Lululemon Atlanta Warehouse Sale: Day 3

I headed back to the final day of the Lululemon warehouse sale. The prices had dropped and I wanted know what else I could score. I took my sister. There was a 5-minute line. Not too bad. The sale was loud. And really, really picked over. Maybe a 1/3 of what it had been on Friday. There were noticeably fewer racks and boxes.

Took my sis to the lulu sale. They changed the bags to red bags Saturday.
They weren't giving out the black bags they'd used Friday anymore. 

Bras were marked down to $9 and I really wanted some. I rifled through all the boxes and couldn't find ANY my size. So no sports bras for me.

Also noticeable for the sale.
• There were no bags left. None.
• The accessories section was really depleted. There were no scarves or yoga mats. They did mark the hats down to $4 so I grabbed four (three for gifts). There were hardly any headbands. Only black and tan ones. None of the fun colors from the other day.
• There were almost no shorts left.

Sunday price list

The prices were better for Sunday—but you had to really look for a deal. And I saw items I'd paid more for on Friday—and maybe I should have waited. But the selection was definitely better Friday.

I got some really cool stuff on Sunday, so glad I went (and glad I waited on some of it.)

Sunday buys

• 4 run hats (1 for me, 3 for gifts, $4 each) (Race to pace hat in flashback static)
• Purple towel ($9)
• 2 swim bottoms  ($9 each)
• Skirt, $9 (&go Cityfarer Skirt in dark fuel, currently in WMTM for $89)
• dress shirt, $24 (Day trip blouse) (This had pen marks on it that I didn't notice until after I got it home. They came out with a few minutes of stain remover)
• crops, $29 (Palm Stripe Roll Down Wunder Under Crops)
• Quick change vest, $29
• scuba, $39 (Scuba Hoodie III Flashback Static Tender Violet Black Purple)
• down jacket, $39 (for a $178 jacket!)

I think my favorite from this haul was the skirt (I want to wear it to work immediately) and the hats (so soft!).

Wore this hat to run trails Monday.

The final haul
• Two towels
• Two bikini tops, two bottoms ($9 and $19 each)
• 1 headband
• 1 bag
• 4 hats (3 are gifts)
• 2 shorts (one running, one casual)
• 2 dress pants
• 1 dress shirt
• 1 skirt
• 2 outdoor jackets: one down, one rain
• 4 long sleeve jackets or sweaters (define, scuba, tweed sweater, black half zip)
• 1 pair of crops
• 1 vest
• 1 bodysuit

So after both trips I'm all set for next winter. I got lots of jackets. I definitely got too many long sleeve tops—but I'll wear them. I LOVE the rain jacket.

I could have waited on the towel (-$10), the swim tops ($20 total), the polka dot pants ($20), the bodysuit ($40), which totals $90, which really sucks.  (The bodysuit was on $9 flash sale when I was there Sunday, and I was overcharged $20 on Friday anyway).

I'm super happy with my finds. I got some good pieces I'll be happy to wear.

(And my sister got some Ivivva for my nieces :) Never too early to start them on Lulu).

If I could do it again
• I'd still go first thing Friday. (Going with a friend would have been better, but I couldn't find anyone to come with.) I should have spent another hour looking probably.
• I'd take pictures of the tags
• If I lived closer I would have gone on Saturday, but don't live closer. So I tried to go toward the end of the sale. I think many more things were $9 by the end of the day (If I'd had the patience to hang around for hours.)
• I liked going end of the last day towards the end of the sale. Still some steals to be found.

Now, I'm waiting for the online warehouse sale (which was in August of last year). And wondering in what city the next warehouse sale will be. (I have an airline credit, so I might be crazy enough to fly out if it's someplace cool.)

Lululemon Atlanta Warehouse sale

This morning I got up at 4 a.m. to go to the Lululemon warehouse sale. I am officially crazy!

Line at 6:20 a.m.

Line at 7:40

I went early in part to avoid awful Atlanta traffic—it takes 75 minutes to 2 hours to get to Atlanta from my house so I left good and early. I got in line at the sale at 6:20 a.m. and sat down. There were over 100 people already in line. And it just kept getting worse. Probably 500 people in line by 8 a.m.

I went in with the first wave. And just started grabbing things I wanted to try.

What I wanted to get:
• Bag
• Swim
• Hat
• work clothes
• sweater or coats

I pulled a lot of sweaters and long sleeve shirts. I grabbed some swim. Virtually no yoga pants. I grabbed some trousers. And when my arms got too heavy I hit the dressing rooms.

I was not prepared for the communal fitting room. It was like a high school locker room all over again. People just changing, no stalls. Women were trying on shirts without bras. (Who doesn't wear a bra when going to try on clothes?!) I was surprised with some of the flabby bodies. There were girls hogging the mirrors. I couldn't get out of there fast enough. I did let a lot of pieces go when in the fitting room.

Pro tip: Bring a giant tote bag to put your finds in. Everything is on hangers, so find the hanger bins, ditch the hangers and put your clothes in the bag. You can't bring hangers in to the fitting room or to the cash wrap to check out.

What was in the sale?
A LOT of stuff I recognized from last year's online wearhouse sale. A lot of items from WMTM over the last year. A few foreign pieces, but not much. I'd seen 90% or more of the pieces before.

I spent more than an hour looking around and double checking. I'd say it took me 90 minutes to shop. And most of that was deciding what to keep. (Go to the walls and corners and dump your stuff in a pile and decide what to keep or not.) I did this several times.

In the end, I spent way too much money. Don't tell my husband. I spent $100 more than I thought.

 Mantra tote bag. (Total steal. Lucked out on this one.)

 Tracker shorts in clear mint. (got these on second pass)

Black casual shorts.

Hot pink zip up. Maybe a raspberry define.

Black rain jacket. I love the striped details on the cuffs. This says size 5.
Wonder what country it's from. I've already worn. Love it! 

Black half zip. From earlier this year. Forgot it's name. 

 2 swim tops: hot pink and a black and white reversible top that matches bottoms
 I got last year. Shown with purple towel and bag from the sale. 

Tweed sweater. No one else will have this!

Body suit. I was hoping it was for paddle boarding but I think it's casual wear.
Also they over charged me $20 on this one :( 

Polka dot trousers

black trousers.

My favorites. Tote bag, shorts, rain jacket. 

What I didn't get
• No dresses or skirts for me. They only had that ill fitting dress from last year's warehouse sale and one skirt from current WMTM
• Socks and accessories. I was underwhelmed with the sock, hat and scarf selection.
• Crops and leggings. I just wasn't feeling it.
• I also didn't want to spend $29 on tanks. Get to $19 and we'll talk.
• I tried on two dressy shirts for work, but they didn't fit right and really were too expensive for what they were.
• I was disappointed by the men's stuff. There were two short sleeve shirts in large. Lots of swim and sweaters, but no boxers so my husband didn't get anything :( And I didn't stock up on Christmas gifts either. I wasn't excited about the accessories.

What I didn't get that I'm still thinking about
• Quick change vest
• Scuba in purple
• Scuba in grey
• Run Times legging in stardust

I was out of the sale by 10 a.m. I went home.

I'm kind of hoping for price drops Sunday, because there were things I'd like for cheaper prices. I'd say the prices weren't THAT great. It was nice to have THAT much Lululemon to choose from and to be able to try it on.

Should you go? If you're in Atlanta yes. And I went by myself and was 100% fine. The line was long but bearable. The sale was A LOT but no one was cut throat. No one was even rude. I was never overwhelmed. It was loud, but totally fine.

Fabletics Review: Sheer Crops and Poor Quality

This is my first fabletics order in months.

I've been obsessed with neon lately so I really wanted to order some neon. AND I got a 10% off birthday coupon, so I bought a few things from the March picks. (Ordered at the end of March. I did NOT like a single one of the new April pieces.)

Here are my thoughts.

Salar crop in Wildflower, $44.95

I loved these as soon as I took them out of the bag. I even wore them to my birthday party. So cute. I liked how compressive they were (LOVE THIS.). The print was cute. I love black crops. I love black and white. These had just enough of a print to be fun, but not make my thighs look HUGE (like prints do.) The crops are white on the inside, which means the black is printed on white fabric. I thought the online photo made it look like they had pops of yellow in the middle of the flowers. But it's just a two color crop.

And here's the kicker: Fabletics crops look like CRAP after you wash them. These crops faded a ton with one wash. And got all kinds of pet fur on them from other clothes in the wash. I didn't wear them enough at home for them to get any fur on them, but they came out of the wash super furry.

Here's my worn once crops (see how faded) against
• Worn 50+ times Lululemon crops (left)
• Worn several times Splits50 with a black and white print (right)

All laundered exactly the same: machine cold wash with gentle detergent and line dry.

They look practically grey. They were a slick black brand new.

WTF. I thought since these felt different than my other Fabletics crops they wouldn't have this issue. They were very sporty feeling going in. Coming out of the wash, they looked like I'd worn them for five years. I have 3-year-old crops from Groupon that look better.

After the SECOND time I washed them the black dye faded into the white and there was blue ink on the white flowers around the crotch. WTF. I haven't ever had a crop fade like this. LITERALLY THE WORST CROPS I HAVE EVER PURCHASED.

I called and got store credit. (I had to call and listen to minutes of this guy talking about "pretty" and how quality tested their clothes are. I think NOT for the quality testing. I think this is the first piece in 17 years that I've had bleed in the wash.)

Salar crop in neon yellow, $34.95
These crops are sheer. I was sure they'd be. But the tag popped off while I was trying them on so I guess I'm keeping them.

The color is great. I really like it. It's almost obnoxiously neon. But they're so sheer you can read the size tag through the crops. Even nude underwear show through. Wear a long shirt with this. These are by far the sheerest pants I own. But for $35 not that big of a loss.

Mosa tank in neon yellow, $24.95

I wore this running the other day. The color is great. It has a half layer of mesh in the back under the visible layer. It wasn't too heavy and it was soft. I wasn't sure what it did. Was it supposed to help with sweat and back breakouts?

And my tank wasn't too soaked through after at 3.5 mile trail run.

I ordered an XS, which fit well.  (I'm a 6 in a Lululemon Cool Racerback, small in Nike or Under Armour) but I do like my tanks more fitted. (I've got an athletic build, small chest and hips, and my waist does no cinch in like some girls.)

Malindi bra in neon yellow ($19.95)

This is a cute sports bra. Nothing to write home about. It matches the crops. It bra cups. I'd recommend this one of low impact activities. The description says medium impact, but I wouldn't run in it. (Ordered size small, fits like a small in other brands, small in Lululemon.)

Overall:
1) I usually return 90% of my order. I'm only returning the faded crops for this one. I might have tried to return the sheer yellow crops but apparently I need to keep them.

2) This is why I buy Lululemon. The crops wouldn't fade. And if they did, returns would be easy peasy. I had to have an awkward conversation with someone in India. I did not understand what they were saying.

Still not a fan of Fabletics. I just keep the membership in case there's something I want. (And I have points towards free crap in their rewards program. Still mad that it went from a free outfit as their reward to their clearance crap that no one wants.) And now I have store credit. I could have pushed for a return, but I didn't feel like being that horrible. (Though I should get a refund for craps that poor quality.)

UPDATE
I returned the crops that bled—three weeks later I get an email admitting there was an issue with those crops and sending me a $10 credit.

New Brand: Sweaty Betty

I've heard a lot of great things about Sweaty Betty, a London-based activewear brand. It's know for quality and is really popular across the pond. Betty. Bloggers rave about it. I read about women in head to toe Sweaty Betty in books set in England ("Girl on the Train" for example.) I described it to a friend as the UK's Lululemon.

It's a brand I wanted to try. And then three things happened:

Navasana Reversible 3/4 Yoga Leggings

1) Sweaty Betty kept sending me emails for a GORGEOUS printed crop. That was reversible. I love printed crops but usually wear them once and never again. Because I prefer to wear black. This is the perfect solution. I needed these crops. The print was amazing and bumped it to the top of my want list.
2) Sweaty Betty has a 20% off sale.
3) It was my birthday so I used it as an excuse to buy more things for me.

I ordered these crops March 26th. They shipped March 29th from England. There was no tracking number. I got them April 8. So there's a timeline if you wonder how long they'll take to ship. (I think their website said expect 5-10 business days after you get the shipping email.)

I got these crops in the mail Friday. I opened the package. They sent me a Sweaty Betty shopper, which was nice. The crops were also in a nice grey bag (kind of like a shoe bag.) It was a nice touch.

I've already used the shopper. Since EVERYONE at the gym has adopted the Lulu shopper as their carryall (seriously it's so much more common than it used to be), I used my Sweaty Betty shopper for barre that Saturday.

First thoughts
1) The fabric on the crops was ridiculously luxe and soft. I loved it.
2) The colors were really pretty.

I went ahead and tried the crops on. They looked smaller than what I was expecting. But they stretched and fit perfectly. (I'm a 6 in lulu and a small in SB.)

Small in Sweaty Betty to a size 6 in Lululeemon Wunder Under.
The waist was about an inch smaller.

Overall a 6 in Lulu is about the same as a small in Sweaty Betty

The crops hit me at a nice length.

The pattern didn't line up in the back. But I didn't really care.

I showed them to a coworker, who made a face. I think she thought they were loud and not something she'd wear. But then she said she liked them for me. By the end of the day, she'd changed her mind and said they were amazing.

I liked them so much I wanted to wear them immediately. Only the teal top I had for spinning didn't match. I wore them to barre instead the next day. (I needed to wear them ASAP.) I wore them with a black Lululemon Cool Racer Back. I'd really wanted to match the crops, but I couldn't find a purple that was the right color. And Sweaty Betty didn't have a matching tank on their website.

HARD TO MATCH PRINT? I'm going to try to see what other than black matches these crops. I tried the new Lululemon Cool Racerback in deep zinfandel. It's not an exact match but it matches okay.

Sweaty Betty has eight stores in the U.S. right now, in the NY/NJ area and L.A. So nowhere near me. Though I do want to go to NY this summer.

Might be my favorite new brand. The crops are more comfortable than Werkshop.

And Sweaty Betty prices are about the same as Lululemon. Maybe slightly more. These crops were, with discount, $100. Shipping was free. No sales tax. I did get charged a $3 foreign transaction fee on my credit card. Lulu Wunder Unders are $88, and might be more if they're reversible. So similar in price.

HOW THEY HELD UP
I wore these to HIIT Barre. Which is a barre class on caffeine and steroids. It's those hard barre moves with LOTS of jumping. I sweat so much in this class. My hair looks like I've been swimming. I just drip sweat. So I usually wear black crops to  this class. I thought since these were lined in black they'd fare okay. They were great. Soft throughout. They didn't show crotch sweat. They weren't terribly sweaty like some crops might be. I'd say they wick sweat well.

I've worn them twice. I love them. They're just so soft. The fabric is great. The colors are beautiful.
And I can't wait until my next Sweaty Betty purchase. LOVE.

Throwback Thursday: Running—Then vs now

I'm 32. Half a lifetime ago I was running track for my high school. And running has changed a lot in the last 16 years. I was thinking about what's different in running for me now.

1. Running by myself
The biggest difference is that when I was running in high school someone was telling me what to do. And I had team mates. Now I run by myself. I make up my own workouts. There's no team (and I do miss this). I've thought about getting a coach or even looking into online training plans. For now it's just running three times a week—2-4 miles. I'm not really training for anything either.

2. Frequency

I ran six days a week in high school. Some times twice a day. Now, I run three times a week now, and never on back-to-back days. My knees and joints don't like running consecutive days. I feel like three times a week is enough to keep my endurance without overexerting myself. (I do teeter on the verge of over-use injuries. I battled tendonitis in high school.) It's just enough to push myself without breaking myself. This could change if I wanted to train for something in particular, but for now I think three days a week works for my body.

3. 20 pounds
I'm 20 pounds heavier than I was in high school. My thighs are bigger. My arms are bigger. I have more upper body strength. I might have been a tad slimmer then. But there's not that much difference. I could probably fit into a lot of my high school clothes. At size 4-6, I think I'm doing just fine.

4. Supplements
I'm sure supplements were around when I was in high school. I remember my mom gave me health bars for races. (They tasted terrible.) And some of the guys would take yellow jackets (caffeine pills) before races.

But now supplements are so much more common. There's pre-workout shakes and post workout shakes and all sorts of stuff you can take to enhance your performance. My routine is usually to eat a banana or a granola bar an hour before I workout—if I'm hungry. I like a shake after gymnastics, because it's so late and I'm usually too tired to eat (but usually it's almond milk, a banana and some fruit. No synthetics here).

5. Watches
I used to run with a purple Timex. I could see my running times. I could see my splits. I loved that watch (it went over a waterfall in North Georgia when I was in college.) Now, watches are crazy advanced. I run with an Apple Watch. Watches have GPS, heart rate monitors, sleep trackers, step counters, calorie goals. Some can compare your pace. Smart watches can get text messages. Watches are so much more advanced now.

6. Heart rate monitors
I don't think I'd heard of a heart rate monitor in high school. We just ran. And if we felt dizzy, maybe we sat down. Now, all serious athletes wear heart rate monitors.

7. Shoes
I ran in Nikes or Addidas in school. I hadn't heard of Brooks or Asics. Now, you can go and get your stride measured on a treadmill with a gait camera. I think I remember FANCY sporting goods stores having the tiniest indoor track you could run on. Now, you can find out exactly what pricey brand of shoe you need to wear.

8. Popularity
In high school, my cross country team was TINY. Most years we didn't have enough girls for a team. I was the only senior on the track team, my year. No one ran in high school. Now, I see so many of my high school friends posting about races on Facebook. Now, everyone runs. Which is great. Except they thought I was weird then. I guess I was just ahead of my time :)

9. Music
Running to music? Some times they played music at my high school meets. I remember running a 3,200 meter to Destiny Child's "I'm a Survivor." We didn't run with music. I used the quiet to reflect on my day or plan. Now, I run with wireless earbuds to songs with good beats.  (iPods and iPhones didn't even exist then).

10. Running clothes
In high school, I ran in T-shirts and Umbros. I had a few tank tops and shorts. Dry-wicking shorts came out my senior year of high school (at least that's when I noticed them at Target). Running clothes are so much more IMPORTANT now. Crops with compression. Sports bras with pockets. There are so many choices. There are so many high-end lines—Lululemon, Lorna Jane, Sweaty Betty, Koral, Athleta. I could have had screen printed panther leggings for my mascot. But that wasn't around then. Now, I am so addicted to workout clothes. I love wearing workout clothes and picking out my gym outfit is usually the highlight of my morning. (As opposed to mindless throwing a T-shirt and shorts that smelled clean in my backpack.) Clothes for working out are fun now.

Also new: running skirts.

I guess all of this means that one day I can reminisce to youngsters about the time when we ran without earbuds or heart rate monitors—and didn't know the exactly mileage we ran when we ran for 45 minutes.

I sure am glad I learned to run when I was young. It makes it so much easier now.  Thanks coach!

At the state cross country championships.

Valentine's Activewear Wish List

Dear husband,

If you want to get me something for Valentines Day, here are a few ideas:

Werkshop leggings in heart prints

If I taught fitness, this is what I'd wear Feb. 14.


S'well water bottle in hearts

They have a whole Valentine's collection. I also like the pink bikini bottle.

I do need a new water bottle. I lost two in the last four months.

Carbon 38 also has a Valentine's Day edit full of hearts, red and SEXY activewear pieces.

Splits 59 also has some cute heart leggings.

And I could use a new purse (the handle broke), this pink Vera Bradley bag is lovely.

And I'm sure I'll see a few more Valentine's Day promos in my emails in the coming days.

Is there any activewear you want for Valentine's Day? Or just chocolate?

Review: Ivivva, Lululemon's girls line

Lululemon's girls line of clothing is Ivivva. It's not priced as high as women's Lulu—and I've read all over that a Lulu 6 is the same as and Ivivva 14. And even their sizing chart backs that up. I've had my eye on the site—hoping it could be a way to save some money on clothes. For example, their Vinyasa scarves are cheaper.

I made a wishlist. (Their wish list function actually works.) And several of the pieces I was eying sold out.

On Boxing Day, two pieces I wanted went on mark down. I decided to go ahead and try before the pieces were sold out.

I knew as soon as I clicked confirm on buying two final sale pieces—that it was a mistake.

My rationale was that it was on sale and there was no way I couldn't not like these pieces. I love all things Lululemon (and return very rarely. Even WMTM items that are final sale, other than a mistaken order I can't t think of anything I've been disappointed with).  And there's no Ivivva store anywhere near me.

Both pieces dropped an additional $5 that evening, so I definitely wasted $10.

My order came—a few days late because of flooding. And it came with a hideous tote. Maybe children will like it.

The vest
I love, love, love vests. I figured there was no way in the world I wouldn't like this vest....Haha.

Unflattering.

Unflattering. 

Too small. 

Who thought this was a good idea?

1. The vest is too small. A 14 doesn't equal a 6. It's too small in the boobs. I have a small chest and I meet their measurements. I could wear it open—except it makes me look really wide when I try that.
2. It has no pockets. Which is really the deal breaker. I love vests because they have pockets to put your keys or anything else. What sportswear vest doesn't have a pocket?
3. On the plus side, it is lined with sherpa, which is warm and soft. But I'd honestly never wear this vest.

It's really unflattering and I don't know what I'm going to do with it because it's final sale. Total waste of money. (And really poorly designed.)

The shirt.
I was less sure of the shirt. It looked cute in the online photos. I like black and white.

1. The shirt actually fits. It is a tad tight in the arms—and I have skinny arms like a kid.
2. The shirt lacks any type of fastener to keep it closed. It needs a snap or tie (like they have in wrap dresses) to keep in closed. I could potentially get it altered. That's the only way I'll wear it.

All in all, I'm terribly disappointed in Ivivva. Their clothing lacks the details that Lulu pieces have. Add some pockets to the vest, add a fastener to the shirt and they'd be doing a lot better.
I can't speak to the quality of the clothing—does it hold up, for example. Because I don't even want to wear the vest. I tried it on several times and wanted to make it work. It just didn't.

This was a every expensive lesson for me to learn. I probably won't ever buy something from their final sale again. And I'm trying to figure out what to do with these pieces.
• Try Ivivva customer service? I don't really want a gift card. I don't see myself ordering from them again.
• I've tried my credit card before. I have one credit card that's awesome about credits. And one that I've had for longer—that isn't. I bought it on the less forgiving card. So there's no point in trying that.
• Resell it for cheap?
• Just give it away?

I might try and have the shirt altered. I gave the vest to a coworker's 8 year-old daughter.

Also, I saw Ivivva on zulily in January. The pieces were selling rapidly and the prices were lower than Ivivva's final sale.