I hate running, and I hate the cold. In Cambridge, MA, it requires a miracle to get me outside – the Lululemon Define Jacket is that miracle.
The Define Jacket, featured as both a “running” and a “to-and-from” item on the Lululemon website, provides warmth and comfort for running or any outdoor activity. The fitted jacket includes thumbholes for added warmth, a feature that athletic companies like Nike and Athleta have adopted to keep athletes warm and avoid long-sleeve shirts and sweaters from ridding up. This trend can be seen mostly in active wear after 2010. With the Define Jacket, Lululemon takes this innovation even further, adding the company’s trademarked “Cuffins.”
Lululemon describes Cuffins as “fold-over finger covers.” The feature provides extra warmth and helps to improve circulation, even in a fitted jacket that feels weightless during an outdoor run. Cuffins is a modern design, trademarked by Lululemon in 2015, and only featured in products like the Define Jacket and the company’s Rush Hour Long Sleeve top. Lululemon’s Cuffins are a modern active wear design, but they follow in the footsteps of countless sportswear innovations. Active sportswear’s prominence emerged in the late 1900’s as one of the only fashion categories considered distinctly American. Its rise came with an overall increase in leisure time and consequent rise in leisurely athletics. Since, active sportswear has continued to prevail in America, with innovations like Cuffins constantly appearing on the market.
