#Lulu leggings series

The Align waistband is a bit more generous, coming in at 3/8 inches longer than the Colorfulkoala pants’ and thus providing slightly more tummy coverage. I didn’t experience any drooping or sagging with either pair - both stay put all day long. In terms of design, both pants are pretty much identical, with flat, exposed seams cut exactly the same way. Two pairs of Lululemon's Align leggings (left) and the Colorfulkoala leggings (right) Courtney Thompson/CNN I did appreciate that the waistband is lined, which provides decent tummy control. Not just due to my underwear lines being visible, but also those aforementioned bits that I’m not dying to show off - the pant fabric is so thin that, especially in a lighter color, you can see every detail of your tush, legs and beyond. I actually wore the pants to Pilates and spent much of the class feeling overexposed. I tried the leggings in both black and a lighter mauve pink hue and while the black had me covered, the pink was very see-through. The same cannot be said for Colorfulkoala’s coverage. Undies aside, the fabric density also camouflages the other bits you might want to conceal (read: cellulite, a tummy roll, whatever). And nowadays, Lululemon is also double-lining its lighter hues to triple-confirm the coverage (which results in a thicker, cozier feel to the legging). Maybe it’s attributable to the brand’s “see-through pants scandal” from a decade ago, but you’re never going to see someone’s underwear during a downward-facing dog if they’re wearing Align. More about that fabric: Align’s Nulu fabric is completely opaque. Lululemon's Align leggings (left) and Colorfulkoala Buttery Soft leggings (right) Courtney Thompson/CNN While reviewers are hard-pressed to find fault in Align, the price would likely be high on the “cons” list - each pair typically runs between $98 and $128.Įqually popular on Amazon are Colorfulkoala’s Buttery Soft High-Waisted Yoga Pants, which have a whopping 46,000 positive reviews - hundreds of which liken the pants to Align - and a much ( much) cheaper price tag at $23 per pair. Need proof? The pants have more than 20,000 reviews and the #Lululemonalign hashtag on Instagram has more than 9,000 posts attached to it, ranging from influencers’ workout videos and try-on sessions to on-the-go street shoots.

In recent years, Lululemon’s Align Pants have become a cult-favorite item thanks to their “buttery soft” fabric that makes wearing them 24/7 an easy decision, and a fit that skims the body rather than pinches or droops. Fit, comfort, design and style are musts, as are name brand and cost. As such, we’ve become more judicious about which leggings are actually worth investing our money in.

#Lulu leggings series

This article is part of our series Battle of the Brands, in which we compare category-leading products to their counterparts to determine which are actually worth your money.īetween the self-care explosion - from yoga and Pilates to meditation - and the pandemic’s resultant work-from-home situation, women are wearing leggings longer and more often than ever before. Your CNN account Log in to your CNN account