It’s been half a year since my first post about Lululemon and about a year since my first purchase! So much have changed (in my inventory) since then. There have been many new additions as well as some I painfully let go off.

Anyway, my most used items are definitely the Lululemon sports bras. I have accumulated many of these within a year and that’s only because it has proven its worth.

Functionality is definitely what makes me keep wearing and repurchasing them. I go for hot yoga almost every day, sometimes several times a day. I do need 1 or 2 pieces per day to wear and it has to be washed pretty often to be available when I need it again. The most obvious advantage over tank tops these has is the ease of washing – I hand wash everything and tank tops are just too much work for me.

Also, when I have morning and evening yoga, sometimes I would air dry my sports bra in between and they can dry really easily with the help of a table fan, without odour and any trace! Inferior brands may start to stink halfway during yoga already but this never happens with Lululemon.

Most importantly, they are very comfortable, have just enough support, have good sweat wicking properties and moisture management.

The icing on the cake is the nice designs they offer.

When it comes to sports bra design, there’s only one thing I universally dislike – T back or Racerback. I dislike having a piece of fabric stuck on my upper back and even more dislike for anything near my neck! I try to steer away from such designs and for most other sports brands, unfortunately, that’s the most common design they sell because the Racerback has the best structure for high support sports bras, which is required for other sports but not so for yoga. Thankfully Lululemon’s bras aren’t revolving around the T or Racerback, and many are designed with yoga in mind -it’s perfect for me.

(L-R: Free To Be Bra Wee Are From Space September Plum/ Raspberry Glo, Free To Be *Wild Bra Tonka Striple/ Antidote, Free To Be Bra Secret Garden, Free To Be Bra Pizzaz, Flow Y Bra Cornflower, Free To Be Bra Cornflower)

All these are new additions and were not introduced in my previous post.

Free To Be Bra

I have 4 of these, but 2 of them are new and unworn. My first one was actually the Secret Garden but that particular colour was manufactured smaller than usual and even though it looks the same when held together with the rest, it was actually made to be less stretchy and the straps basically can’t be stretched out at all. Because of that, the straps dug into me uncomfortably and I have never worn it for yoga. I tried buying a size up but that didn’t work – while the straps were longer than this size, the fabric coverage was scaled up too and too much for me. I eventually sold that one off but am still keeping this one, because I love the prints!

I actually thought all Free To Be Bras were going to be like this until I bought the Cornflower blue, US$29 from a Lululemon.com mark down. It turn out to be so comfortable, I ended up wearing it very often. I eventually got the Wee Are From Space Plum/ Raspberry Glo from Carousell and Pizzaz orange (this is my 4^th Lululemon item in Pizzaz) from eBay. All of them fit the same so it proves that the Secret Garden
one was a one off mistake on their side.

Generally for this design, the coverage and support is light but that’s what’s best for yoga, especially hot yoga – too much support would feel binding and uncomfortable in my opinion.

I also like how the back is – the band runs straight across and is held up with 2 criss-cross straps.

Free To Be *Wild Bra

I actually had another one in Ultraviolet but I sold it off because I do not like the colour even though I really liked this bra. I figured having one is enough after buying the Tonka Stripe/ Antidote one from a local Facebook group. I love this colour combination way more than the Ultraviolet!

The support and coverage is somewhat like the Free To Be, but probably less because the band at the back is very thin. For those doing high impact sports, perhaps you should try something else. For yoga, this is perfect.

Flow Y Bra

I got this Cornflower blue together with the Free To Be version from Lululemon.com because it was on sale and I couldn’t decide which was better. The main difference is the material – Flow Y Bras are made from Luon™ while Free To Be Bras are made from Luxtreme™. The band of this one is thicker and probably gives slightly more support but the coverage is made to be minimal, like the Free To Be Bras. I think I probably enjoy having this one in my inventory just for variety sake (can’t be wearing the same design everyday right?), but if I had to choose just one I would probably pick the Free To Be or Free To Be *Wild over this.

(L-R: Run: Stuff Your Bra in Flowabunga Multi, Energy Bra Pizzaz, Energy Bra Creamsicle Pop, Alight Bra Curious Jungle, Alight Bra Flowabunga Multi)

These designs have been featured in my first Lululemon post but I shall review them again.

Run: Stuff your bra

This bra is good for running. I am not a runner or jogger or marathon walker so I haven’t really put this to good use. I am still thinking whether to sell this but perhaps I may go running one day, and I would need something which has good support and coverage. This one has medium coverage and support like typical sports brands’ sports bras, but with a nice X back instead of a typical racer back.

Energy Bra

The Pizzaz Energy Bra was my first ever Lululemon purchase so it will always have a special place in my heart. I got the Creamsicle Pop from Carousell because I happened to see it and I had to own everything orange. While the back design of this bra is actually nicer than the Free To Be, don’t prefer this bra because the support and coverage is medium, somewhat like the Run: Stuff your bra. I do not require high support or coverage and this does not justify the constriction from the band (discomfort to me) so I tend to not use these often. However, those with bigger bust would benefit from the higher support and coverage.

Alight Bra

This design is seasonal and I loved it so much, I had to grab a backup (but in my defense, the prints are not identical!) of the Curious Jungle. However, the halter neck isn’t really the best idea because as mentioned, I don’t like anything near my neck. In hot yoga, the straps tied up behind my neck will accumulate sweat and that’ll make me annoyed. The coverage and support is like the Free To Be bras, which is minimal and only suitable for yoga.

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It’s ultimately up to individual preference but for the permanent designs from Lululemon, here are my recommendations:

Yoga: those with A/B cup could get the Free To Be, Free To Be Wild* or Flow Y Bra. Those with C/D cup could get the Energy Bra, All Sports Bra or 50 Rep Bra.

High impact sports (running, gym, Zumba etc): everyone can get the Energy Bra, Run: Stuff Your Bra, All Sports Bra or 50 Rep Bra.