Introduction
My wife is obsessed with Lululemon. That’s basically the only place she shops these days. And unlike the majority of their customers, she actually does yoga in their clothes. So when we go to the mall, I get dragged into their stores too. And I have to be honest, their stuff is NICE! The problem though is their stupid “sale” is essentially a $79 shirt marked down to $69. Granted the shirt feels like heaven, it’s a slap in the face for value shoppers like myself.
Anyway, we were heading to Canada this past weekend, and to gain some wifemiles, I stopped by their outlet store for my wife. At least the outlet store will mark down items by at least 25% and if you buy 5+ items, you get an additional 25% off, so it’s really a great place to buy if you can actually find stuff in stock.
Lululemon ABC pants
When I made my initial post, some readers recommended their ABC pants. Guess what ABC stands for… “anti-ball crushing.” No joke. It’s HILARIOUS. But it’s also spot on. The issue I had with the ABC pants was that the pockets didn’t have zippers or buttons. For travelings pants, I need zippers or I’d be paranoid all the time of things falling out. However, they felt awesome!
Hello there NYC Lab: The Pant
At the outlet, I saw 5 types of pants that they had in stock and in my size – the ABC, Surge, Commission, Future Jogger, and the NYC Lab pants. The first one I tried on was the Surge. Loved the feel on them. However, they taper at the ankles. I couldn’t figure out when I’d ever wear them even though they felt super comfortable. So I reluctantly passed. They had the ABC one, which I believe is their most popular pair, and sure enough, the lack of zippers made me pass on them. The Commission and Jogger were nice, but wasn’t as nice as the ABC.
The last one I tried on were the NYC Lab pants. The first thing I noticed was that you slid them on like sweat pants just like the North Face pants. It has a stretchy waist for when you eat all 5 courses in First Class. The best part – all 4 pockets had zippers! And the pants are supposedly breathable, which is my biggest gripe with the North Face pants!!! The ONLY drawback I saw was that the zipper pee hole was fairly small. So close to perfection I tell you…
Conclusion
The pants cost $99. I had bought a Raise Lululemon GC that morning and wanted to make sure I could pay with it since Raise says the GCs will only work online. It worked in store just fine. My wife then came out of the fitting room and called me a dummy cuz I missed the sign that said, “Buy 5+ items and get 25% off.” Luckily the store let me return the pants and re-buy it, so I got it for $75+tax. Then I went and grabbed the $79 ABC pants for $59 post discount just because I love a good deal. I also learned that the regular store will hem the pants for you for free, regardless of where you bought it. I’m so excited to wear them on my next trip! And hopefully you’ll never have to read about traveling pants ever again!
Have you ever looked at the ClothingArts stuff? They have travel pants with tons of pockets, zippers everywhere, and even buttons and velcro to keep things secure. I have the classic khaki type pants and I wear them worldwide. They’re packable, breathable, quick drying, etc. They look great and are super comfortable. $100 for those, and they also make cargo pants as well. I like the regular khakis because they look like regular business pants so I can wear them with a coat or dress shirt if needed and nobody would know any better.
https://www.clothingarts.com/collections/p-cubed-pick-pocket-proof-travel-clothing
I’m glad you found something that works for you. I have to say, though, after all this time it’s a pretty big letdown to learn that the pants aren’t even available to buy.
Sorry about that. Maybe go check your local store to see if a newer version is available. Else call an outlet and they might be able to ship to you. Just know that I got a Large and it fits about a 34″ in jeans. No returns this way though…
I refuse to spend more than $40-$50 on any shirts/pants, but my ABC pants were the best purchase I’ve ever made. Your link leads to the European site, and I can’t seem to find the NYC lab pants on their USA site. Wonder if they’re discontinued in the USA since they were at the outlet?
Yeah the US site leads to dead images. Maybe they are discontinuing… Anyway, I agree with you about the $40/50 range and had no hesitation in splurging for these pants.