Review: Splits59

How I wore it: Black and white crops + neon

Splits59 is a brand I first heard about in barre class. It's one of the brands the teachers wear and the studio sells.

I've been drooling over these black and white crops in a numbers print since the summer. (1. Love black and white. 2. Love mesh cutouts.  3. Love numbers. I obsessively count things.) I didn't want to pay $116 for them so I waited for a sale. And waited, and waited. I think I waited four months for these crops.

Finally, I gave in and ordered them with 10% off and free shipping from Splits59. (Not a deal. I did find them 15% off with shipping elsewhere and I don't like to pay shipping so I went with the Splits59 retail store.) And the crops took 10 days to get here. My plan was to get them before the Black Friday sales so I would know what size to order when there were sales. Unfortunately for me, the crops arrived the Tuesday after cyber Monday. (Seriously, clothes I bought Saturday from California with free shipping got to me faster.)

When the crops finally got here—I didn't really want them any more because it took so long. And they were too small.

Splits59 Sizing

I'm 5'5, 130 pounds with an athletic build. I don't have a narrow waist. I'm kind of boy shaped—straight up and down, but have narrow hips for my build.

I'm pretty solidly a size small (Victoria's Secret, Under Armour, Fabletics.) I wear a 6 in Lululemon bottoms. (Have fit into a 4 before.)

I had no idea how Splits59 sizing ran. I went by their size guide that said 27" waist and 37" hips is a small. (My hips fall in the XS range.)

But overall, they run WAY SMALL. In fact, I wear a medium in Werkshop, but their website does explicitly state to order a size up. Splits doesn't do this. Their website even says true to size. I say their sizing is a full size small. (Lululemon size 6 = Splits59 medium.)

Size small shown over a Lululemon size 6.
The small is much smaller than a 6 through the whole leg. 

Small above, medium below. 

An inch smaller in the waist.

Splits59 medium has the exact same waist
as a 6 in Lululemon. 

I did email customer service about sizing and got a response 3 days later with a link to their sizing guide (that I'd already looked at.) By then, I'd already ordered. In this instant world, that's too long.

Pros
Splits59 does ship in a pretty box.

The print is cool and has a sexy mesh insert.

Cons
Their return policy is you have 7 days to make a return and you can't return sale items of 30% off or more. I ordered with 10% off so I could return.

And you have to email from an RMA, which didn’t take that long. It was relatively painless, but not as easy as an Athleta return.

Meh
Also, I do like the look of the crops, but they're very cottony. For that much money I was expecting super technical racing fabric, not something that felt slightly more like sweat pants than cotton Wunder Unders. Seriously, they look like they have a sheen online.

Verdict:
I do actually love these crops. The print is amazing. They're fun to wear :)

I ended up buying a Medium from ShopBop during their Black Friday sale for $30 cheaper than what I paid from Splits. And Shopbop has a better return policy.

I'm not sure I'm in love with this brand. I bought an overpriced Splits 59 tank this summer and wore it once and hated it. I didn't like how low it draped in the front. I know I would wear a sports bra under it, but the back was so narrow, it looks tacky to wear even a racer back. I think on sale the tank ended up being $64, which was too much money, but I think I just handed my card blindly over thinking the tank couldn't have been more than $40 on sale and didn't realize the price until I was out of state.

If I order a Splits59 product again, it will be from another online retailer. They're sold at ShopBop, Revolve, Bandier, Nordstrom, Carbon38 and more.

(Note: They clearanced this style on black Friday and I think it's sold out. Bandier still has a few pairs of the full length legging with just a numbers print at the bottom.)

Really loved this outfit. Black and white + neon. I thought white would have been too obvious a choice and my hot pink tank was dirty. Loved the neon green. I paired it with a pink Athleta half zip. I think any super saturated color would go with these crops. I can't wait to match them with something else.