Lululemon Brings Black Pants Back

yoga pants photo by Jamie Ducharme

Lululemon Athletica is bringing back its famous—and now notorious—black luon pants after the company was plagued with a scandal that arose from the pants being see-through. As you know, in yoga, there is a lot of bending over, so…you get the drift. This led to a recall of the pants and then—gasp—a yoga pants shortage.

Lululemon announced on its blog that the black pants are back in stores and they added more fabric to the back. They say that the luon fabric is still moisture-wicking, incredibly stretchy and soft, and that the recipe hasn’t changed. But that their testing and checking standards have changed, “big time”.

According to the blog they even brought in scientists to fix the problem:

First, we added tighter new standards and specifications to our testing and development. In fact, your stretchy pants go through about 15 tests to make sure you get great ass coverage (that’s the scientific term).

And speaking of science, we even got some university scientists to help us developed a “sheer-o-metre” which measures the amount of light coming through the fabric while being stretched at varying degrees.

We’ve also re-engineered our luon bottom patterns in each and every style to minimize the stretching of the fabric. Basically, that means there’s now more fabric across the bum so it’s not stretched from the get-go.

But they do add a disclaimer and they definitely have a point. Stretchy fabric will get sheer the more you stretch it. So if you are a size medium but keep buying a small then it is not Lululemon’s fault if your bum is showing. They say:

Let’s get real about sheerness:

luon is a knit fabric – if you stretch a knit fabric far enough, it will go sheer. That’s why the right fit is key. But what makes our bottoms great is the amazing technical benefits they provide. Fit, style, colour, performance, beauty – finding the perfect mix is what keeps us innovating and what makes us love doing what we do.

So there you have it. Your favorite black yoga pants that everyone knows and loves (including most men) are back in stores. Just be sure to buy the right size. And now for the real question: Are $100 yoga pants really worth it? For the answer, we asked an expert.