Sunday, May 15, 2011

The Lulu Dilemma

All I wanted for my birthday was to shop at lululemon. I had an experience in March where I tried on a jacket in lulu and it fit. Since then, purchasing a lulu sweater/jacket has been something that I really wanted, or so I thought.

Yesterday was my birthday and since my family was well aware of my birthday wish each gift I opened contained either a lulu giftcard or cash to shop there. I could hardly wait to go shopping. Problem is that the closest lulu store is an hour away from my home.

Since the long weekend next weekend is sure to be busy and the 2 hour round trip is too much for a week night I decided that today was the day to shop. I was a bit disappointed that I seemed destined to go on my own. Both my sister and mom were out of town and it was a bit last minute to invite friends, but I really wanted someone to be with me for this experience. This was not just birthday shopping, but rather a reward for my hard work to date. I was pushing for my husband to come along, but my 3 1/2 year old son kindly reminded me why taking 2 kids to lululemon was not my best plan. I ended up going with my daughter for a girls shopping experience.

During the hour long drive I started to have a panic attack, would the clothes fit, would the staff look at me like I shouldn't be shopping there, what if they told me the clothes wouldn't fit. I had completed turned this positive trip around in my head. I was in full panic mode by the time we arrived.

I calmed down a bit going into the store, but was still overwhelmed. I quickly realized that my size (12 the largest lulu carries) was the most popular size and finding items in that size was proving to be difficult. The jacket I tried on a month earlier was no wear to be seen and the few that I tried on could be successfully worn, but were tight and I was having a hard time spending $100 on a top that looked, well, tight.

Feeling a bit defeated I remembered a conversation that I had with my sister. She had told me that there was another store just down from lulu that sold similar clothes, but sold sizes up to an 18. Since just over half of my spending money was cash I thought I would give it a try.


The store was very lulu inspired. The clothing was similar and the store's phrases even poked fun at the competition, one bag had the phrase "This is no lemon".

I started to look around still feeling a bit on edge, but when I started to find clothing from 0-18 I started to question my focus on obtaining the lulu jacket. Did I really want to buy something that didn't fit well? Was wearing that name more important than feeling comfortable in the clothing.

I was pleasantly surprised in Titika. Since they went up to a size 18 I didn't feel out of place and since all the clothes were 0-12 I wasn't stuck in a plus size corner of the store.

I immediately fell in love with a green top which could be worn both at the gym and also just as a casual top.

I decided on that top and a pair of athletic capris which cost together the same price as the ill fitting sweatshirt. The best part, I felt great.

Since I still had gift cards to spend I went back to lulu feeling much more in control and happy. In addition to a sweater my other coveted lulu item is a gym bag. Lucky for me this item is only available in one size so all I had to decide was the colur.


I'm not saying that I still don't want a lulu sweater, but I do know myself well enough that I would rather wait than try to squeeze into something that neither my body nor my mind is ready for. I ended up with the best of both worlds and felt so good about my purchases that I allowed some photos to be taken as there have been some requests for new pictures. This is a big deal for me as I hate having my picture taken. As you will see in the pictures I still have a long way to go in my weight loss journey, but I have to date lost 21lbs and I feel great.



6 comments:

  1. Dawn, you look amazing!

    I am proud of your lulu shopping experience! While I love lulu and could have been addicted to their clothing, I couldn't live with the price. I bought one hoodie (or had it bought for me, really...), and it stretches out quite a bit. I was disappointed when the price tag was huge and I had lost 2 sizes shortly after getting it bought for me.

    I got another one at Christmas in my proper size, and now it is stretched out as well! ARGH!

    I did buy yoga pants and a hoodie from titika and their quality by far has outranked lulu.

    Good for you and enjoy your new purchases and the hard work you've done to get where you are today! Happy Birthday!

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  2. You look great and I love your new outfit and the purple bag - great colour choice.

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  3. You look great! I love your top!
    Titika is the best! Everyone should check it out, quality is amazing and you can deff.get more with your money then LuLu!

    Enjoy and keep at it, you are doing so great!
    I learned about your blog through Titika and will read some of your other posts for inpiration!
    WAY TO GO! you should be so proud of yourself

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  4. I am in absolute love with Titika! How refreshing to finally have a store that focuses on realistic shapes and sizes, while keeping you pretty! I feel comfortable in their clothes. Not to mention they wear much MUCH better than anything I've ever bought from lulu. Everyone should know about this great alternative!

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  5. Found your blog through the Titika Facebook page-You look amazing!!!!!!! The top is gorgeous and looks perfect on you. Girl, you need to take more photos of your sexy self! I LOVE Titika and I'm so glad you had such a good experience there! Congratulations on your weight loss success!! xo

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  6. Wow Dawn! You look SO beautiful! Congratulations on your weight loss but I think what you should be proud of is how you took a possible negative situation and turned it into something wonderful! Your daughter should feel inspired by her amazing and healthy in body and mind mom! Keep up the healthy attitude!!! Hope to see you soon!!! Erika

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