Lole Elena Jacket
September 5, 2011
I realize that most of the rest of the country is still locked in a heat wave, but here in the north latitudes it’s cooling off fast. I will expect frost within a few weeks and maybe even snow. Most people might be bummed, but I get all excited this time of year because I get to break out my winter clothes again! Winter clothes are fun because they allow me to defy the elements, and one of my favorite pieces to wear around town is this Lole Elena jacket. I have it in bright yellow which is quite eye catching and is most likely responsible for all the comments I get on the jacket, but hey, no one can lose me in a crowd, that’s for sure.
I never get cold, either, with the 550-fill puffy down sealing out the drafts, complete with a big puffy hood to top it all off. I have about a billion puffy jackets but this one has that extra style flair that makes me reach for it when I’m out and about in the cold and want to look stylin’ and different, as Lole isn’t that common of a brand up here in Alaska just yet. The Elena manages to look different, with angled stitched baffles creating a nice, feminine look.
If you are familiar with Lole you know that everything about their stuff is quality. It’s well made, well constructed, and feels great to wear. The company is focused on women so the fit is always good, and geared towards the active woman who actually needs to USE their stuff. For pieces of such quality, the pricing is extremely reasonable and is a good buy. Just be aware that this jacket doesn’t have a waterproofing finish, just a water-repellent one, so you may not want to count on it in wet, sloppy conditions. This is a jacket for cold, dry, cold, cold, and did I say cold days? I’ll be sporting this one in our traditional 20-below cold snap in January, count on that!
Man, everything is on sale now! Backcountry.com has this jacket for nearly half-off, just $109.
Lole Feel Sweater
December 12, 2010
I couldn’t pass up featuring this sweater because it is the first item of clothing that my other half actually verbally admired. He’s not really one for telling me I look nice. I know, I know, you either think he’s a jerk for leaving me hanging or you think I should just deal because that’s how men are. Whatever.
Whichever doctrine you subscribe to, it always feels good to get a compliment. So when I donned the sweater, made my appearance, and was greeted with “wow, that looks good!” I mentally filed this sweater in my “look like a hottie” pile. I loved this sweater anyway – it’s warm, soft, comfy, versatile, and evidently looks really really good. I’ve never been a sweater person but I’ve worn the Feel at least three times this week already. I love the collar; you can unzip for a nice draft or zip it on up for a cozy warm guarantee against the cold. It’s classy enough to wear to the office and flattering enough to wear on a night out on the town, assuming that you live in a casual place or that “night on the town” isn’t synonymous with “show as much of one’s boobs as possible while still technically remaining clothed.” What can I say, I’m closing in on 40 here. But being almost 40 doesn’t exclude me from tasteless jokes, so I’ll remind you that this sweater is called the “Feel,” heh heh heh heh.
Back to the point: this sweater kicks ass. Lole is a new client for me, or I’d shamelessly claim that I need to review one in every color. How can I be sure if I REALLY like it if I haven’t worn all of the colors?!? Hey, someday that might work.
Lole Romp Pants
December 6, 2010
Whenever I get a new item to review, I have to figure out what the item is for, and then go do that thing and see how it does. If the item is for something I don’t do, I have to either find someone who does it and have them use it and do the review, learn how to do the thing itself, or use the item for something else and see how it does at that. Do you follow? If you are lost, don’t worry. I’m a bit lost now too. So, back to the pants: I think I am supposed to be doing yoga in these, but I don’t do yoga. A sweaty room with 25 women who are pretending to be all zen but are really so high-strung that someone leaving or entering the room is enough to set of a flurry of passive aggressive sighs and frowns followed by an over-entitled Internet rant is no place for me. People, the point is to meditate and relax in your own self-made bubble of peace, not freeze frame the rest of the world just the way you want it and make everyone else do your bidding while you maintain your paper-thin veneer of fragile calm. See, I don’t even DO yoga and I know that. I’d pass these pants to a yoga person but I actually don’t know any yoga people – my crowd is not really the yoga type. There is no chance of me subjecting myself to yoga just to test pants, so I have used them for other stuff. “Other stuff” in this case means hanging around the house and martial arts practice. I didn’t actually wear them TO karate class, as we must all wear a gi in those classes, but I practice at home too, so I didn’t have to do pushups for wearing them.
They’ve pretty much replaced all my other pants for those purposes. They are really nicely made and the quality of fabric and stitching is evident. I love lounging around in these pants in large part because whatever this fabric is, it doesn’t let cat or dog hair stick to it. In my house, this is a pretty big deal.
They did require a bit of restyling. I wasn’t a fan of the elastic drawstring cords around the hems, and the plastic thingy that you use to adjust them was getting in my way when I walked. I cut the cords and pulled them out and all is well, though the plastic grommets do make a tapping sound when I walk on the hardwood floor. They are a tad long for five-five me, but I don’t mind that, or at least I mind it less than too-short. Without the plastic grommets I probably would never notice.
I’m pretty stoked that these pants have pockets. They are well-done front pockets, too, so they don’t puff out like ugly side pockets. I can lounge around the house AND carry the important essentials with me. The fit is nice; with a low waist (thank you Lole) and a relaxed fit. The fabric is very light, doesn’t wrinkle, and, as I mentioned, sheds cat and dog hair, but doesn’t supply any warmth factor so choose your temperature range wisely. I was sent a size M as a sample size and I usually wear a small, but the mediums work for lounging around. They are definitely baggy and the smalls would be more flattering, so I’d say that they are probably pretty true to size.
These pants really have that quality feel and are well designed and constructed.
