The Lululemon loyalty split: are dupes changing the game?
Some see activewear. Others see investment. The dupe debate splits the difference.

As a value that defined high-discontinue activewear, Lululemon (LULU) now faces an queer jam: Its maintain customers are debating whether or no longer the products are still value it.
On the Subreddit /r/lululemon, the dupe debate comes up consistently. Some customers swear by the originals, whereas others are fully transformed. And in between? A increasing crowd of purchasers who’ve shifted their loyalty to honest, no longer emblems.
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"Dupes are a waste of cash. You need to as neatly unswerving employ rather of further to salvage the accurate thing that will closing a actually long time, versus a low-value model that will collapse in a 365 days," says u/Extrakelpfries.
Nonetheless others weren’t buying for it — actually or figuratively.
“I in actuality maintain a great amount of Lulu and I form speak CRZ is de facto the equivalent," acknowledged u/Pink_Piercings. "I’ve stopped buying for Lulu as unparalleled due to this." Narrate provide: Shutterstock
Why dupes aren’t unswerving incorrect Lululemon anymore
At the same time as picks comprise traction, Lululemon’s edge hasn’t disappeared.
Many customers on Reddit made it clear that whereas copycats can wait on a purpose, they rarely ever surpass the real by come of cloth in actuality feel, stitching, waistband structure, and long-term durability.
For folks that live in their leggings — no longer unswerving lounge in them — Lululemon still items the regular.
Manufacturers delight in CRZ Yoga, Waft Y, and even Aim's All in Movement don’t faux to be Lululemon. Nonetheless they form offer a same in actuality feel for below half of the value. For various patrons, that’s no longer unswerving good ample — it’s natty.
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Some customers renowned they reach for knockoffs when they're buying for explicit colors or prints that Lululemon doesn't offer — a come to secure model gaps without breaking the bank.
Others employ dupes to retain their accurate Lululemon equipment for precise workout routines. As u/Letstrythisagain02 set it, they aquire dupes "particularly for instances the build I'd risk ruining my Lululemon."
Here's in actuality a shift — from treating activewear as a luxurious investment to seeing it as moving equipment. And that is exactly what is going to seemingly be making Lululemon sweat.
Lululemon's efficiency may outlast its tag
Gentle, for many, Lululemon’s value proposition holds. "In actual fact, the $$ I’ve spent on so-referred to as dupes will had been set against buying for precise Lululemon and I'd had been ," acknowledged u/Rygard-.
Personally, I’ve tried the dupes. They’re perfect for a whereas, seemingly a 365 days. Nonetheless in the end the seams launch up to fray, the fabric loses shape, and the magic wears off.
Within the intervening time, I in actuality maintain Lululemon leggings from 2016 that still retain their shape, stretch, and sumptuous, even after years of damage. When it involves cloth innovation, fit consistency, and durability, many receive that the value simply continues to outperform.
And buying for the accurate thing isn’t unswerving about efficiency — it’s about identification. Wearing Lululemon still come something. It’s aspirational, recognizable, and for some, non-negotiable.
The dupe debate isn’t going away, however. And Lululemon may receive that its best competitor isn’t yet another value — it’s a user mindset that’s evolving quick.
Some purchasers aquire both the orginals and the knockoffs. Some change entirely to dupes. And others, for the first time, are asking if the value is value the value.
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