Our blog artist Alison took the Not So Stuffy Puffy to a rainy Seattle music festival.

Puffy jackets have always been an enigma to me. The burning question in my mind was how does one look NOT so puffy IN a puffy? At 5’8 and roughly 145 pounds I do not exactly have what one would call a “petite frame” and I was deathly afraid that a puffy jacket would make me resemble Ralphie’s little brother in everyone’s favorite holiday movie, A Christmas Story.

However, the Seattle winters call for a jacket that is both warm and water resistant and when lululemon introduced a jacket that boasted both of these important features…well, I had to get my hands on that jacket.

Michelle from our Strategic Sales tries on the Not So Stuffy in Cherry.

While everyone was grilling out for the last summer hurrah on Labor Day, I was at a music festival in Seattle where the temperature didn’t get out of the low 60s and there was light to heavy rain. I was going to be there all day and into the evening and I thought this was going to be the perfect time to try out my puffy jacket.

A close up of the NSSP's insides!

I slipped it on and after one or two or twenty looks at myself in the mirror at every conceivable angle I came to the conclusion that this jacket outlines my silhouette and does not make me look huge at all. It almost felt like a second skin, it was neither bulky nor bunchy. The hood kept my ‘do intact so on the off-chance that I ran into Fergie of The Black Eyed Peas after the show I wouldn’t look like a frizzy mess.

The luon thumbholes on the sleeves kept my sleeves down so when I was clapping or dancing wildly I didn’t feel one raindrop or the wind. Most importantly, it kept me both warm and dry.

Warning: staring too closely at the Not So Stuffy Puffy can induce feelings of extreme warmth and friendliness.

Personalize your Puffy!

This is what the Not So Stuffy Puffy looks like all bundled up at lululemon Coquitlam Centre.

If you're in Canada, visit your local lululemon to pick up the Not So Stuffy Puffy. For our U.S. friends, you can visit your store or buy it online here.

I was inspired to blog about the many conversations I keep overhearing between my boyfriend and his friends. I can’t even count how many times I’ve heard someone say “that’s lululemon?!” when talking about something Justin is wearing. Sometimes I have to bite my tongue, as I want to go off about how “we make more than black stretchy pants!” (though we are pretty good at that, too!).

After working for lululemon for almost two years now, my wardrobe is understandably about 80% luon. To many people’s surprise, my boyfriend’s closet is comparably stocked with lululemon, though you wouldn’t guess so at first glance.

I think the best thing about our men’s line is its versatility. Justin is no pro-athlete, but he is extremely active and our men’s product meets all of his needs.

I asked Justin what his favourite features of his lululemon pieces are, and have shared some images of these features in action below:

I. “Pockets! I love all of the pockets in my clothing… coin pockets are key so you don’t have to empty your pockets every time you’re active.”

II.“I like that I can throw on lululemon in the morning and know that I’m set for the rest of the day… no matter how it unfolds.”

III. “Durability. I need things that are easy to wash and can take some wear."

So guys, next time your girlfriend/wife is dragging you into your local store, rather than finding the closest reading material, take a wander through our men’s section – you may be surprised at what you find! Or check out our men’s section online: http://shop.lululemon.com/men/pl/c/700.html

However, not all styles of lululemon pants seem to work for me and my, let's say badankadonk. Don't get me wrong my booty loves being wrapped in luon, but sometimes my backyard does not like to come out of the fit rooms. "Hockey butt" is not a phenomenon only enjoyed by men, ladies have athletic "hockey butt" too, but in America we refer to it as "hitter's butt" or "baseball butt".

My "hitter's butt" and I are notorious for wearing things too big, and stray from publicly modeling new styles. Recently my fellow co-workers at lululemon La Jolla have been encouraging my private fit sessions to become public so that I no longer buy the wrong sizes. I like trying things on when no one can watch me, and yet I love when guests model for me and tell me everything they love and anything they would change on our garments. But we are working through this...

A week or so ago when the "Snaptastic Pants" were delivered to our wonderful store in La Jolla, and my friends Julie and Stefanie tried them on (both dancers, both yogis, both with legs to die for) and the pants looked phenomenal on them both! They both ranted and raved about how the pants gave them a nice compression, and the snaps were a great detail for air flow in pilates, yoga and dance class.

The pants have great detail where they almost compress around the calves of your legs, and thus showing off a lady's lovely shape. Me and my lovely lady lumps however were not having it when Julie and Stefanie forced me to try them on.

I have always admired the delicate movements and muscles of dancers, and though I am comfortable in my own skin, I did at this moment envy their ability to rock such cool pants that I refused to even try. I figured with my athletic shape, size 6 tummy, and size 8 "hitter's butt", I would look like a pear with legs. I watched them snap their pants up and down, until I finally got the nerve to try them on.

As I shyly creeped out of the fit rooms, and looked at mirror and said "Ohhh snapp!! These actually work for me!!"

The wonderful feature of compression truly showed of the details of my calves, and the snap open flare at the ankles not only enhanced the shape of my legs, but also balanced the extra shape of my hitter's butt!

For once I almost feel like a dancer in my Snaptastic Pants, and love that they are black and yet also reverse to grey! Hey now, phenomenal!

So again to the wonderful lululemon designers, thank you for making a wonderful garment that you don't have to be a dancer to rock and look great in. You can have a "hitter's butt" and strut your stuff in your badonka-down-dog at yoga!

Seriously girls with or without curves, go try these on, you truly might surprise yourself and your legs just might fall in love at first touch!

Namaste!

*Please note, for guests dying to learn more about the Snaptastic pant, please visit your local lululemon store or give us a ring at 1.877.263.9300 x2. This product is currently an in-store exclusive. To find a lululemon location near you, visit our store finder here: http://www.lululemon.com/stores/ Alright, enough business, let's talk pants!

How much do you really know about the lululemon clothing you love?

Look at the pictures below and try to identify which feature is shown! Answers, in order, are at the bottom of this post.

1. (Very top image) Emergency hair tie. Unruly hair? Use the zipper pull from your jacket. It doubles as a hair tie!

2. Silverescent. Look closely… this feature is the fabric! Silverescent uses X-static silver yarn to make the clothing smell like new after washing, no matter how hard you work out in it!

3. Groove pant waistband pocket. Check the waistband of your favorite pair of Groove pants for a pocket that is perfect for a cell phone, gym card, or key!

4. Hidden pocket on Women's Race Tech. Look at the inside of the back of your Race Tech top for a handy hidden pocket!

5. Removable cups. If you don’t need any extra help up top, you can remove the cups from any tank!

6. Headphone cord pull-through. Need a place to stow that iPod without the cords getting in the way? Pop your iPod in here and never get tangled again.

Want to learn more about our features and benefits? Check out our education section here: http://www.lululemon.com/education/info/features