My Lorna Jane Malibu Personal Styling Session

My Lorna Jane Malibu Personal Styling Session

I recently had the opportunity to visit the Lorna Jane store in Malibu to try on their new fall pieces in my very own personal styling session. I was thrilled when Lorna Jane contacted me because I have been following their line for about a year now since they came to the U.S and opened up a store in Marina Del Rey last Fall. I also follow them on Instagram and find their mantra “Move. Nourish. Believe.” to be super inspiring. I even posted a video from them last year on How to Make Almond Milk. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the brand, Lorna Jane is a very popular women’s activewear line based in Australia. They recently expanded to the U.S. and have been opening up stores all over Southern California. They are female only (woo!) and have stores across Southern California in Manhattan Beach, Marina Del Rey, Santa Monica, and Malibu just to name a few.

My personal styling session was scheduled at the Lorna Jane Malibu store which is located in the Cross Creek shopping center. I used to surf across the street at Surfrider Beach all the time so it was fun driving back out that way to posh Malibu. I was greeted at the store by Krissy and Miranda, the two lovely ladies who helped me out. They asked me what types of activities I do and I told them I love it all but currently into running, soccer, yoga, swimming, surfing, and paddle boarding. They had me look around the store to see what I liked and then they began picking out all sorts of different types of outfits to try on. This wasn’t just your typical shirt and shorts type of outfit. They had me try on bottoms and tops complete with matching sports bras and long sleeve jackets. So much fun!

The first outfit i tried on was a run inspired outfit with a purple sleeveless vest. I absolutely loved the run vest and wanted to try it on immediately. Here’s a picture:

I really liked the run vest because it’s so different from everything else I have in my active wardrobe. And so much fun!

The next outfit I tried on was their signature pant with a pink tank top. I liked this outfit a lot too. Uh oh, I think this is going to be trouble!

Then I tried on a running outfit with these super fun run shorts, a red tank, and this fun long sleeve zip up. I REALLY loved this outfit:

And then I tried on this outfit, a really fun pair of pants with pink stitching and a really comfortable long sleeve zip up. At this point I decided to get fun with my pictures and pose with a hula hoop because I’m cool like that:

Then I decided to take off the jacket and pose with the bicycle:

And then I tried on another pair of pants and matched them with a hoodie. Wow, this hoodie was so comfortable and flattering LOVE.

And then I tried on this fun outfit with a blue vest:

The girls at the Lorna Jane store were really wonderful and told me when things looked good on me and when they didn’t. I really appreciated their honesty and it made me feel a lot more comfortable in picking the different outfits they liked for me. I actually tried on a lot more than what is shown above. These are just the highlights!

After I tried on each outfit, everything was sorted into a Yes, No, and Maybe pile. This is how big my yes pile was. This was going to be a problem!

Decisions, Decisions.

As part of the styling opportunity with Lorna Jane, I was able to pick two tops, two bottoms, and a sports bra on the house. SO AWESOME. I was ecstatic. But I also had some big decisions to make. With all the items I liked, which should I choose?

So, What Did I Get? 

I sat sorting through the pile for at least 15-20 minutes trying to figure out what to get. The girls at the Lorna Jane store were very sweet and offered me a 20% discount off any additional items I decided to purchase outside of the five gratis items. I had a really hard time choosing because everything was so great and I loved it so much! Here is what I ended up with:

• Purple Sleeveless Vest
• White Sports Bra
• Capri Pants with Blue Stitching
• Blue Sleeveless Mesh Top
• Red / Yellow Shorts
• Red Tank Top
• Red Zip Up (non hooded one)
• Black Pant

Originally I had purchased the coral top for underneath the running vest and the purple shorts as some of my additional pieces but I decided to return them. I figured I could easily do that because I purchased the items (they weren’t the ones I got for free) and I hadn’t worn them yet. I was quite surprised when I went to return them only to learn that there are no returns for any merchandise – only store credit or exchange within 7 days. As a consumer, I am used to return policies where I can return a purchase within a reasonable amount of time. I can understand sales items being final, but I was a bit surprised to see Lorna Jane’s return policy be so stringent with such premium items. I buy a lot of my clothing online and knowing that I can return the items if they don’t work out is what gives me peace of mind when I purchase. Without that, I’m not sure I would.

I reached out to my contact at Lorna Jane who told me the Lorna Jane return policy is this way because they are from Australia and that is the standard return policy there. He was very nice and arranged for me to be able to return the items I decided I did not want, and I was very thankful for that. I did tell him that I hope I could help to be an advocate to get this changed. After all, not everyone is able to know someone in the company and get their clothing returned like I was able to do. I think their clothing is seriously great and I think they are going to kick some serious bootie here in the US, but I do think a strict return policy like that could deter women from trying out their product. Fortunately, their online policy is not as strict as their in-store policy and they do offer full refunds and exchanges on items purchased within 21 days which is great! You can read more about their Online Return policy here.

Now, if you read the above and are interested in shopping at Lorna Jane online, I am happy to offer a 20% Lorna Jane Discount Code to my readers. Just use the code “FitandAwesome” at Checkout and you will receive 20% off your purchase. Thanks to the folks at Lorna Jane for setting that up.

Overall the styling session was such a fun experience. I loved the girls who helped me out and I had such a blast trying on so many different outfits. I don’t think I’ve ever tried on that many outfits in my life and I had a blast. I wish I could do this for every season of the year. I’d be looking sharp!

Me and all my sweet new workout gear.

What about you? How often do you shop for workout clothes? Which of the outfits I tried on did you like the best? Does a strict return policy influence your purchasing decisions? Post in the comments and let me know!

**Disclosure: As mentioned above, I did receive free product from Lorna Jane. I also purchased additional products because I loved them. The end.**