![lululemon Fabric Guide [CHEATSHEET]](http://35.81.153.165/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/lululemon-fabric-guide-schimiggy-reviews.jpg)
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lululemon’s many fabrics can leave you feeling perplexed about what to wear. In this guide, we’ll talk about the different fabrics, how they feel and what they are intended for. Use this as a guide to help you find the lululemon fabric that you’ll feel great in.
lululemon Fabric Guide
Below we will discuss all the features and feel of each fabric in detail. You can click on the fabric name below to jump right to the description.
#1 Luon®
How does Luon® feel?
- Luon® has a brushed feel and is very soft.
- Has light compression that will hug your body
- Luon® is thicker than Nulu.
- Luon® will pill – Avoid high-impact exercises that can cause the fabric to rub and pill.
- 4-way stretch so it contours to the body.
- Fabric attracts dust and lint.
Variations
- Full On® Luon® – Offers a hugged sensation due to a tighter weave construction. It’s intended to provide extra support and coverage.
- Light Luon® – (sometimes called Luon light) is exactly what it sounds like: slightly less thick, which is great for things like tank tops.
- Seriously Light™ Luon®
Popular Styles Made with Luon®: Wunder Under Pants | Power Y Tanks | Define Jacket
Luon® is lululemon’s original fabric. Luon® can be a blend of two or three of the following fibers: polyester, nylon and spandex. Some Luon® printed fabrics may appear faded when worn due to being overstretched. I have a tank top that has lines across it because prints generally do not transfer well on Luon®.
We recommend buying your true size in Luon®.
Made for: Low to Medium Impact Exercises | Yoga | Barre | Dance | Casual Wear
Wunder Under Pant
#2 Luxtreme®
How does Luxtreme® feel?
- Fits like a second skin.
- Very stretchy
- Very compressive
- Feels slick, smooth, cool to the touch
- Targeted Muscle Support – tighter compression throughout your abs, hips, bum and thighs.
- 4-way stretch contours to the body
- Great shape retention
- Very durable fabric
- Sweat-wicking
- Pill resistant
Variations
- Full-on Luxtreme® – Feels thicker than Luxtreme® and is very soft and more compressive due to tighter weave knit.
- Light Luxtreme® – A more lightweight version of Luxtreme®
Popular Styles Made with Luxtreme®: All the Right Places Pant | Free to Be Bras | Wunder Under Pants | On the Fly Pants
Luxtreme® has a much lighter feel than Luon® and does not feel anything like cotton. Instead, it’s smooth-faced and slick to the touch. It feels cool against the skin and is great for high-sweat workouts.
Luxtreme® is highly resistant to friction and will not pill. Personally, I feel it is more breathable than Luon. Luxtreme® is another versatile fabric that can be used for lots of other sweaty endeavors.
We recommend getting your true size in Luxtreme®.
Made for: High-Intensity Exercises | Running | Cycling | Spin | Swimming | HIIT | CrossFit
lululemon Wunder Under Pant in Luxtreme® fabric
#3 Nulux™
How does Nulux™ feel?
- Naked sensation
- Very stretchy
- Contours to the Body
- Silky and soft sensation
- Lightly compressive
- Very lightweight. Lighter than Luxtreme.
- Very breathable
- Super quick drying
- Pill resistant
Nulux™ is what would happen if Nulu and Luxtreme had a baby. I wish they made swimwear in Nulux™…is anybody from lululemon reading this?
Some Nulux™ prints may be white backed (printed on white fabric). Make sure you do a squat test to ensure the fabric provides enough coverage (not see through). Some places where you may see the fabric stretch is around the knees and bum area.
We recommend sizing down in Nulux™. Some people have sized down one size. If a fabric is white backed (printed on white fabric), we recommend getting your true size.
Popular Styles Made with Nulux™: Fast and Free Tights | Wunder Under HR Tight | T.H.E. Short (made with a Nulux™ liner)
Made for: High-Intensity Exercises | Running | Strength Training | Cycling | Spin | CrossFit | Warm Weather
Related: lululemon Review: Fast & Free 7/8 Tights II in Nulux
#4 Nulu™
How does Nulu™ feel?
- Naked sensation; feels like you’re wearing nothing. Some describe it as a “second skin.”
- Very breathable
- Super plush and buttery soft
- Brushed feel
- Very lightweight
- Not compressive
- Fabric is prone to pilling. It’s best to avoid high-intensity workouts that cause friction and rubbing.
- Fabric attracts dust and lint.
Popular Styles Made with Nulu™: Align Pants | Free to Be Tank | Flow Y Bra
Many products made with Luon® have also been made with Nulu™, such as the Define Jacket and Cool Racerback tank. The fabric has no compression. If you want a similar fabric feel with performance, we recommend trying out Nulux™.
We recommend sizing down or getting your true size in Nulu™.
Made for: Low-Intensity Exercises | Yoga | Pilates | Barre | Dance | Casual | Warm Weather
Related: lululemon Review: Align Leggings
#5 Everlux™
How does Everlux™ feel?
- Lightweight
- Durable
- Very compressive
- Very breathable
- Very stretchy – High Lycra® content gives four-way stretch Everlux excellent shape retention.
- Buttery smooth surface
- Feels like a thicker Nulux fabric.
- Double-knit structure (double layered) keeps the fabric cool against your skin.
- Fabric is very durable and will not pill.
- Efficiently carries sweat to the fabric surface to dry quickly.
- Very opaque.
Whitespace™ is lululemon’s in-house innovation lab that created Everlux™. Everlux™ is a fabric that could support you in extreme conditions inside and outside the studio.
With Everlux, you are guaranteed to never feel the sweat from a high-intensity workout due to its fast wicking properties.
We recommend sizing up in Everlux™.
Popular Styles Made with Everlux™: In Movement Pant
Made for: High-Intensity Exercises | Running | Cardio | HIIT | BootCamp | Crossfit | Cycling | Warm Weather
In Movement Pants (try on)
#6 Silverescent®
How does Silverescent® feel?
- Plush and soft knit fabric
- Guaranteed to never stink with X-STATIC® technology. Silverescent fabric bonds 99.9% pure silver to the surface of every fiber to prevent stink.
- Lightweight
- Seamless sides
- Has the ability to snag and pill.
Silver in the fabric releases positive ions that are attracted to the bacteria’s negatively charged ions. This prevents the bacteria from reproducing and causing you to stink.
We recommend sizing up in Silverescent®.
Popular Styles Made with Silverescent®: Swiftly Women’s Tops | Metal Vent Tech Men’s Tops
Made for: High-Intensity Exercises | Running | Cardio | Strength Training | Cycling | Spin | Warm Weather
#7 Cotton
How does Cotton feel?
lululemon uses many different weights of cotton fabrics in their casual pieces. They all feel different depending on the fabric blend. Some can feel thick and heavy and some can feel lightweight and drape well.
Variations:
- Pima Cotton – is a soft, comfy, lightweight and super-luxurious cotton used in many of lululemon’s casual tops. Tops are blended with spandex for shape retention and won’t shrink! The Love Tee is a great example.
- Cotton Fleece – Used in lululemon’s Scuba hoodies. Cotton Fleece is a blend of cotton and polyester. It is known for being cozy, thick, warm and durable. It is also designed to not shrink and can be laundered normally.
We recommend going with your true size in cotton lululemon apparel.
Popular Styles Made with Cotton: Scuba Hoodie | Love Tee
Made for: Low to Medium-Intensity Exercises | Layering | Casual Wear
Wearing Scuba V Hoodie
#8 Swift
How does Swift feel?
- Loose fitting
- Very lightweight
- Smooth
- 2-way stretch
- Very durable
- Does not pill
- Can snag against abrasive surfaces
- Never used in tights or leggings
Variations
- Swift Ultra – Mesh woven, lightweight and comes with 4-way stretch.
- Swift Ultra Light – Mesh woven, lightweight, and comes with 4-way stretch.
Popular Styles Made with Swift: Speed Up Shorts | Dance Studio Pants
Swift is very lightweight and great for running. The fabric is practically indestructible. Occasionally you may get a pull but you can easily take a pin and loop it through the back and voila, your Swift pieces will look like new!
We recommend sizing up in Swift.
Made for: High-Intensity Exercises | Running | CrossFit | HIIT | Warm Weather
Speed Up Shorts
#9 Rulu
How does Rulu feel?
- Thick and soft
- Very stretchy
Rulu is short for “running luon.” It’s great at keeping you warm and feeling tucked in. Rulu is intended for winter running. You’ll usually see Rulu in the Fall and Winter season when you need some added warmth.
We recommend going with your true size in Rulu.
Popular Styles Made with Jacquard: Vinyasa Scarf | Ready to Rulu Pant
Made for: Low to Medium-Impact Exercises | Running | Yoga | Pilates | Barre | Lounging | Cold Weather
#10 Jacquard
How does Jacquard feel?
- Plush and thick
- Textured feel
- Very stretchy – You will need to size down for more compression.
- Lightweight
- Lightly compressive
Jacquard fabric integrated into the lululemon line in 2016. Jacquard has been around since 1801 (thanks to the inventor Joseph Marie Jacquard).
Jacquard is a weaving technique that uses different colored threads to create a specific pattern with unique textural effects.
We recommend going with your true size in loose-fitting apparel and sizing down in tight-fitting fabrics like leggings and tank tops.
Popular Styles Made with Jacquard: On the Fly Pants | Wunder Under Pants
Made for: Low-Impact Exercises | Travel | Career | Casual Wear
#11 Senseknit™
How does Senseknit™ feel?
- Plush and thick
- Smooth brushed feel like neoprene
- Stretchy
- Lightweight
- Very compressive
- Contours to the body
While Senseknit has a very compressive fit, we still recommend going with your true size. If you want a more comfortable fit, it’s ok to size up.
We love the smooth and thick fabric feel. It feels like neoprene but is very breathable. The fabric has added Lycra for shape retention.
The fabric does not snag or pill.
Popular Styles Made with Senseknit™: Mapped Out HR Tight | Zoned in Tight
Made for: High Impact Exercises, Running, High-Sweat Activities
#12 Ultralu™
How does Ultralu™ feel?
- Plush and thick
- Smooth brushed feel like neoprene
- Stretchy
- Lightweight
- Breathable
- Very compressive
- Contours to the body
While Ultralu™ is the fabric used on lululemon face masks and undergarments. Read our lululemon face mask review.
We love the smooth and thick fabric feel. It feels like neoprene but is very breathable. The fabric has added Lycra for shape retention.
The fabric does not snag or pill.
Popular Styles Made with Ultralu™: Face Masks | Enlite Bra
Made for: High Impact Exercises
lululemon Fabric Cheat Sheet
We put together a chart that you can quickly reference to determine which fabric is best for your needs.
| Fabric | Feels | Made For | Perfect Styles |
| Luon | cottony soft | low impact | Wunder Under, Groove Pant |
| Luxtreme | smooth and slick | high impact | All The Right Places, Pace Rival Crop, Speed Up, Wunder Under |
| Nulu | buttery soft, naked sensation | very low impact, casual | Align |
| Nulux | silky smooth, slick, naked sensation, cool against the skin | high impact | Fast and Free, Speed Wunder |
| Everlux | soft, spongey, plush, feels cool against the skin | high impact, high sweat classes | In Movement, Invigorate, Wunder Train |
| Senseknit | soft, spongey, plush, smooth and brushed, very compressive | high impact, high sweat classes | Mapped Out HR Tight, Zoned in Tight |
Is lululemon Fabric Sustainable?
While lululemon is a member of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and claim sustainability as one of their core principles, their environmental impact is simply not good enough. lululemon only uses a low proportion of eco-friendly materials, but they do recycle some off-cuts during the manufacturing process.
Brands that are more sustainable and on par with lululemon include the following:
- Athleta – Certified B Corp and uses recycled fabrics.
- Girlfriend Collective – Has a closed-loop system so that their apparel NEVER ends up in landfills.
- Niyama Sol – Fabric made with water bottles. Feels similar to Align fabrics but does not pill.
- PACT – Uses organic cotton for all their apparel and bed and bath products.
- Wolven – Fabric made with water bottles. Feels similar to Align fabrics but does not pill.
How to Wash Your lululemon
All activewear should be washed with cold water on delicate and hung to dry. I use a gentle detergent to wash my activewear. I also use a GuppyFriend laundry bag so that microplastics do not leak into the ocean with each wash.
Always wash your workout clothes together AND with like colors.
Always turn your clothing inside out so that you wash the side that comes into contact with your sweat and bacteria.
Avoid washing your activewear with cotton (ie. towels or denim jeans) because the rough fabric can cause them to pill.
Avoid using fabric softener because the formula can build up in the fabric fibers and prevent your activewear from wicking away sweat.
Avoid putting your lululemon in the dryer. Instead, let it air dry on a drying rack. Over time, heat can damage the elastic fibers in activewear which can cause them to crack or perform poorly.
For down puffer jackets and outerwear, care is a little more complicated but can totally be done at home. Here is my guide on how to wash down filled jackets and blankets.
Related: How to Wash Down Filled Jackets and Comforters
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