it did not at all feel like two different layers of material but I guess they’ve somehow fused the two. I’m curious about inner thigh pilling with these.

I will absolutely consider the Align Pant if it comes out in other colors or prints that are enticing. I’m not in the market right now for black leggings so I was able to pass on them but they are very soft and lovely on. 

Zone In Crop – Seamlessly Fabric

I so badly wanted these Zone In Crops due to the gorgeous Sapphire Blue color and the fact that I typically love seamless fabric crops. I’m a TTS 10 but take a size 8 in the In The Flow Crops and other like pants so I grabbed these in size 8 at first and quickly learned that it was a no go for me. I also tried on my size 10 which was an improvement but it didn’t solve my issues with these pants.

They are the same knit material as In The Flow pants only tighter and denser knit (which is great for opacity) but  then there are bands of knit in these pants that are strategically placed that are not stretchy at as they are meant to lift your butt and other areas into place. If you are not curvy this is a very good thing as it will provide lift and coverage but the problem with them are that those bands of knit none elastic fabric have to sit just right in the exact right spot.  If they are off, you get pulling down in the crotch area and deformed lumps in your backside. These where so perfect looking from the front but in the back they were atrocious on me and gave me the worst butt I have ever seen. Think of it as an ill fitting bra for your butt. In the size 8’s the butt band sat too low and squished everything up. Both the size 8 and 10 required the leg material to be hiked way up and the waist to be hiked up so that the inner thigh area sat right and didn’t get pulled down low. When the inner thigh material was too low it felt like the material in the crotch area may rip because there is so little stretch to the material. 

I don’t know. I need to try these on again but at first blush they were so disappointing. I really hated how these made my butt look and that made me have the sad feels. and that is not a #choosefeeling I want. 

Here are the pants reversed so you can see the bands of support in the under butt area. If you have a butt that fits within those constraints then yay. If your butt is larger than that area you will get a weird deformed Kardashian butt. Not the good Kardashian, the pregnant Kardashian in camel colored tight pants. 

Tight Stuff Reflective

The Tight Stuff Pants I grabbed in my TTS 10 and they were really nice on. Initially they felt like they where going to be too snug to pull up because the lower leg is so compressive but once they get up above my calves they weren’t that hard to pull on and they felt supper comfortable on yet very compressive at the same time. Sort of the way your leg muscles relax when you wear compression stockings. These are Full-On Luxtreme with added lycra in them and I think if you are a serious runner or athlete that likes compression sleeves you will really like these. I would 100% consider these if I was training for a marathon through the fall and winter. They are definitely a snug TTS but I would not size up and I’d definitely not size down. I found them opaque and very smoothing. 

All The Right Places Pant

These were TTS 10 and probably the most standard of lululemon Full-On Luxtreme pants blended with regular luxtreme and ‘technical fabric’ with a bit of added compression. I really liked the styling of these pants with all the flattering seams and side holster pockets. They nip and tuck you in in all the right places without feeling restrictive.They were opaque and compressive and I’d definitely consider these for Crossfit if I was in need of a basic black everyday workout pant in a plain color with edgy design details. 

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13 comments

Anonymous September 1, 2015 - 7:41 pm

I brought home the align pants even though they are black because they are just amazing! Will keep tags on in case. Also bought a pique stripe Bhakti yoga jacket that is magnificent! It looks like those crops you posted a sneak peek yesterday of.

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Anonymous September 1, 2015 - 7:52 pm

I tried the Zone In Crops today and absolutely loved them- fit, fabric, everything. I'm very curvy too but somehow they just worked on me. But, I didn't feel like spending the $118 today so will wait and get them at a later date. Anyway, it was fun to see what all the fuss is about with these new items and fit wall.

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Sophie September 1, 2015 - 9:00 pm

Thank you SO much for this fit review. I never know what size to order anymore, so every bit of feedback helps! I'm still deciding what to order. I might try the zone-in tight in cranberry in my usual seamless tights size and just hope the butt band cooperates! (LOL at the Kardashian visual…). I really want to try the Tight Stuff Reflective too, but I'm torn on color. I love bordeaux drama, but I'm upset they made the reflective stars gold because to me gold and maroon are school colors. Or Washington Redskins colors. I know I sound nuts, but sportswear made unintentionally in school/sports team colors is a pet peeve of mine. I have this gold/mustard color tee and every time I wear it with my navy crops my neighbor thinks I'm supporting his alma mater West Virginia University. And I'm not! LOL But I digress. I think the gator green Tight Stuff Reflectives are my personal fave.

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Anonymous September 1, 2015 - 9:43 pm

LLM – I love your blog for several reasons but my very favorite thing is that there is always some sort of little person sneaking around or photo-bombing your try-on reviews. It just makes me smile because my life is like that too 🙂

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Lulumum September 1, 2015 - 9:47 pm

Thanks!! They were so driving me crazy today. Imagine that photo bombing but with very loud kid voices. I bet the girls at my store will be happy once school starts.

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Beth September 1, 2015 - 9:45 pm

While a few sound interesting, the prices make me say ouch!

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Sophie September 1, 2015 - 10:10 pm

I just noticed the Pedal to the Medal 7/8 Reflective tight has gone down to $98. Wasn't it $148 before? Having trouble pulling the trigger on these Tight Stuff reflective tights because now I'm wondering if Lulu is just trying to see what the market will bear and if people will actually pay these prices. For reflectivity? I don't get it.

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Anonymous September 30, 2015 - 5:04 pm

I had only seen it as $168.

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Anonymous September 1, 2015 - 10:19 pm

Hilarious comments regarding the butt-shaping pants… I just wish the US got the cranberry in the all the right places crop (we got bordeaux)…

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Anonymous September 3, 2015 - 4:04 am

Those "All The Right Places" pants look great on you.

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Karen June 27, 2017 - 9:11 am

Hi. I want to buy my first lululemons but I’m wondering if they hide cellulite. Do you know if cellulite will not be well hidden in lululemon leggings? I like Align Pant II and Fast & Free…..Thanks for your help

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Cristina June 27, 2017 - 9:40 am

Fast&Free is your best bet, and the aligns are doable as long as you go with black or a dark color. The lighter tones really show a lot of cellulite.

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Kari August 13, 2017 - 8:24 am

Does all the right places basic black pant you tried hide cellulite ?!

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