Two Pairs of Splits59 Capris

I hadn't shopped at Splits59 in a while, so I thought I'd give a couple pairs of leggings a try.  Though I gotta admit that I'm pretty disappointed by one of them.  So much so that I decided to just return both pairs.

The pair that got me really disappointed was the Nova Trailblazer Performance Capri in heather grey/white/blue jean/midori.

I seriously liked them from the first moment I saw them about a month or so ago.  I loved the coloblocking.  I finally bought them a couple days ago, fully prepared to fall in love.  Maybe that's why I'm so disappointed.

When I first put them on, I was actually excited.  It seemed that Splits59 had tweaked their legging designs a bit, so these felt a lot more compressive than my other bottoms from them in the same size (XS).  They looked good from the front and back...

I actually quite like the green stripe down the back:

But then the side view... what the?!?  It's a total mess!

First of all, their online pictures do not show the side view, so I had no idea that the white part would have such a dark stitching design.  But if that was the only issue, then I'd probably live with it.  The part that I cannot overlook is how badly the sewing job was done!  What is this???  

The stitching around the mesh and the green stripe areas just look so bad.  It also feels scratchy against the skin on the inside too.

This looks like some amateur sewed it together by hand.  It's completely crooked and uneven in those areas where more materials overlap.  Since the stitching is so much darker than the material, it really stands out.

These are $98......

The second pair that I got are the Nova Circuit Performance Capri.  

These are much much better.  I got them in size XS as well.  Same as the pair above, these feel more compressive than my other Splits59 leggings.

The mesh is pretty interesting.  There are actually two types of mesh they used in these capris.  The main one that is used is the type with bigger holes.  Like fishnets.  The second type is the more conventional type that I've been seeing in different brands lately, which is the very fine mesh.

The very fine mesh is only used towards the bottom on both sides:

What's also interesting about these leggings is that they have a zipper pocket on the back.  I don't think I've seen any other Splits59 bottoms with this.  The zipper area is also covered in a patent looking material:

The Splits59 logo is quite big on these as well.  I don't like how big it is:

I think if I didn't already have so many workout tights, I'd probably want to keep these.  But they don't really intrigue me enough for me to keep at the price of $108.  I guess the first pair also left a bad taste in my mouth, so I'm kind of over both of them.  I am eyeing the snake print Lululemon tights that just came out.  Maybe I'll swap these for them since they are about the same price anyway!
I do hope Splits59 comes out with more cool designs though.  I've always liked their bottoms, and I think the Lulu designs as of late have taken a page out of the Splits59 playbook.  They have been very reminiscent of the edgier Splits59 aesthetic that I love so much.  Splits59 did come out with a whole line of python prints like 2 years ago while Lulu is just now catching up!  (Here, here, here & cheetah print here)