Which is why you should just strive to be unhappy. There’s a reason “shooting the moon” is a winning hand. Duh. More wise (ahem) words from Lululemon below.
Dear Chip Wilson,
Can I call you Chipper? ‘Cause I really want to. It sounds so cute – reminds me of Chipmunks. And wood chippers. But not necessarily together because that would be as gross as that sculpture of Britney Spears giving birth on a bearskin rug. You remember that sculpture, Chipper? I mean, who could forget that? Some things you just can’t unsee. Anyhow, that was a few years ago – about the same time as I bought my first pair of Lululemon yoga pants. Which is cool since you’re the co-founder of that company and all.
I should probably admit first that I bought the pants second-hand in a thrift store because I can’t afford $90 lounge pants, even if they do make my butt look amazing (which they actually don’t, more on that later). And so I paid less attention to the logo and hence your company than I probably should have. Which, really, Chipper, was my mistake. Because you guys have the awesomest – may I add wackiest? – start-up story I’ve ever heard:
“Breast cancer also came into prominence in the 1990’s. I suggest this was due to the number of cigarette-smoking Power Women who were on the pill (initial concentrations of hormones in the pill were very high) and taking on the stress previously left to men in the working world. Ultimately, Lululemon was formed because female education levels, breast cancer, yoga/athletics and the desire to dress feminine came together all at one time.”
Aw, you just cared about all the lady breasts in the world! And not just in the pervy way – although many of your “tops” are quite skimpy and there was that whole see-through pants debacle earlier this year – but also in the breast-cancer way! You found the ideal confluence of marketing and mansplaining! I’m not quite sure where you were going with that stuff about The Pill (although you do say in that same interview that it lead to more divorces so maybe divorced women need yoga? But only the hot childless ones because I’ve yet to find a yoga center with on-site childcare. Yoga gurus love happy baby pose but not necessarily actual happy babies.) Anyhow, I digress! Back to you and your awesome!
Because apparently Pill Popping Rich Lady Cancer Wear wasn’t a smooth enough name for the company (or maybe it was already taken?), you decided on the “Lululemon” moniker because it “has 3 L’s [sic] in it”. I agree, Ls (no apostrophe needed, unless your Ls are as possessive as Edward Cullen) are awesome! I love them because, well, my sister’s name starts with L! (Hi, Laura!) As does my cat’s! (Hi, Luna!) And of course there’s Lickable Wallpaper (Hi, Willy Wonka!). But apparently you love Ls for a different reason:
“It was thought that a Japanese marketing firm would not try to create a North American sounding brand with the letter “L” because the sound does not exist in Japanese phonetics. By including an “L” in the name it was thought the Japanese consumer would find the name innately North American and authentic. In essence, the name “lululemon” has no roots and means nothing other than it has 3 “L’s” in it. Nothing more and nothing less.”
Oh, and I especially liked when you added, “It’s funny to watch them [Japanese people] try and say it,”
So apparently Lululemon translates in douche-speak to “misogynistic xenophobe”? (Not to be confused with “Xenu-phobe” although feel free to take on Scientology in your next open letter. That could go so many good ways!) And speaking of people you’d like to dis-invite to the yoga party, you made waves earlier for not only not offering your stretchy garments made unapologetically by child laborers in sweat shops to all the fabulous plus-size ladies but for also making it corporate policy to treat them like crap if they did chance to wander in your store. Did you not know “Power Women” come in all shapes and sizes and, ahem, income brackets?
But really, that’s all old news Chipper! I’m writing today to thank you for your recent whack-a-doodle comments about complaints about pilling in Lulu pants:
“There’s always been pilling. Women will wear a seat belt that doesn’t work. Or a purse that doesn’t work, and quite frankly, some women’s bodies just don’t work for [our pants]. It’s really about the rubbing of the thighs, how much pressure is there over a period of time, how much they use it.” [Emphasis mine.]
Well that explains why my Lulu pants have so much pilling that I will only use them as jammies now! (They’re so sad looking that I’d just get rid of them except, well, they’re Lulu.) It’s because I’ve been WEARING MY SEATBELT and carrying my purse! My bad. That wasn’t specified on the care instructions that came on that extra-long tag on the inside that I ripped out but then wished I hadn’t because now I can’t tell the back from the front save for the odd placement of the shiny logo. And everyone cares if my PJ pants are on backwards. Everyone being me.
See, this whole time I’ve thought it was because the pants were just old and the fabric was this strange nubby gumby material. But apparently it’s been ME that’s the problem! Specifically my thighs that rub together with the glory of a thousand burning suns. Stupid body! Stop ruining my clothes! When will I ever learn it’s my job to fit the clothes and not the other way around?! And if I’m reading you right, you’re also saying that your dainty Luon can’t withstand the gentle caress of a seat belt or purse? But I suppose removing my life-saving safety harness is worth it to make sure my power top stays all smooth – I’ll just drive extra careful to yoga! And carry my keys, cash, phone and ID card in my bra*, like God intended!
So, thank you, Chip Wilson. Thank you for this – for finally making me pay enough attention to all the garbage going on at Lululemon to stop buying your clothing! True story: I used to envy the Lulu Ladies at my gym. (It was the pace-setter skirt, heaven help me I wanted one. In every color.) But now I’m finally free of that! I am also going to finally get rid of my second-hand yoga-turned-pajama pants with NO guilt. Because you know what? They never did make my butt look great. Not even good. And I suppose you’ll say that’s my butt’s fault for not being perky and perfect. But I say it’s your fault.
Hugs and (Crotch) Kicks!
Charlotte
What do you guys think of Lulu’s “explanation” for why their pants pill? I mean, on one hand I understand that friction is going to wear the fabric down – and heaven knows I’ve got so much thigh friction I could start a business in match-less signalling fires – but wouldn’t that mean that a company invested in women’s comfort (and also charging $$$) would figure out how to make a reinforced crotch? Or something? Am I getting too upset about this?
*Totally not knocking my sisters that can rock their cleavage like a kitty-carry-all! I wish I could! Unfortunately with my small ta-tas anything stuck down my bra looks like a third nipple. Or a key-shaped tumor. Remember when car keys were small enough to tie to your shoelace during a run?? My minivan electric key and fancy key fob are big enough to boost me to a full c-cup! Maybe I should try it after all…
Ha ha ha ha! This is great, Charlotte! If you haven’t seen it already, check out Tony Posnansky’s article on Huffington Post, “Dear Lululemon, I am a Plus-size Woman Who Has Never Ripped a Pair of Pants.”
I am thankful for this body of mine. It will never render a pair of yoga pants threadbare (because my Champion gear ones rock!). But it has grown two amazing humans. It has carried me through 5ks, 10ks, sprint triathlons, and a 1/2 marathon. And it has turned out to be great for keeping my hard-earned income from lining the pockets of douchebag CEOs of several women’s apparel companies!
Ha, ha. Love it! I use Lululemon as a case in my course – and it creates the best discussions about ethics ever! I let the students search for all the material they can find, and they just end up with tons of stories that makes it all hilarious. And sad. And in the meantime me and all my middle-aged, “aware” friends keep buying their stuff…
Lululemon yoga pants make my butt look small. All those squats for nothing.
It was SUCH a bogus explanation. My pants pilled terribly too with the slightest friction-e.g. the hip where my bag usually was. Within a couple of wears. I’d love to know why Chip thinks my thighs are to blame in his pants but VS Pink, The Gap and Old Navy never ever pill.
(Do love their running pants though. And those skirts)
Oh my! I’m doubled over laughing! And a little pissed off, too. Since when do you tell a customer her body ‘doesn’t work’ for your clothes?! This guy needs PR help, STAT.
I own one lulu garment that was a gift. I cannot bring myself to pay their prices. I’m a Lucy girl all the way. Nice stuff and they have a SALE RACK.
He *kind of* has a point about friction causing pilling, but his delivery is awful.
I’ve never owned lululemon-are they really that much better than my VS pink ones that are $15 st their frequent sales and have yet to pill after 4 years?
Heard about this yesterday and almost sent you the link, then I thought “Nah, I’m sure Charlotte is already on it.”
Never wear yoga pants of any brand, but if I did I would stay away from Lulumon after those idiotic statements.
I love it when over priced, over hyped things are exposed for what they are. A straight rip off.
The sad part is, I doubt Lulumon (I’m too lazy to check the correct spelling, I know I’m missing a super special L in there) will see any negative effects from this. The folks who are buying these crappy products will continue to buy them because it’s merely a status symbol for them. They will find a way to afford to buy a new pair of pants when theirs pill immediately. And I wager a guess that they don’t care that the founder (or co-founder) is a thinly veiled misogynistic xenophobe (and plain old *sshat) or that the junk is made by kids in third world countries.
Here’s what I really find funny. I’ve heard of Lulu stuff and how it’s super hip and fancy and all that but I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen an item in person. Or if I did, I didn’t know that was what I was looking at (I’m sure there is at least one person in my yoga classes who’s wearing it).
I’ll stick to discount Jockey stuff I find at TJ Maxx and Marshalls and Prana/Lucy stuff from the super clearance racks at REI, thanks.
I stopped lusting after their clothes after hearing about the hidden messages that were sewn into their clothing and later tote bags (phrases like, “you only live for 30,000 days and then you will die.”) Now when I hear the name Lululemon, I just get creeped out. This company has some serious marketing strategy issues.
My thighs have always rubbed together..even as a kid (dang knock knees! haha) that being said…I’ve never had my pants pill because of my thighs–even cheap wal-mart tights that I’ve had for a couple years. Same with all of my tights, all brands adidas, old navy, etc. I have never spent more than $25 for one pair! So if Lulu can’t deal with it and those “cheap” pants can I think something is wrong with their pants. I am a relatively petite girl it’s absolutely ridiculous to think that because I have hips, butt, and thighs that my body is “wrong”. It’s not, not if every other company out there can handle my size 6 butt. Heck, lulu only goes up to size 12..these ladies aren’t big. With all of the other companies producing better, cuter merchandise..I’ll stick to those.. at least I know if I ever get pregnant or fatter I’ll be able to avoid a company telling me I’m horrible.
I have never bought any Lululemon. Anything too “hot” or that everyone HAS to have usually is a big turn off to me. I like Athleta because they have talls and TJMaxx for tops. I have an obsessed friend though who anytime we are together has to point out the lemon clothes she sees on people. Love her but it makes me inwardly roll my eyes.
I can’t believe the comments of the company leader. He doesn’t acknowledge any of the customer complaints but rather implies the customer is the problem. Even people who haven’t been to Business 101 know that there is a saying that the customer is always right for a reason. It seems especially idiotic of him to make a statement like that considering their stick has taken a big hit this year and the are still trying to recover from the sheer pants fiasco, some bad PR, and their CEO’s plans to leave. I hope there is a backlash and people quit shopping there.
*stock
I was already against this elitist company for their failure to offer a full range of women’s sizes. His explanations on their quality issues are so bizarre. Your comments are right on, Charlotte. I will continue to take my “unworthy” body to get my champion, danskin and REI clothing on sale, with no apologies or regrets.
“Mansplaining?” Hahaha. Chip spelled backward is Pihc, which is the sound I make in his general direction!
<3
Charlotte-
I love you. That is all.
Here’s the thing: The Lululemon pants I bought in 2007 are still in great shape. The ones they’ve made recently are cr*p. And if it’s my fault, then WHY do the older pants still fit well, with no pilling, even AFTER I lost weight? I taught tons of Pilates classes in those babies when I was heavier, put them through the washing machine hundreds of times, and wore them nearly every day for 3 years.
I was even a Lululemon ambassador for a time: They would give me new products to try FOR FREE as long as I wrote a review on their website. And I got a discount because I was an instructor. I was told the clothing was made in Canada, and the employees at the stores were always so helpful and cheerful.
Then it all changed. I started noticing the high turnaround of those employees. The quality went down. Then I heard about him laughing at Asians trying to pronounce the name. (As a woman married to an Asian man, this did not sit well.) And clients, many of whom are not toothpicks, started reporting the bad treatment they were receiving in the stores, which hadn’t happened before.
So I did some research, and found out about the CEO and the cult-like atmosphere he engenders. Then there was the whole “We will no longer sell to you plus-sized fatties” debacle. Excuse me, but when I was a size 14, I was working out 6 days a week AND teaching nearly every day!
I stopped buying from them a couple of years ago when I heard they outsourced their factories to third word countries and used child labor. These latest fiascoes don’t surprise me. What saddens me is how many people defend him. You want to sell to a select clientele? Fine. But it may not be great business policy to dump all over the people who made your company such a success in the first place.
I didn’t know a lot of this until now, thanks for sharing 🙂
I’m not a yoga pant girl. I wear shorts until it is so cold that I switch to winter jogging pants. I do hear the gals at my club talk and they stopped wearing Lulus about a year ago. They have either gone to the compression tights or the Costco yoga pants which apparently hold up like iron and feel like Lulu for a lot less. They are also in love with the Costco swimsuit which has enough bum in it to cover all of your bum. I guess Costco’s stock may vary around the country but, if you are in one have a look.
Sometimes, I wonder if being so high on the corporate ladder causes a severe lack of oxygen to a CEO’s brain. Blah.
I have a 2nd hand pair of Lulu pants which are not pilling because I haven’t actually worn them yet. They were a gift from my aunt who works at a thrift store because $80 is WAY out of my price range. That being said, I was disussing this with my husband yesterday – I will never have a thigh gap. Ever. And, if the $10 compression pants I got at Oldnavy haven’t pilled yet, I’d expect that the $80 pants at Lulu wouldn’t either. Because, seriously, $80 pants are made better so it must be my butt? Really? That’s pathetic .
I love this post! I have heard that their quality went down over the years, but I personally can’t attest to this since I have never been able to afford anything Lululemon. In fact, I passed up several thrift store lulu clothing pieces just because I wanted to make a statement that I did not support the company – and that was months ago before all this happened. Now I’m glad I never supported them, they are kinda going the way of the Abercrombie…
I had a cousin work for Lulu once, she quit due to the thinking’s of the man who invented it. I do like the quality of their clothes but do not own a lot of them – heck one pair of pants from them I have is about 10 years old and I still wear it. The hubby has stated that my butt does not look the nicest in those pants but as I told him I don’t wear them for style I wear them for comfort!
I don’t even want to get started here – link him in with the Abercrombie & douche guy! 🙂
I am so glad I don’t own any Lululemon clothing! I can’t afford it, for one! I try to get all my workout gear on sale or at outlets. I never buy something just because it’s name brand because that doesn’t mean it’s made well!
At the risk of defending the jerk, using an apostrophe to form the plural of a single letter is actually considered correct usage as explained here: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/us/words/apostrophe
There are one or two cases in which it is acceptable to use an apostrophe to form a plural, purely for the sake of clarity:
you can use an apostrophe to show the plurals of single letters:
I’ve dotted the i’s and crossed the t’s.
Find all the p’s in appear.
What a great article!!
I was recently (for the first time) in a lulu store and while the staff was friendly, it was neat and organized and diverse body types were working behind the register, I did not find the superior products I thought I would find.
Clean, cultish design sure.. But superior quality?? Not even close. I can say this with some level of expertise as I am a apparel designer who works with stretch (swimwear).
I can’t help but wonder if the “pieced” crotch seam is contributing to the pilling.. The thread they use felt rough to me, so you have 3 seams causes additional friction.
That is my .02cents.
Great article!
What “yoga pants” look like: http://tinyurl.com/kh5b933
They’re made of something generally called “Osnaburg” in the stores to avoid calling it “sack cloth.” Used to be two bucks a yard when Walmart sold fabric; now it seems to be four elsewhere. Takes two yards a “pair.” It wears like iron and just keeps getting softer and softer with use.
How it makes your ass look is in the eye of the beholder, but if you’re worried about the way your ass looks while you’re doing yoga, you’re doing it wrong.
I’m so sorry you had those negative experiences with Lululemon products. I hope you can find peace in another company that doesn’t enclose hidden messages. Good luck!
I’m delighted to read that someone else understands how to use an apostrophe. Delighted!
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Love this! You should look into shopping at ActivewearOutlet.com. It literally has THE BEST activewear brands and it’s always on sale! MPG, 15 Love, all my favorite brands that never pill and you can wear your handbag and even put them in the dryer (gasp!)! Check it out!
I don’t own any Lululemon and never have because I thought the prices were ridiculous. So glad I never stretched my budget for their clothing! $80 pants that pill? I wear clearance C9 and Danskin gear from Target and Walmart that have been through the washer AND dryer many, many times over the past three years of running and they still looked and fit great.
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