Review: Glyder Apparel

I heard about Glyder Apparel through some Lululemon blogs. They have good prices and frequently have sales. A Fourth of July sale convinced me to buy some crops. At 30% off, I got two crops for less than $100. There was no sales tax and I didn't have to pay shipping.

I ordered the Mosiac crop—because I'm obsessed with mesh inset capris. I love the way they look. Fierce? Sexy? The mesh is functional in that breathes well and keeps you cool during workouts. I like how mesh panels are extra flexible behind knees and on calves usually too big for normal crops. These are soft, stylist and a much cheaper alternative to all the mesh Lulu has out this summer. That said, I'd be careful  wear I wore these: running, barre, inside workouts. Probably not trail runs or anything too crazy where it might snag. I have plenty of other pants for that. I haven't had any of my mesh snag yet (knock on wood.)

I also got the cardio freak crop—because they also have mesh panels and I tend to wear my black crops a lot. They fit well. I wear them all the time. The cardio freak crops also have a lot of pockets, which is really nice. I ended up liking these better than the mesh crops (which is what drew me to buy in the first place.) Mostly because of the pockets—there's one in the low back and one in the waistband. So a pocket for your phone/ipod and then a separate pocket for keys, inhaler misc. They're just sporty and go with everything. Actually I'd buy more from them given a sale or new product drop.

I actually ordered a pair of Glyder ninja crops on Hautelook for $36 (+$8 shipping boo). I wanted to try the ninja crop (in purple!). I'd been eyeing the cutouts for a few months. So I got the black/grey spacedye when it was on discount. Haute said the item would ship in 2-3 weeks. I received it in 2 weeks (minus a delivery delay, because in the 30 minutes no one was home Friday, they tried to deliver them and a signature was required.)

The ninja crops are soft like Wunder Unders—a little more synthetic feeling than the cotton feeling of Lulu. They stood up well for my run. They had a single pocket for my iPod. My iPhone 6 did not fit in the pocket. They were pretty snug, because I had a line on my legs from the bottom of the crops and also from the seam, just above were the cutouts start. Nothing unreasonable. I have big calves and this happens with most crops. I thought the spacedye was a nice alternative to black, without being too loud of a pattern.

I'm pretty happy with all 3 of the crops. The cardio freak is probably my favorite of the 3 because it has mesh insets and lots of pockets.

Sizing: Glyder runs true to size. I wear a small in Victoria Secret, Under Armour, Fabletics, Nike and a 6 in Lululemon and I wear a small in Glyder. Their website said to order a size down. Don't. I did that and got crops that were too small.

Returns: I'm going to be honest and that Glyder needs to improve how they handle returns. I mailed in those crops that were too small. And for two weeks I heard nothing from them. (I had delivery confirmation, I knew they got them.) I didn't know if I should file a claim with my credit card or with the USPS (I bought insurance.) I finally emailed them and they apologized for the delay. A week later (three weeks after my return) they finally shipped the new crops. Three weeks is entirely too long.

So I ordered fourth of July weekend, and finally got crops that fit Aug. 11. I seriously hope I never have another return with this company again.

Timeline:

July 4, order placed

July 13: Receive crops, email about exchange

July 15: Mail crops back. Paid $9 in shipping.

July 17: They receive crops back.

July 30: I don't have new crops yet. About to file a claim with USPS. I email them and they tell me the exchange is in the works and apologize for the delay.

August 5: new crops shipped

August 11, new crops received.

I was pretty grumpy that it took five weeks to get crops I paid $100 for. I could have ordered another pair of mesh crops from a different brand—but knew these were coming and didn't need two pairs of the same thing. And now I know my size so hopefully this won't happen again. Now, if only they restock the ninja crop in purple.

(Update: I don't actually wear any of these crops all that often I was wearing the Cardio Freak Crop a lot, but the pocket isn't big enough for my phone on trail runs, so I don't wear them. )