Saturday, March 12, 2011

Lululemon Run: Swiftly Tech SS - Clarity Grey Lilac Snow

I thought I was done with buying short sleeve Swiftly Tech shirts from Lululemon, because I have enough, and because many "different" colors look the same in the silverescent material to me.  But yesterday when I saw that Clarity Grey Lilac Snow one, I couldn't resist. 



This photo makes the shirt look rather washed out.  In person, the lilac snow portion of the sleeves are much more pink.  But still a soft pink.  It's so pretty!  I also thought I only liked solid colored Swiftly Tech shirts until I saw this one too.   I actually do like baseball style shirts, but I guess the previous versions I've seen didn't really impress me.  This one has the perfect amount of "girly sporty".  I also love the contrast stitchings in violaceous (?).  I do kind of wish though that the Clarity Grey portion was a really really soft pink color instead!  How pretty would a light pink be in this material!  That would just be heavenly.

Well I don't think I need to profess my love for the Swiftly Tech shirts more than I already have many times before.  But I know some people were concerned with the new Swiftly shirts made in Sri Lanka vs. the old ones made in Israel.  I think mainly the concern is that the new material feels not as soft, has less silver in it, and is more stiff / less stretchy.  I have quite a few older Swiftly shirts made in Israel, and I have one Swiftly made in Sri Lanka before I bought this one, a long sleeve in Haze.  While the difference in feel doesn't make too much of a difference for me personally, I did notice that the Clarity Grey Lilac Snow one is much much softer than the haze one, and stretchier.  But I still have the tear out tag of the haze one attached, and it shows the exact same composition as the Clarity Grey.  Weird.  I would even say the Clarity Grey is actually softer than the older made in Israel versions.  

However, it looks like the knit is pretty different.  I could tell right after I got it today.  Upon closer inspection, I noticed that there are now faint horizontal lines in the knit, whereas before they were vertical lines.  I took a photo of side by side comparison of the Clarity Grey on left, and my Silver / Potion purple on right (sorry for the wrinkles, I forgot I had this shirt and it was all the way on the bottom of the drawer!).  Since these are both very light, and very similar colors, it makes it easier to see.  The picture is taken of the exact same spots on these shirts - the front left side of the shirts starting from right below the armpit.


See, even with my iPhone cam, you can clearly tell the horizontal lines in the new one and the much fainter vertical lines in the older one.  It also seemed to me that the vents are bigger on the newest one as well.

Then I pulled out my haze one that's also made in Sri Lanka, and here you can see that the knit was pretty similar to the Israeli version:


Ok, then I pulled out a few more older Israeli versions, and it seems that they've always been very thin and almost imperceptible vertical lines, and the knitting pattern has always been consistent.  This is the first time I've seen the wider horizontal line.

From left to right:  Clarity Grey Lilac Snow (Sri Lanka), Silver / Potion Purple (Israel), Lagoon (Israel), Haze (Sri Lanka), Fruity Tootie (Israel), Lavender (Israel)


I'm not pointing it out because it's a bad thing.  I just noticed it and thought it was curious.  I don't know if this is the reason that this shirt is much softer, or it's simply because different colors feel differently?  Either way, it's not that noticeable unless you are inspecting it up close like I did.  I really like the feel of the material and the color combo of the new shirt, so I'm definitely happy and will be keeping it for sure. 



13 comments:

  1. wow, nice collection of Swifty. Major envy.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks for the comparison! I just bought an older (on sale) lilac run swiftly and thought it felt much thinner/softer/stretchier than the old lolo purple swiftly I had and sold. I actually prefer the new composition! I just need to get darker colors because the lilac showed very drop of sweat that was 'wicked' away. :(

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ohhh I just tried it out today and I think I love the new material even more too! It wicked great and this color didn't show any sweat at all, and also it didn't ride up as much as my older ones. I don't know what it is but I think that since my older ones are not as stretchy on the bottom, they would always ride up as I move and I'd always have to pull them down. This one I didn't have to do that as much. I now think I NEED a solid lilac snow long sleeve swiftly!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kind of a weird question - when they say the swiftlys are 'anti-stink' does that mean that NO smell should cling to them?
    I got a very violet one and wore it to the gym, and that night noticed the shirt smelled a bit when I took it off. I left it in the bathroom on a towel rack and the next day the smell was still there (armpits).
    Is that normal?

    ReplyDelete
  5. I don't think anti-stink means it won't ever smell... I take it as meaning "wont smell as much as other material" lol. But I haven't had any problems with smell lingering in any swiftlys. Nor any other lulu clothes for that matter. I think the smell has to do with how your bodily fluids react with the material and everyone is different. Like for me I notice that certain material in sweaters (wool?) attract odor in the armpit area more than others. Same as how certain material makes you sweat more than others. Maybe yours has this reaction with swiftlys. But that's just my opinion...

    ReplyDelete
  6. I have two older Swiftly SS's Lagoon & Lolo Purple and just purchased this Lilac Snow/Grey one a few days ago. It is so pretty. I love it. I hadn't purchased any of them since they were in Sri Lanka because they felt itchy on me but this one didn't. My gym also had a long sleeve Violaceous so I picked that one up too. I would love a solid Lilac Snow one, that would be beautiful. I might even go pick up a SS violaceous too. I use these mostly for casual wear but I think I am going to give them a try in one of my classes. Have you ever worn this to spin? I usually always wear CRB's or a sleeveless tank because I get so hot but might give this one a try.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Yes I've worn these to spin class before. I like them because they cover my back and shoulders so my hair doesn't touch my skin and get wet and sticky from sweat. I'm a weirdo huh? Hehe. But yeah, I think they are light enough that the additional coverage is not a deal breaker. =)

    ReplyDelete
  8. ^ Not weird at all! I can't stand it when my hair gets sweaty-wet, and then frizzed out once it dries. Yuck!!! I was never a fan of these shirts on the rack, but now that I've tried one I may need more.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I was looking at your old review from last year on the Flow & Go Tank. Did you end up keeping yours. You were able to loosen the straps so the neck strap was more comfortable? I'm asking because I know these are in Canada and I am hoping they upload these soon in the US. I know last time my store never received it and I had the No limit tank and didn't really see the need for both styles. Please let me know what if you kept yours and liked the fit. Thanks.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Oh yeah I was able to take out the stitches and loosen the straps, and it worked well. But I ended up getting rid of it because it wasn't very practical for me to work out in. It felt a little too "clubby" for the gym. Lol. I think the No Limit is much better to move around in.

    ReplyDelete
  11. What do you think of the lilac/ clarity grey colour (specifically the grey)? I live 4 hours from the nearest store so I don't get there often. It looks cute online, but I've read a lot of comments that the grey is kind of a dingy grey colour. What is the colour like in person? Does it look good? It looks cute in your pictures!
    -Jenn

    ReplyDelete
  12. Hmm it's a very light gray, if you think of a light heathered gray that sweat shirts usually come in, that's pretty much exactly the color. It is very close to the silver color Lulu had come out with before which I compared it to in this post. It's a little see-through and will show every bump in the belly. I like it and think it works well with the lilac sleeves. But of course if given the choice, I would have preferred an all lilac one! That's just b/c I love lilac though!

    ReplyDelete
  13. Thanks for the quick response!! :) I just ordered the lilac/grey last night without the benefit of seeing it in person (WISH we would get a lulu store- though I'm sure it would only feed my addiction..) I think I'm going to try it out, I love the baseball style shirts and I'm obsessed with this new lilac colour. Now I can't wait to try it out!!
    Thanks again!
    :) Jenn

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...