A love story ❤️

Between me and my Lululemon leggings

I hope I’m not alone in saying I can be a bit too loyal to a brand sometimes.

The why behind my love for the Align leggings

One of my goals for this year is to be more disciplined with my yoga practice, and one of my boyfriend’s is to do a long-distance run. Since we’re now in the thick of winter, he’s been on the hunt for the perfect warm tights so he doesn’t have to freeze when he’s running around.

So when he was trying to decide what kind of jogging leggings to buy, I told him Lululemon was a strong contender, and I really would not shut up about Lululemon.

In my defense, I feel like people who have tried Lululemon, especially the Align leggings, will agree with me. It’s like nothing else I’ve ever tried — they are the softest, most buttery leggings in the world. They hug your body just right, and it feels like you’re wearing nothing — in the best way. And I know that I’m not the only one who feels this way. The Align leggings are so good they have their own reddit page.

But we all know that this brand craze phenomenon is not exclusive to Lululemon. Think Supreme, for example. So how is it that some us can be so loyal to certain brands?

Tell me who your friend is, and I’ll tell you who you are

We humans like to belong to groups, it helps us communicate who we are to other people. This is known as Social Identity Theory. Belonging to a group makes us feel like we are part of something. Brands do this very effectively. If you’re wearing a brand that is perceived as cool, or classy, then people are going to attribute that coolness or classiness to you.

Connecting with a community

When we associate ourselves with a certain brand, we also become part of a community. It’s a community of people with whom we share a love for the brand. This is essentially an extension of your identity. When you identify with something, you get attached to that idea. Think about the Apple vs Android phenomenon. An Apple user would be attached to their Apple community, in the sense that they would follow very closely every update Apple releases. Big fans of Apple might even feel very excited about tuning in to Apple’s famous launch events.

Getting to be involved

Social media has really changed the game for brands these days. By creating a platform where people can interact directly with each other, social media has opened a dialogue between brands and consumers. Think about brands like Starbucks, who have developed online crowd sourcing platforms which allow consumers to contribute creative ideas. The more you contribute, the more you’ll feel a sense of ownership over the brand.

This always makes me wonder if some personality types are more prone to being brand whores — for lack of a better word — than others. This was kind of the basis of my Master’s thesis — are people who score high on the Emotionality scale more likely to conform to others / follow trends? The results were mixed — but the standard of that study could have been much higher, to be fair. If someone has a more up to date study, please let me know!

Update: he’s since bought a pair of Patagonia leggings, and they look pretty good.

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