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Subscribe to RSSUpdated 6 p.m. ET: Well, that could have been embarrassing.
Rather than allow women to leave too little to the imagination, Lululemon Athletica pulled some of its popular black yoga pants from its stores and website last weekend.
Although the materials used in the pants were the same, the coverage was not, “resulting in a level of sheerness in some of our women’s black luon bottoms that fall short of our very high standards,” Lululemon said in a news release on its website.
The pants taken out of circulation make up about 17 percent of all women’s bottoms in the popular chain’s store, and will cause a near-term shortage of some styles of pants, the company said.
'Jimmy Kimmel Live' pokes fun at Lululemon yoga pants shortage
The Canadian company said the affected pants, which arrived in stores on March 1, can be returned or exchanged.
The cause of the sub-standard pants seems to be unknown, but the company said it is not due to changing manufacturers or the quality of its materials.
Lululemon said it is working with its manufacturer to find out what happened when the fabric was made, and is trying to get replacement fabric and products as soon as it can.
The supplier, Taiwan's Eclat Textile Co Ltd, said it had followed Lulu's specifications for the pants, and that the retailer had apparently misjudged customer tastes.
Luon, made in Vietnam and Taiwan, is made of nylon and Lycra Spandex.
The recall has may prove costly.
It led the company to cut its first-quarter revenue projection to between $333 million and $343 million, down from its prior guidance, which was for $350 million to $355 million. Shares of Lululemon were down about 5 percent in early trading on Tuesday.
Information from Reuters was included in this report.
Lululemon Athletica Inc. has recalled a batch of unintentionally revealing black yoga pants, prompting worries over the company's quality control. NBC's Brian Williams reports.
Roxanne Meyer, UBS analyst, explains how a recall at Lululemon has lowered the company's first quarter revenue forecast.
This story was originally published on Tue Mar 19, 2013 10:22 AM EDT
Leave a Comment:
Oh no, not the yoga pants!
Can the opacity standard. These things need an obesity limit.
The problem is not the fabric itself, it is the women buying clothes that are too small and trying to put the proverbial 15 pounds in a ten pound bag. This overly stretches the fabric and causes it to be too sheer.
JS in SD: Judging from the women I see in the grocery store, you might be right. Ugh. Leave something to the imagination, please...
You know what I hate more, though? Tight, spandex pants on guys.
Oh, the speedo on obese guys! They make me retch too, SB!
I'm wondering, with today's media, who has not seen a woman's business (in shape or not) and what is left to the imagination these days.
Don't like the camel toe? Then don't look at it. Yeesh.
Camel Toe Spanx- A new line of no-yoga pants for the truely fit woman!
They say this like it is a bad thing.
Anyone who wears this out on the street, needs a class on fashion sense.
Amused Muse - we're absolutely with you on that one.
But seriously folks, people should need a license to buy these pants. I'm sorry, but I have seen far too many 250+ whales at wal-mart stretching these things past any acceptable limit.
I'm still of the opinion that Yoga Pants, Jeggings, and other things that used to be called panty-hose but now are just fine and dandy as pants.... that's weird, women. Straight up weird.
I'm not saying us males don't appreciate the view on the select few that actually look desirable in these, but the risk of the Michelin-Man looking woman wearing these making it looks like two pigs are in a sack fighting over a peanut.... sigh.
I'm not distinguishing between guys and girls here either, I've seen some spherical guys stuffing themselves into skinny jeans.... it's not a pretty site... and I feel so sorry for those poor Chinese laborers having to sew these industrial strength seams... it's just a losing battle.
Oh, jes.
Typo!
why would they go and do something like this???
Camel toes are bad enough.
Not if you are a camel, they are practically a necessity!
I was hoping for a visual of just how see-thru we are talking about. Its hard to grasp the magnitude of the problem without a good picture. :-)
Mike: Then get thee to a yoga class!!! You should get plenty of visuals.
check out girlsinyogapants.com
or better yet buy a pair for yourself
Bummer...guess I'm quitting the yoga class
Is it possible the company knew that this recall would actually boost their sales?
This story is worthless without clear, photographic examples!
This story is worthless, period.
" the company said it is not due to changing manufacturers or the quality of its materials"
Sure it wasn't. Any bets they were made in China? One more company losing millions by trying to save pennies. Sell them to the Chinese and sell American Made to American consumers.
Okay so I just watched the video and I'm laughing at the British news anchor who is so upset over a recall of yoga pants. OMG... can you say "slow news day"
I do yoga and I've seen the "see through" lululemon pants. It only happens when stretched a lot and the light hits just right. I wanted to tell the poor girl, but figured coming from a guy that might be way too embarrassing. What she doesn't know wouldn't hurt her, at least not as much as knowing she was flashing the class.
"He gives you this extraordinary gift, and then what does He do, I swear for His own amusement, his own private, cosmic gag reel, He sets the rules in opposition. It's the goof of all time. Look but don't touch. Touch, but don't taste. Taste, don't swallow." - The Devil's Advocate
Please every girl in there wants every guy looking at them. If we didn't look most would go home and slit their wrists. What a joke!
So what are they wearing under these yoga pants? Panties or are they going commando?
Men wear tshirts and loose shorts to the gym. So why not women? Instead they wear spandex or skin tight shorts, then complain that men are staring at them because you can see every fold of skin on their entire bodies.
If you choose to wear spandex, why not put on a pair of loose shorts over them, as well as a loose tshirt? Of course we all know why they wear tight revealing wear, it's because they go workout so others can check out their bodies.
Agent000000007, don't be an idiot. She could have been standing in front of him. I'm pretty sure if she was in extended triangle or garland it is possible he caught an eyeful by accident.
Just because he saw her doesn't mean he is a 'pig'. Girl should have checked her pants before she went out. It isn't his fault she can't dress for a gym class.
I always make sure I'm covered before I do yoga.
Maybe... but not like that : / They're probably hoping you're thinking how good they look, not "haha, her pants are see through"
Now this is not necessarily a bad thing!
If a woman has the figure then Heck Yeah! I have no problem with em'!
I'm Vancouver, Canada where Lululemon has its headquarters
so I see this stuff EVERYWHERE! Even in law and accounting offices!
In fact, Vancouver is Lululemon Heaven with a VERY HIGH proportion
of very fit, extremely nicely proportioned ladies who can actually wear
such pants and make'em look goooooood!
NOTHING is left to the imagination...for us guys IT'S GREAT!!!
Will it hit the company's bottom line? clearly quality cont-rol fell into the crack. Need a more through ASSessment of the issue.
I can't see what the problem is .....................
Lululemon, turning men into Pokemon everywhere.
i should start going back yoga classes again sounds like there is more than just stretching going on LOL
Isn't it up to the customer to decide if they are "too sheer"?
Whoa! I did not see that coming...
Beyond lean in or lean out, but to the real issue, which is lean over.
Good for Lululemon for having standards AND at least making one less place for women to buy clothing that will show WWWAAAYYYYYY too much that I don't want to see. I doubt the issue is because of women being too big and squeezing into too tight pants. I am sure Lululemon did their own tests on the yoga pants before pulling thousands of pants off the shelves.
My biggest pet fashion peeve: Women/teenagers/even little girls wearing tights and their shirt isn't long enough to cover their rear ends. Leave something to the imagination, indeed! And as a heterosexual woman, I am NOT trying to see all that!
I have never been to college myself, but I have helped pay for three college educations, my ex wife, and my two children. None of them have been able to earn a single dime from their degrees. What a waste of money. The one time I thought about taking some college courses, the school offered me to bypass taking some of the required classes based on the testing scores I received due to "life time experiences". The catch was they wanted me to pay for the classes they were going to "give" me credit for.
Umm, thanks for sharing! Did you read the article by any chance?
College is a business. Nothing more. When the rate of inflation averages 2% per year and their cost rises on average 10% per year it show that they are in it for the money, not to educate the next generation. Greed is rampant in the whole system. Anyone that falls for the scam that to succeed you need a college degree is being fooled.
OMG, how can the country survive a temporary shortage of ridiculously over-priced yoga pants??
I personally like the idea of sheer yoga pants.