I have been wanting to try out the Align tank for a LONG time now as I’ve heard many people rave about it. On top of that, a fitted V-neck silhouette is probably one of my favourite designs in a yoga top. However, if you take a look at the reviews on the lululemon website, you will notice that whilst there are many fans of this top, there is still a decent amount of people who have criticisms of it. Therefore, this sets the scene for an interesting review.

Summary

The Align Tank is part of the wider ‘Align’ Collection which started with the Align leggings and has now branched out to tops and bras. It has a flattering design, comfortable fabric and light support that carries you through your yoga practice. I personally struggled a bit with choosing the right size, but after testing it out over numerous yoga practices, I can confirm that this tank is a 'Yes' from me.

Pros

• Light to medium support
• Buttery soft, comfy fabric
• Flattering silhouette
• Cropped length works well with high waisted bottoms
  

Cons

• Sizing can be tricky to get right 

Material

The Lululemon Align tank is made from their Nulu™ fabric which they have coined as ‘buttery’ soft and weightless. The fabric has a matte appearance and the body is made up of 81% Nylon and 19% Lycra Elastane. It does indeed feel very soft and light to wear, but still seems substantial and not too delicate.

Appearance

Fit/Style

This tank is minimal in appearance and has a V-neck at the front and a U-shape neckline at the back. The cropped length sits just above the waist and works well with high waisted bottoms. I personally find this to be a flattering design as the fitted material around the torso accentuates the smallest part of my upper body as well as the V-neckline opening up the shoulder and chest area. 

Coverage

The Align tank provides a nice amount of coverage in the chest area. I can confidently say that despite the fact that it does show some cleavage when you bend over, you are still adequately covered and I haven’t had any instances of nip-slips whilst practicing yoga. This might not be your experience If you have a larger chest, although lululemon also makes Align tanks that are designed for C/D cups. 

Removable cups 

Carrying on from my points above, the standard Align Tank is designed for an A/B cup, although lululemon has specified that sizes 16-20 are for C/D cups. They are removable and sit within a shelf bra structure inside the tank. They provide adequate coverage and it’s nice to have the option to keep them in or remove them.

I go into the cups more below under ‘sizing’, however I noticed when trying on my regular size 6 that the cups looked lumpy whilst wearing the tank which is what made me choose to size up to an 8.

Colours/Patterns

Like many of the Align products, there is usually a wide range of different colours that this tank comes in. There are neutral colours like black, as well as more seasonal colours.

The tank I own (pictured) is in the colour ‘Lipgloss’ and I can’t help but feel that this was brought out for the recent Barbie movie!? Regardless, it’s a fun colour for a change, albeit not for the faint hearted!

Comfort

While wearing

I wasn’t sure how this top would fare, wearing it to practice yoga in, but I have found it to be very comfortable. I tend to pair it with my high waisted Align leggings or other high waisted leggings and it works well. 

Like the Align leggings, I would describe this tank as highly functional. The minimalist appearance (i.e. no zips or unnecessary seams) means that the fabric lies completely flat against your skin and doesn’t dig in or compress you in the wrong places. The soft and light fabric also means that you forget that you are wearing the top, and you can fully focus on your practice. 

The only thing I would mention, is that, like most cropped tanks, the bottom can ride up slightly in certain poses. This doesn’t bother me as that is the nature of a cropped design. It wouldn’t be possible to have a top that glued to your skin the whole time, especially in a dynamic yoga class where you are constantly twisting and bending in all directions. If you are someone who is self conscious of showing a bit of skin though, this might not be the right design for you. 

Support

Initially when I tried on the tank that I went for, I questioned whether it would feel supportive enough in the bust area, especially as I had sized up. However, I haven’t had any problems with this whilst practicing yoga. I haven’t felt the need to wear a bra under this tank. 

Breathable?

The Align fabric is designed to be sweat wicking and breathable and I have found this to be the case.

What type of activity is this best for?

I would wear this tank to all forms of yoga as it’s very soft and not too firm fitting on me. However, this might be a different story depending on what sizing you go for. If you stick to your usual size or you go for a firmer fit then you might not find it comfortable for a yin or restorative class where it’s best to be completely unrestricted. This would work better for more dynamic forms of yoga in that case. 

Sizing

This tank top is available in size 4 UK - size 24 UK which seems to be a bit more inclusive than many active wear brands. NB: All of the lululemon clothes are sold in US sizing, so check out the conversion chart to ensure you get the correct UK equivalent. 

I’m a size 10 UK and I usually wear a size 6 in lululemon tops. However, after hearing that these tanks are a smaller fit, I decided to order a size up (size 8) as well so that I could compare. To be honest, even though I had two sizes to choose from I was still confused about which one to go with. The size 6 felt more supportive and comfortably snug, however I felt as if it was slightly squashing my bust, and was giving a ‘flat’ affect that didn’t look as good. It also was making the bra pads look bumpy.

The size up, was less supportive and there is a bit more fabric gathering around my waist which I don’t like as much. However, the bust area looks better in this size. 

I would have preferred to keep the size 6, if only there was a bit more space in the bust area. Many customers in the lululemon reviews have complained that the Align tops are a tight fit and that they struggle to get the top over their head in their usual size. I can’t say that that was my experience, I certainly didn’t find the tops to be outrageously small and I would say that they are fairly true to size, albeit a bit smaller in the bust. 

If you are like me and unsure of your size in this style, I’d recommend trying both your usual size and the size up. Next time I will also try the Align tank in a C/D design, although unfortunately they don’t currently have a large selection of colours.

Quality

After washing

Lululemon recommend that you wash this garment on a cold wash with similar colours. I follow these instructions and put them in a delicates bag. To date, I haven’t had any problems washing this top. It holds its colour and structure well and dries relatively quickly. 

Durability

So far so good, although it would be remiss of me not to warn that the Align fabric (on the leggings) can be prone to pilling. I’m hoping that this will not be the case with the tank as there are less places for the fabric to rub up against itself. I’ll update this review if I notice any changes on this front. 

Price

£58, although I picked mine up from the ‘We made too much’ page for £34.

NB: For those who aren’t aware, this is the page of the lululemon website where they list their discounted products.