yoga pants: why we love the gusset!



This blog post was written by Whitney and posted on May 20, 2010 at 8:15 am

At lululemon athletica, we love our gussets with all our heart and we're not afraid to say it.

yoga pants from lululemon

Wait, what's a gusset? A gusset is a diamond shaped patch of material that helps you move in and out of Warrior II and Triangle Pose with freedom. Most pants are made with two seams (front to back and from one leg to the other) that intersect right in the crotch area. We've replaced that uncomfortable and unsightly crotch seam with a gusset to increase mobility and comfort in all of your workouts.

yoga pants gusset detail - lululemon

The diamond-shaped patch is sewn between the legs – preventing a tight fitting short, pant, or crop from riding up during exercise and therefore preventing CT.

dancer's pose in lululemon yoga pants

Wondering what CT stands for? CT is a situation no one wants to talk about, but everyone wants to know if it's happening to them without them knowing: camel toe. We wouldn't let you walk out of our store with toilet paper hanging from your pants, and as any good girlfriend should, we will make sure CT is not a problem for you.

lululemon yoga pants

CT can also happen if your pants are pulled too high for the rise that the garment has been designed to sit at. Think of switching to a higher rise pant or crop like the Mynah Crop if you find yourself wanting to pull your pants up higher.

yoga crop pants from lululemon

The fabric of the gusset in all of our garments is also moisture wicking, so if you prefer exercising without underwear, the gusset will keep you comfortable. We'll jump to that!

yoga gear from lululemon

So the next time you adorn your lululemon crops, pants, or fitted shorts, maybe thank your gusset for keeping you comfortable and helping you say no to camel toe.

say no to camel toe

Namaste.

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30 Comments »


I love your shorts, tops, pants…EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!
I keep referencing you in my blog.

My lulus are like my spanx :-)

Comment by Yael Gross — May 20, 2010 @ 10:10 am


And this is why I love Lulu! Details are always being noticed and accounted for. Now where can I get a copy of that poster? That is funny stuff!

Comment by Misty Smith — May 20, 2010 @ 5:39 pm


I absolutely LOVE this about my lululemon Groove pants and Gather & Crow crops. No one should suffer from CT!

Comment by Kara — May 21, 2010 @ 6:50 pm


Reading this before a morning run and am now consciously thankful for the gusset:) Lulu for LIFE!!!

Comment by Hadley — May 22, 2010 @ 6:14 am


ummm, i like camel toe, wtf!

Comment by Paul — May 23, 2010 @ 12:27 am


Whitters!! Loves it. Laughing to death in Australia at this moment.

Comment by Liz — May 26, 2010 @ 4:06 am


Yeay LuLu! :) What a cute, funny article that rings so true. I’m sure wedgie problem is included as well. And, Paul, as a wonderful male, you couldn’t possibly understand what we ladies go through with tight pants! hehe :)

Comment by Tina — May 26, 2010 @ 10:28 am


Never thought why the gusset was there before, but now I get it. I have to laugh that you can base an ad campaign on CT!

Comment by Sue — May 27, 2010 @ 2:07 am


This morning Lulu released its first quarter earnings report, which was rather impressive. My boss asked me to get some information on the company, which of course included previous reports and analysis. Being 66, my boss doesn’t use the internet, and instead uses people around the office to look things up for him. He wanted to see the Lululemon webpage. On the front page was the “Say No to Camel Toe” link.

“What the hell is a camel toe?” he asks

I just had the weirdest and most uncomfortable conversation I’ve ever had in a workplace environment.

Nice gusset…

Please make the investor relations link a little more prominent.

And congrats on beating analyst expectations!

Comment by Joel — June 10, 2010 @ 8:59 am


Thanks for the congrats, and the feedback about the investor relations link, Joel. I’ll be passing this to our online team.

Comment by Laura M — June 10, 2010 @ 5:41 pm


Great little article on the yoga “CT”!
Now it’s time you did something about the DISGUSTING “MT” your Luon pants have caused. (*MT standing for muffin top, of course). Your pants have some really narsty waistbands on them. Most of them are cut too high, and for the waistbands that are cut low enough (that they don’t give me a double muffintop), they feature the unfortunate hemlines WITHIN the waistband, that actually make me budlge in 2 different spots on the same pair of pants. It’s bad enough that you’ve chosen such a horrible height for the waistbands; why in god’s name did you feel it was necessary to stitch another hemline into the waistband? Most of your pants have this double waistband-waistband (including the ultra popular Groove pant) (that is, two seperate hemlines that dig into the same chunk of lovehandle within a single waistband). Whatever happened to low-rise Lulus? Do you think women enjoy two different buldge-lines within the same 2-centimetre distance of eachother? There is an entire market of women just DYING to buy your hundred-dollar pants at a lower rise – all year round! Seriously, less is more. Maybe you should even make a pair of pants with no ass-cutting, buldge-creating hemline at all?

Talk about product placement! ;)
Low-rise pants to cater to your population of young, skinny Lulu-lovers who don’t want to look fat when they’re really thin.

And back to the idea of camel toe prevention: just remember that for every inch I have to pull up my pants so I can match the location of your waist-hemline with my love handles (*otherwise I get two unsightly buldge-lines instead of just one), that’s another inch of Luon lodged in my crotch.

Comment by Jessica — June 12, 2010 @ 4:41 pm


Hey Jessica,
Thanks for sharing your feedback with us. We do appreciate everyone prefers different rises and cuts of pants, so we do try to offer a variety of rises of low, mid and high. Our pants are designed with comfort in mind so if you do experience any cutting in, I would suggest going up a size and seeing how that fit feels on.
If you have a local store near, you can always ask an educator to do a fit session with you to try on the various styles of pants and find one that works for you. http://www.lululemon.com/stores/
If you don’t have a local store, feel free to call us at the Guest Education Centre to talk about the various pant styles. Our number is 1.877.263.9300 option #2.

Comment by Jenna — June 13, 2010 @ 2:45 pm


Lol, love the article! A great solution to that unspoken of lady problem. Say no to camel toe!

Comment by Ballet School Perth — February 9, 2011 @ 1:09 am


You get what you pay for! Love Lululemon groove pant!

Comment by El Meyer — February 11, 2011 @ 9:37 pm


great article, nice info. I love that pant

Comment by women yoga pant — February 24, 2011 @ 7:19 am


Interesting post topic! Now everybody knows exactly what a gusset is!

Comment by Psychologist Perth — February 26, 2011 @ 5:28 am


God forbid we should be reminded of our genitalia, lest our little pinheads explode.

Comment by The Misanthropic Yogini — March 10, 2011 @ 3:20 am


Can you wear the yoga pants without underwear?? Would it cause infections or destroy the pants?

Comment by Sarah — March 29, 2011 @ 6:42 pm


Interesting, to say the least! So, how can I get one of those posters for my yoga studio? :-)

Comment by Yoga Miracle — March 30, 2011 @ 2:22 pm


Hi Sarah,
It’s all about what you’re comfortable in – underwear or no underwear. Going without will not impact the pants.
~ Laura

Comment by lululemon athletica GEC — April 1, 2011 @ 10:41 am


Someone needs to address the issue of VPL w/ your pants. I am a dedicated lulu disciple & devout workout fiend who teaches fitness classes. It is crazy to me that women actually leave the house with such horrid panty lines in your pants. I truly think that there needs to be some education provided to the community in this regard. I am all about going commando. Since every pant and short you make has a gusset or liner, I believe that there is no need for underwear. Other women may not be as liberal and free thinking as I & truly believe that it is a sin to go commando, for them, and for those women who might not think to look in the mirror before they leave the house, I think that there needs to be some education. Maybe a sign in the dressing room? I don’t know. I am just so sick of looking at horrible VPL at the gym. Thoughts?

Comment by Amy — April 2, 2011 @ 10:45 am


I still have camel toe in the lulu leggings I just bought. They’re the basic, black leggings–the wunder under pant, I think. I love them, but was concerned I might have too much camel toe, so I asked my fiance who was like, “that’s bad!” So now I’m self-conscious. Any tips to get rid of it? I love the pants and they’re super comfy besides the self-consciousness.

My main question is: Why do you have that seam down the middle? I appreciate the gusset, but that seam in the front above the gusset still creates CT.

Comment by Sarah — May 13, 2011 @ 7:22 am


Hey Sarah,
Thanks for your feedback and question. If you are still finding the pants are riding up there even with the gusset, it would be to do with the rise.

When the rise of a pant is pulled higher than where it is intended to sit, this can create CT. We offer pants in various rises and they will sit on everyone in different places depending on their rise. To make sure you have your pants at the right height, make sure the waist is sitting flat all the way around. If you are pulling the pants to high, the waistband will appear higher on the hips as the fabric has been pulled up.

For me, some of our low rise pants, sit too low for my body’s rise, so I will opt for something with a mid or high rise design.
Hope that helps,
~Jenna

Comment by GEC Online Community — May 16, 2011 @ 1:40 pm


why is it you tout the diamond shaped gusset yet all of the newer crops have a cheaper triangular gusset? This causes CT. please go back to the diamond shaped ones, or at least be upfront that they are no longer diamond shaped. thanks

Comment by julez — June 13, 2012 @ 8:28 pm


Since you guys changed the gusset shape of your bottoms the least you can do is let us know sbout it and not let us discover the change after we’ve paid for an item.

And specify in your product features what shape the gusset is for a particular style. Although I don’t know if that would help since same styles can have different shapes like my Polocrosse crops – the black has the diamond while the bruised berry has the triangle gusset! Why is that?? Are your numerous factories getting different pattern guides??

Best solution? Go back to diamond shape!

Comment by Ann — July 4, 2012 @ 5:18 am


What happened to the very functional diamond shaped gusset? All of my new bottoms that I’ve bought recently have a triangle gusset instead, and it’s causing camel toe (which is what you said your pants don’t cause). I’m confused. Why the change? I see it in the reviews all over the website; no one is happy about the triangle gusset. Please change the gusset back to the diamond!

Comment by Kara — July 4, 2012 @ 2:57 pm


Please change the gusset design so we can practice, run, and sweat comfortably. It’s unfortunate but after a shopping spree at LuLu, I have to return my pants and now rummage through the store to find the diamond gusset that fits so amazingly. If I cannot find any remaining pants with the diamond gusset, I will have to stop purchasing LULU- which I don’t want to because I loved how they fit. This concern is rampant throughout LuLu reviews and blogs alike- what will it take to make the changes? My practice deserves all of my energy and focus; therefore worrying about camel toe cannot be on my radar.

“DON’T CHANGE A GREAT THING”

Comment by Meghan Mitchell — September 16, 2012 @ 12:35 pm


Just returning a pair of Astro pants because of the triangle gusset. Why change a good thing?

Comment by Suzette — November 2, 2012 @ 4:02 pm


I just bought A pair of reversible WU online and thought I was going to have A CT problem but I am A short girl and sometimes I pull my pants up too high to compensate for extra length, but when I wear them where they are suppose to be its A miracle the CT goes away:) love the WU if I lived closer to A store I might get them shortened A little, at 5’4″ they might be considered A tad long but love them anyway.

Comment by carol — November 4, 2012 @ 7:49 am


After 12 pairs of wunder unders and quite of few others as well, I had to return my most recent wunder unders I ordered due to the triangle gusset. Please bring back the diamond! Why change something that warranted its own blog post?

Comment by Tessie — February 25, 2013 @ 1:36 pm


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