Latest Lorna Jane Order - Tights & Tanks

I ordered a few things from the Lorna Jane website, since a lovely reader left a 20% off code in my last post.  I've been quite happy with the pieces I got from them so far, so I wanted to add a few more to my collection.  And also at the time I ordered, Lorna Jane was promoting the Pammy Bra as a gift if you spend over $200.  It retails $59 so it's not a bad deal.  The online shopping experience was a bit weird.  I never saw this free bra in my cart when I was checking out.  So I emailed them and they said that they would automatically include it.  So I asked how they would know what size to send me.  They said they would make a judgment based on what sizes I ordered.  Ummm... okay... oh and then when they shipped my package, I got some weird FedEx notification from an individual without company name.  I actually thought it was spam at first.  Shipping only took 1 day though, since their warehouse is located in Santa Monica.

I actually went to a Lorna Jane store for the first time today to make an exchange.  I ended up trying on a bunch of stuff because the sales girl kept handing me more things as I was in the fitting room.  It was a little bit annoying because I had browsed prior to entering the fitting room (obviously), and vetoed them already.  But I had no problem shoving them back into her face so I wasn't that bothered.  But I can see how some people would be.  I made an exchange for an amount less than what I paid online, and they gave me a store credit instead of a refund.  That is very annoying.  AND, they give you a piece of paper as the ONLY proof of this credit.  They do not have record of any credits in their system so if you lose this piece of paper... too bad. And the worst part is... the store credit expires in 12 months!!!!!!!!!  WHAT??????  IS THAT EVEN LEGAL??????????  That might have ended my short lived love affair with them right away.  I mean... my credit was like $16 and I could have probably found something to get, but most likely would have had to pay more.  I'd also most likely go back within 12 months, but that is just not the point.  It's quite beyond belief.  I really don't think it's legal, at least in California, because I remember hearing stuff about Groupon/Livingsocial (can't remember which) being sued for people's purchases being "expired" a couple years ago.  So now if you let your deals run outside of expiration date, you can still claim goods or services for the amount that you paid - only promotional price/product will expire.

Anyway, so even though I still like the things I've got there.  I am kind of turned off from purchasing there in the future.  And I can't recommend anyone to do business with them without caution.  If I see something I really really can't live without, I'll probably buy it.  But otherwise my money will be safer spent elsewhere.

So now onto what I got online... I had almost bought this Inspire Excel tank during the trunk show when I first bought their stuff.  But at the time I thought the price was quite high for a tank without a bra, at $65.  However, with 20% off it becomes a bit more acceptable.  I am normally not a fan of sayings on my clothes, but I really like this one.  The material of this tank is nice and silky too.  I also like the baggy fit and the colors.  I actually ordered it in size XS on the website, because that was all they had left at the time.  So today I exchanged it for a size small at the store which fits much better.

The material feels very cool to the touch.  I am wearing my Lululemon Sprint bra under in bleached coral, and the color seems to go well with the orange on the shirt.  But it could work with any bra I think, and doesn't necessarily have to be orange-y.

I ordered this Fast Forward Run Tank online, because I really liked the back and it reminds me of my beloved Hardtail hoodie's back!  

I got it in size small which is the right size, but unfortunately it looks a little boxy on me and just not that flattering from the front.  I was surprised though, because I thought for some reason that the whole tank would be see-through type of mesh, like the back of it.  But the front part actually has the inner pink piece attached.  I guess I didn't really read the description when I bought it.  

I exchanged this today for a tank I like much better and it was on sale for $45 - the Macy Excel tank in bluebell - I only see it on their Australian site.  So I'm still new to this brand but so far I've figured out that what they call "Excel Mesh" fabric can be quite different on different tops.  To find the best one, it must say "honeycomb mesh".  Only some of them are honeycomb mesh, which very closely resembles Lululemon's circle mesh.  It is very soft and breathable.  When you put on a honeycomb mesh tank, you can immediately feel that it's better than the other mesh that have a horizontal pattern.  This tank is the nice honeycomb mesh.

Here's a close up of the honeycomb mesh:

I love how open the back of this tank is.  And I think the drape looks very nice.  I had been eying this Zella open back tank (She's a Star tank) at Nordstrom, which is similar in style to this one but I like this design better.  The back of this tank pretty much exposes your bra entirely.  It's a plus because all those cute Lululemon Free To Be bras need to be shown!  Hehe.

I am still wearing my Run Sprint bra here, because I didn't take it off from trying it on with the Inspire tank.  But I probably wouldn't wear this bra with this tank.

I also got 2 pairs of tights.  The first pair is the Marvel 3/4 tight.  I liked these because of the shorter length, and the large mesh area on the outer thighs.  The material feels closer to Lululemon's luon, but definitely a little thicker and less stretchy.  I like the hidden zipper pocket, and I think the fit is slimming.  It definitely gives more compression than Lululemon tights, and it's completely opaque so that's good news.  But it has no gusset... just two pieces of butt fabric sewn together... so there may be chaffing.  I am willing to keep these and give them a shot though, because I have heard good things about Lorna Jane bottoms.

I got these in size XS which fits like Lululemon's 4.  These are lower rise than most of Lululemon bottoms though.  But the waist is elastic and it doesn't look like it will go anywhere.  There is also a tie on the inner part of the waistband, but it's not continuous:

I do think the mesh is a great idea to keep you from getting too hot during a workout.  Plus they look cool!  I am a little worried that some of the seams are not flat locked though.  I guess I'll find out.

Lastly, I got a pair of tights for sale - the Devoted 7/8 Tight.  These were on sale for $70 and with 20% off, they are only $55ish.  They are kind of like Lululemon's wunder under style, same length and everything.  But I actually really like the material and color of these tights.  They are a dark charcoal color and they have a bit more compression than luon as well.  The waistband folds down, and it has the cheesy "Believe" saying on it.  Hehe.  Again, normally not a fan of these types of things, but I'm ok with this one.  I just really like how the fold down waistband is a lighter gray than the rest of the tights.  And the saying will be covered by tanks anyway.

So I actually do quite like the fit of these tights.  The slightly more compression does make a difference, especially around the knee area.  But I wouldn't really run in these - same as I prefer not to run in luon bottoms.  I think these are great for weight lifting, or yoga/pilates/barre type of classes.  Again, these have no gusset either, and the seams aren't locked down on the inside.  I actually wore them for a workout yesterday for a couple hours.  After I took them off, there was imprint of the seams on my skin.  Not liking that.  I think I am ok with these being only $55 and wearing them lightly for low impact activities, but I would not spend a lot on bottoms that may give me chaffing or cause any kind of itchiness or uncomfortableness.  

Oh yeah, I really like the free Pammy bra though!  They ended up sending me size XS.  I think it fits like a 4 in a Lululemon Flow Y bra, which means I could also wear a size S if I don't want it too tight.  I think maybe the padding makes all the difference, as I mentioned before.  Since Lorna Jane uses much thicker padding in their bra tops, they really make your chest look better.  

I like that this bra has a cute and simple design.  It doesn't pull on my neck/shoulders, and it's black which means it will go with everything.  Plus nothing beats free!

Ok, so maybe my enthusiasm for this brand is diminishing rather quickly.  I think they really need to reconsider their stupid return policy (or the lack thereof).  And their price needs to be at least 20% lower all the time.  Why would I want no gusset and unlocked seams for the same price as Lululemon, Splits59, or many other brands out there?  Also, as I've mentioned, it seems that most of their material is not as nice as the Excel honeycomb mesh.  So it is a place where you really have to go and feel the fabric and try stuff on, and consider really really really hard before handing over your moolah because you ain't getting it back!  Ha!

On a rather positive note though, I went to Lululemon afterwards to see if I could exchange my Heat It Up bra for a bigger size, even though I got it on mark down.  They were very nice and said I could.  But they didn't have any in size 6 anymore.  So I ended up buying the Free To Be bra in white instead.  I love this bra and have got like 4 of them recently!

Yay!  Now I have both a black and a white bra which are staple colors.  I'm sure I will get a lot of use out of both of them!

Lululemon Swiftly Racerback Very Green & Cool Racerback in Pinkalicious!

I wanted to buy the Lululemon Swiftly Racerback in very green online when it first came out, but they made it in short length instead of regular!  I hate short length tops!  It looked so short I didn't even want to try it on in the store when I saw it 3 times before today.  Well, today I had some time to kill in Beverly Hills while waiting for my pilates class to start, so I decided to try it on.  I actually tried it on in both size 4 (my normal size) and size 6.  I was pleasantly surprised that I liked the fit of the size 6 better!  Although the 4 wasn't too short at all on me.  I also compared the length of the 6 to the regular length swiftly racerback they had in store in size 4, and the 6 is only shorter by the hem but pretty much identical!  The short version size 4 is shorter than the short version of the size 6 by over an inch!  It's so strange.  But I don't want to waste too many brain cells thinking about it since it works out for me!  And the size 6 fits looser in the stomach area and has a bigger arm hole so your bra peeks out.  I like it better like this!  So now it's the same length as my other swiftly racerbacks in size 4!  =D

I have been resisting the cool racerback in pinkalicious, but dang... it's a pretty pink!  So I stopped resisting finally.  At first I thought it was too similar to pow pink which I already have.  But comparing side by side, they are actually not that similar.  I like this shade better because it reminds me of a brighter version of the old color "kiss" that I loved.  I also figured that I would actually sell the pow pink cool racerback anyway because I prefer that one in the swiftly racerback.  No need to have both.  I'm actually selling tons of stuff on ebay at the moment anyways.  So I don't even have to justify having the pinkalicious one.  Yay!

I tried taking comparison pictures of pow pink and pinkalicious, as well as pinkalicious to kiss and fruity tootie.  But for some reason they all look a lot more similar on pictures than in real life!  I couldn't get a good picture to come out, so I gave up.

I must say though, I am so excited to have a green top!  That is the color that's been missing in my workout wardrobe.  I used to have a teal zeal cool racerback but I sold it because I wanted a real green and I thought teal zeal was a bit on the teal side.  But very green is definitely... very green!  So I'm ripping the tags off that one now so I can wear it ASAP!

Lululemon Cool Racerback Power Purple & Heat It Up Bra Dune White

I went to Lululemon this weekend to exchange my Scoop Me Up Tank II in power purple for the cool racerback in power purple.  I still can't figure out why I'm not that crazy about the new Scoop Me Up, maybe I just rather have it in a cool racerback. 

I also bought the Heat It Up bra online in Dune White since it went to mark down.  I actually tried on this bra in the store a couple weeks ago and liked it, but didn't feel like paying full price.  I've been looking for another white bra so I thought this worked nicely.

I do like that the clasp is in front so it's easy to put on and take off.  You know how sometimes you have to wrestle with your sports bras to get them on/off??  The old Not So Deep V bra and Athletic Deep V tanks (used to have many of those) are notorious for that.  So I like this feature in the Heat It Up.  The material also feels more like a swim suit material to me for some reason, even though it's luxtreme.  Actually the style looks like a swim suit too!  But I'd assume that it would be quick drying.  

However, I didn't try it on with a tank over when I was at the store.  So when I tried it with a cool racerback over yesterday, I could see that the bra does not lay completely smooth under the tank.  Also, the cup size is pretty small and the cup insert does not have enough room to fit inside properly either.  So on one side it kept bunching up and creating wrinkles on the outside which you can see even with a tank over it.  I kept fixing it but to no avail.  Very annoying!  

Perhaps I should have sized up.  I got it in my size, which is a 4.  I would have bought a 6 but they were sold out of size 6 in this color.  I wasn't interested in the other colors.  It's weird because I don't remember having this problem in store, so maybe I got a bad one.  And of course it's non-returnable.  Haven't been having much luck with Lulu lately.  =(

Sunday Funday!

So I have finally committed to my new training program today!  My trainer mostly trains girls that compete in bikini bodybuilding competitions.  I don't have any plans of actually doing a competition, but I am on the training program now!  I figure it wouldn't hurt to give it a shot and I am curious to see what changes to my body I will see.  So aside from a pretty tough training schedule I have just started today, he also put me on a pretty strict diet.  No more fun food recipes for a while.  =(  I'm pretty much eating eggs and chicken breasts now lol.

I took Monday and Tuesday of this week off as rest days but I did take a picture of my work outfit on Tuesday.  I totally forgot that I had this shirt, but I love it - the Mango sheer pleated shirt.  I wore it with Express pieced pencil skirt in navy and Ivanka Trump pinkish pumps.  This was a super comfortable outfit - this skirt is amazing.  It doesn't wrinkle and the studio stretch material stretches but also holds its shape.  And these shoes make your legs look longer!

Wednesday 5/1

What I did:  Start by doing 5 sprints at 9.5 mph, then 6 weight super sets

What I wore:  Lorna Jane Analisa tank and CW-X Pro tights, with Nike Frees.  First time I wore this tank working out, I liked it a lot, though I was a little disappointed that the weight of my iphone in the big back pocket of the tank caused it to drop way too much to the middle of my butt!  It was kind of annoying and I had to take the phone out.  Oh well.  I do have to say though, nothing beats the compression of the CW-X crops!  My knee was hurting a little from spin class last Sunday, these crops really helped during my workout and I didn't feel pain at all!

Thursday 5/2

What I did:  I warmed up by running six 1-minute sprints, and then took a pilates mat class.

What I wore:  Lululemon cool racerback in pow pink, with pow pink Free To Be bra under.  Splits59 Ginger tights, and Brooks Pure Drift shoes for the perfect match.  =)

As to and from, I wore the Lorna Jane Sophia Excel top.  I just really really love this top!

I also have a picture of my work outfit from the same day - it is the Shae scoop neck dress, with Esley sheer sleeve blazer in white over it.  I'm really glad I bought 3 of these blazers - I love them!!!  I wear them all the time.  I wore these Gucci green suede wedge sandals just for a pop of color!

Friday 5/3 - Took it off as well, but I liked my work outfit.  I bought some new Express Wide Waistband Editor pants but in cropped version.  Now that it's summer, and especially on Fridays, I can definitely get away with wearing pants this length!  I actually really loved these cropped pants, they are so comfy, like the pant version.  I wore it with an Express top too - the cross over pleat shell top in doll pink.  The Ivanka Trump pinkish pumps are a perfect match too!

Saturday 5/4

What I did:  I walked at 3.5 mph on 15% incline for like 15 minutes, and then did the stair stepper for another 15 minutes, before heading to another mat pilates class.  My gym was giving out gift goodies for this special class so I took it!  Got some cute Mary Jane style toe socks!

What I wore:  My new Lorna Jane Janet Mesh tank which was great!  All the mesh kept me so cool, and the colors are so vibrant.  I wore my new Lululemon Free To Be bra in very green under it - it didn't bleed on the white part of the tank!  I was worried about that.  Phew!  I loved very green under this tank because the colors are so perfect together.  I wore it with the Lululemon Ebb & Flow crops in deep indigo, and Nike Frees.

A bit blurry but oh well...

As to and from, I wore the Lululemon swiftly LS top in aquamarine/beach blanket blue

I went out to party on Saturday night!  Well, not party party... but I went to dinner at this great restaurant in Hollywood, and then the Library bar at the Redbury.  I saw the actress that plays Ari Gold's wife on Entourage there... I love that show so I was excited lol.  She's so tiny in real life!  Anyway, so I wore the Sharagano zip-front dress for the first time, and I love this dress so much!  I think the popped collar looks a little space-agey, but I rocked it anyways!  I wore it with my Modern Vintage wedge sandals.

Sunday 5/5

What I did:  I did the first workout designed by my trainer today.  It is a bunch of lower body workouts.  I used both the squat rack and the Smith machine, among many other things!  Used heavy weights too, so I'm sure my legs will feel it tomorrow.

What I wore:  Lululemon cool racerback in wish blue, with currant Energy bra under.  Splits59 Nova Capri tights, with Adidas adizero adios 2 shoes.

I wore my currant Define jacket as to and from.  Another day of being matchy-matchy!

And that's all for this week!  I am looking forward to my new regimen next week.  It will be hard to stop munching on chocolates here and there! 

Lorna Jane Janet Mesh Tank - Love!

I was browsing Lorna Jane resell value on ebay, when I came across a listing for a new with tag Janet Mesh tank in size small!  I actually saw this tank at the trunk show too, and thought it was cute and summery but didn't try it on.  So I decided to get it anyways.  It arrived the next day because it was shipped from someone in SoCal too.  I was so excited to find out that the fit is fabulous!  So far I really like the fit of all the Lorna Jane products I tried on.  I love all these tanks fit loosely but still gives you a nice shape.  The material is quite interesting too with all the different sized mesh.  The colors are so vibrant, I actually wore it today during my workout and it didn't bleed at all!  Not to mention my workout was very sweaty, and it dried up super fast.  So I am pretty happy with it.  These are the pictures from the ebay listing, I think it's funny because I also use these Joy Mangano huggable hangers... I don't care they cost a buck a piece... <3 <3 <3

And I took some close up pictures of the material:

Isn't it pretty??  The funniest thing is, it matches my Sweaty Betty Adrenaline ombre tights!  Not that I would wear them together, but it's so funny!

Speaking of Sweaty Betty, the free underwear they promised arrived in the mail as well.  Although they said they were sending me a pair of their All Sport Short which is a boyshort cut:

But apparently they sent me their All Sport Bikini which is bikini cut.  I'm a little bummed about that because boyshort cut is cuter in my opinion.  But oh well, it's free.

It's a size small and itty bitty.  I have yet to try them out so I can't say yet how they perform.  They did come in a cute box which makes them look more fancy!  

And same as the Adrenaline tights, they came in a cute reusable bag:

Though I have no idea what or when I'd use this bag for.  "Sweaty Betty" is not that nice sounding to be carrying around...

Lululemon Scoop Me Up II Tank Power Purple, Free To Be Bra Very Green & Run Inspire Crop Inkwell/Burning Yellow/Mellow Lemon

First of all, I have to say that I am very very upset right now because I just got the Lululemon Run Inspire Crop in inkwell/burning yellow/mellow lemon on eBay, and I made a little cut in the crotch area of the crops when I was opening the package!  Ugh!!!  I am kicking myself in the butt right now for being so careless.  Anyone have any idea how to repair something like this with luxtreme?  I love these too... I tried them on in store a little while ago so I knew the calf opening wasn't wide like the pinkalicious ones I got and returned.  And I have all the yellow colors of tops to match!  So annoying...

Well, aside from my mishap, I also received the Scoop Me Up II tank in power purple.  I thought I would love this tank, because I love my Scoop Me Up tank in caspian blue.  I think that was the first one... I don't remember seeing the "II" in the name, but I could be wrong.  But when I put on the power purple one, I actually don't love it.  I got it in the same size as my other one - size 4.  But it feels a little tighter on, and the neck kind of digs in a little.  So I took out my caspian blue one and compared them side by side.  I don't think there's much difference up top.  And width appears to be the same.  But the new one is a good inch shorter than the caspian one.

So even though it's significantly shorter than the last batch, it doesn't actually look too short on.  Here are pictures of it on the model, and on me (with the inkwell Inspires on... sad face):

So I can't put my finger on it, but I somehow just don't love this tank as much as my caspian blue one.  Maybe it's because I'm depressed about ruining the Inspire crops.  But I think I'll take it back and exchange it for a cool racerback in power purple.

I also got the Free To Be bra in very green.  It is such a pretty color and I just had to get it.  I think it will look great with a bunch of my cool racerbacks.  As usual I got this bra in a size up to 6.  I'm not really sure why because I think I could wear it in a 4 too lol.  

Anyways, not trying to be super whiny, but I am so bummed!!!  I was looking forward to getting these because I had regretted not getting them in the store when I tried them on.  And then when I went back they were gone.  Now I have them, and I made a cut in them!  Was way too excited to open the package.  =(((  But if anyone has experience with mending luxtreme, or any advice, I would greatly appreciate it!

Sweaty Betty Adrenaline Ombre Run Capri

Somebody posted a picture of these amazing looking Sweaty Betty Adrenaline Ombre Run Capri on this facebook lululemon group I belong to, and I thought they were so pretty!  So it was totally an impulse purchase but I bought it!

They are based out of the UK, so I had to wait quite a bit for them to arrive here.  But I got a code for free shipping, and I believe 20% off or something.  Oh and since they are not based out of California, I didn't have to pay taxes on these tights!  They are listed as $110.4 but I paid $86 or something like that which is not that bad for pretty crops.  Here are some pictures from their site:

But when they arrived, I was so happy that they fit so well!  I got size XS and I was a little worried that they'd be too small, but there is no digging in at all!  But then I turned around to look at my rear... and I was so disappointed to find that they are super sheer!  I mean you could see my underwear without me having to bend down.  It's pretty bad.  So I contacted them right away and they actually suggested sending me a pair of their running underwear to wear underneath free of charge.  Well, I figured that I don't want to deal with returning them, especially to the UK, and I did test them with a pair of running underwear on and the sheerness problem is completely taken care of that way.  So I have decided to keep them!  Look at how many different colored tops they go with!  

The funniest is this Lululemon cool racerback in petit dot dune, because the dots match the dots on the tights exactly!  Like same color and same shapes!  The picture on the very right is the white jacquared mesh cool racerback.

Next I thought about wearing them with blue tops, but I think it looks too smurf-like!  From left to right, I have on the aruba cool racerback, heathered angel blue, and little boy blue.  Aruba and heathered angel blue seriously look the same on these pictures!  I think I like them best with little boy blue.

And these two pictures are with wish blue and lavender - I can't find my majestic cool racerback, but I think it would go with these because it's almost the same color as the top of the capris!!  Argh!

Here they are with the dark gray Alo tank and black embossed manifesto cool racerback:

And you can also go really crazy and pair them with super bright colors!  I always like blue and orange together so I like it with electric orange on the left, and actually think it's not bad with raspberry in the middle.  There's hot pink stitching on the side of the capris, so pow pink swiftly tank on the right would go with them as well, but very wild combo!

Anyways, I was just having fun with different colors, because these crops have so many colors embedded that they are very versatile.  But I kind of like them with something not too crazy like a light or dark color so they can stand out as the sole eye-catching item.  I'm going to have to try them out for an actual workout.  My first impression is that the material feels a little harsh and polyestery, but they do have decent compression.  So we'll see how they perform!