This month, Alala debuted a limited edition print, called blueprint. Blueprint is an urban-inspired abstract print that strikes a nice balance between neutrals and pops of color. It comes in three of their core styles, and I was so happy when they surprised me with a package of all 3! Here’s my reviews and some pics of each.
Disclosure: I received these three blueprint styles complimentary from Alala. As usual, all the opinions here are my own.
Photos by: Julia Romano Photography
I have 3 pairs of Alala’s captain crops, but I’ve never taken the plunge on a pair of the full length ankle version. The first thing I noticed about these is that the seam and details is really flattering on the leg. Even though my legs are pretty short, these pants did a nice job of elongating the whole silhouette. The captain tights have two pockets: one back zip pocket, and one front slit key pocket.
Sizing for this pair feels a little bit smaller on me than my captain crops. I’m not sure if it’s this particular printed fabric or the cut of all full-length captains, but both the waist and legs felt a bit smaller compared to my crops. I also noticed the ankle opening is cut tighter–I had to wrangle these around my heel a bit. Overall, I’d say these are true to size or maybe slightly small. If you’re between sizes, I would recommend going up.
The one thing I noticed with the captain ankle tights versus the captain crops is that the front seam “swoop” is sewn differently. I started to notice this after wearing these for a workout, so I laid out the ankle tights versus the crops to see if there really was a difference. What I found is that while the top, outer edge of the front accent seam starts at the same place, the ankle tights have a steeper angle, meaning the bottom of the seam meets the inner leg seam about one inch lower than it does on the crops. From that perspective, the captain ankle tights aren’t just a longer version of the captain crops.
The plus side: the steeper angle is definitely part of what makes these flattering on the leg. On the other hand, the lower position of the seam does mean that, for short folks like me, the seam may cross over your knee joint a bit. Of course, the seams are all flat-seamed, which definitely helps, but overall the seam placement makes this style a bit less petite-friendly than its cropped counterpart, at least if you’re seam-sensitive. Non-petite ladies: you’re in the clear!
The printed fabric is a nylon/spandex blend that’s slick to the touch and lightweight. The material makes these a great all-purpose tights for the athlete who likes to mix things up. I would wear these for pretty much anything.
I’m pretty picky with opacity, and I’ve tried some other Alala prints that didn’t have as much coverage as I’d like. With that in mind, I was admittedly nervous putting these on. But lo and behold, not sheer at all! I hope this bodes well for future prints from Alala. Take note that pattern placement does vary from pair to pair on these tights, though. Hopefully the good coverage will still hold true even if you get a pair that’s lighter in the back than mine.
P.S. Lots of love for my flyweight tee, too. <3 :)
Next up: the everyday tee.
As the name suggests, this tee is a simple long sleeve style. It has thumbholes, but not really any other bells and whistles. Although this is a crewneck style, they relaxed the cut at the neck just enough to give you some room to breathe.
The fabric is the same nylon blend the pants are made of, so this is a lighter weight, slick-feeling long sleeve, not a thermal weight. It’s the same fabric that’s used on the tights above. It’ll be an ideal weight to transition into spring, or to wear in the winter if you live in a more mild climate. I have some room in the XS–it’s a tailored fit, but not skin-tight. The length hits right at my hip, and doesn’t ride up. The sleeves aren’t too egregiously long on me, unlike many other long sleeve tops.
Quick side note: I want to follow up on my previous review and add that I’m loving my chill tights even more now. They may be “plain” black, but they’re still quite special as far as I’m concerned. It was in the 30s outside when we were taking these pictures, but my legs still felt cozy. They’re definitely one of my favorite Alala styles from the current collection, and believe me, I bought a lot of Alala this season!
It was waaaay too cold outside for me to tolerate taking pics in a sports bra, so for the zip it up bra, we’ll have to make do with an un-fancy selfie and tripod pic for now. :)
This is my second zip it up bra–I also have one in cerise. It’s hard to find a well-fitting bra that combines a firm, supportive band with good coverage at the bust, but the zip bra totally delivers. I love the wide band, and it fits my super-petite rib cage very well (my rib cage measures 27″ and I’m wearing an XS). I wear a small D cup, but the front coverage fully covers everything without cutting in. Take note it doesn’t have any slots for cups. Alala has added slots on some of their other bra styles, so I’m crossing my fingers they start doing that for everything, since I personally like a little extra coverage.
Since buying my first one, this bra style has become one of my go-to’s for workouts, and I’m sure I’ll get lots of use from this print, too. The support is medium to high, which is enough for the running, jumping, and lifting I do during CrossFit. It pretty much nails the magic sports bra combo of support, comfort, and style. And as Alala promises, the back zip really does help for taking it off!
Shop blueprint
Captain ankle tights | Everyday tee | Zip it up bra
Also wearing…
Blanket jacket in black | Flyweight tee in heather grey
Get 15% off your order by entering AA15 at checkout!
Love that everyday tee and still love that blanket jacket. Thanks for the review!!
You’re welcome! :) Btw, as I posted above, the blanket jacket is 40% off today only at Carbon38, code LAYER40. In case you’re interested!
These outfits look so great on you! I love the print- definitely urban! Everytime you wear the blanket jacket I love it more and more..one of these days I’m going to break and buy it!
I JUST got an email from Carbon38–you can get it for 40% off today!! If that’s enough to soften the blow, the code is LAYER40. :)
Okay, this post finally convinced me to give Alala a try. I ordered that Flyweight tee, the print Captain Ankle tights, and I decided to try the cutaway tank (looks like a great option for front squat day!). Thanks for the review and the discount code!
Also, I just placed an order on Montiel – not sure if you’ve tried that brand yet but they keep targeting me on Facebook so I thought I’d give it a try.
Nope, haven’t tried Montiel yet. I’ve been meaning to, but my activewear budget keeps getting funneled elsewhere. I’d be curious to hear what you think of them, too.
Verdict: The Montiel Teardrop bra in S fits me just like a FTB bra from Lululemon in a 4 or 6 – but I really like the straight vertical back straps, and it has bra cups. Definitely a keeper. I also got two of the Cowl Back Tanks (one size). These are SUPER cute for casual or gym wear, but the material is a really basic cotton (I was expecting something nicer for the price). The tanks fit me (a 4-6 in Lulu) like they fit the models on the site; anybody much smaller might be overwhelmed by the cowl, but I think it could work for up to a 10. I’d say it’s a win (especially with a coupon code), and I’m curious to see what other products they release!
Aw darn, sounds a bit like those tops wouldn’t fit me super-well. Maybe I’d have better luck with their bottoms. Thanks again for your feedback here!
Welcome to the dark side, haha. I hope you love what you got! I like the look of the cutaway tank but think it’d just be too big on me, so I haven’t tried it yet. Let me know what you think when you get them!
I LOVE the Flyweight tee but I’m going to return the Captain Ankle tights. Even though I’m 5’6, I still had issues with the seam across the knee (and that was just wearing them around the house for a few minutes). Bummer, but I did like the fabric and completely opaque. For the cutaway tank, it’s super cute – the material is nice and slick, and drapes nicely. The arm hole comes just low enough to show a peak of my bra, but isn’t too revealing. It’ll be great for front squat or push press days!
Hm, that’s interesting about the captain tights. Wouldn’t have expected the seam issue! Glad you were 2 for 3 at least. :) Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
Everything looks much better on you than on the model! The everyday tee has potential.
Now you make me really want the black chill tights. The only trouble is that S is no longer available. I wear most lulu bottoms in size 2 but size up to 4 if waist is cut tight. I have black grape TT in size 2. Do you think XS will be too tight in the waist for me?
I have the chill tight in black, and it’s true to size for me. Have you looked at whether Bandier or Revolve have them?
AA- You look fab in these pieces. I think the ankle tights seem to emphasize your toned legs in a very flattering way. alala needs to use you as an official model. I wish the zip up bra worked as well for me as you but sadly, it’s not enough support for me to do any higher impact than yoga.
What size do you have? What are your measurements? Mine are 25/26, 32/33. Thanks for helping out!
We restocked the chill tight in a size Small!
– team Alala
Thank you! :) Odd that your zip bra isn’t very supportive on you. I think it’s just as good or better than my energy bras, which are usually what I wear for crossfit.
Hmm.. My leaning is that you should go for the XS. For one, I think the S will be bigger than you want through the hips. For two, I think the waist fits pretty similar to the toasty techs, so if you have a 2 in those (like I do), you’ll be good in XS.
Oh my goodness, you look so cute in them!
Thank you. :)
Carbon38 has 40% off all outerwear, including the cute Alala Blanket Jacket you are wearing in this post! Code is LAYER40! Blanket Jacket comes out to being right around $147…
And the Poseidon Blanket Jacket only around $103…I couldn’t resist…
Fortunately my willpower held strong for that deal. :) I already have both blanket jackets so I was safe, haha.
These colors look great on you! The Zip It Up Bra is on my list.
Yeah you can find some really good deals on them in their end of season sale or on Revolve. :)
Do the alala bottoms have a gusset? thats definitely a deciding factor for me!
Yes, they use a triangle gusset.
how have your chill tights held up? i’ve been an alala fan since they first came out, but lately i’ve been having problems with loose threads, labels falling off, the gold drawsting-ends falling off, etc. my chill tights, which i bought in black at the beginning of the season and wore a lot but not in particularly tough environments, have a hole in the knee already. this is part of a larger trend that increasingly makes me (gasp) rethink alala, especially given prices.
ends of drawstrings have falling off my track pants and my flyweight top (two favorites) – and i wash them on delicate. though it is less of a big deal, it is also annoying that the alala label has fallen off of almost every item.
Oh that sucks. :( My chill tights are overall doing well. I wore my chill tights every day I was in Yosemite (black 2 days and pique 1 day) but I was carrying my camera bag on my left hip. The bag is slightly rough so it pilled the shiny side insert on both of my tights. It also pilled the same area on the lulu jacket I wore. :( No other issues with the pants though (I also have a pair of pants from a year earlier in the same material that are doing fine).
As for the other issues you mentioned, I probably have 25+ Alala items and I’ve had the gold label come loose on 2 or 3 of them (it’s still attached on one side so I’ll just have someone sew it back). I had one of the drawstring ends come off on a pair of pants when I was fidgeting with them, but I was able to slide it back on and use a tool to tighten it (no issues since). I have had loose threads on some items (both upon receipt and after wearing) but nothing’s actually unraveled. I do think they need to improve their quality control for sewing in particular, since that seems to be the most common complaint I hear. Anyway, I would suggest shooting them a quick email if you haven’t already. In my experience they’ve been responsive and friendly. And since they’re still fairly new, that kind of feedback is definitely important.
Hope that helps!! Sorry you’re having issues. :
i actually hesitate to write to their customer service precisely because it’s so good i feel like a jerk complaining. of course in this case they went above and beyond, yet again. i thought i’d throw on here the info i got, which is that they knew about some stitching issues and have already sorted it out with the factory so it seems that it shouldn’t be a concern for future purchases.
Thank you for the update!! I’m glad to hear something positive. I’ll have to keep a close eye on my new season goods to see if there’s a noticeable improvement like you said.