Are LuLaRoe’s New ‘Americana’ Leggings Anti-American?

LuLaRoe customers and consultants are still upset that their favorite leggings “rip like wet toilet paper,” but now a new controversy has some riled up.

Ahead of Memorial Day, the apparel brand known for its multilevel marketing sales strategy released an “Americana Collection,” featuring T-shirts, dresses, and, of course, leggings in patriotic prints. In addition to United States flags, anchors, fireworks, and Popsicles were included as well.

The collection has divided LuLaRoe followers, some of whom say they love the new clothes, while others claim they’re among the ugliest they’ve seen from the company, which has made a name for itself, in part, because of its wild prints.

One such print that has some people particularly peeved is on a pair of leggings with a lone star and five stripes, a pattern that’s meant to be a take on the American flag. But some in LuLaRoe customer and consultant Facebook groups claim the print is un-American, going so far as to say it looks like the Liberian flag — which is also red, white, and blue, yet has one star and 11 stripes.

Some also pointed out the fact that the flag print was laid out upside-down. According to the United States legal flag code, “The flag should never be displayed with the union down, except as a signal of dire distress in instances of extreme danger to life or property.”

Christina Hinks, who runs the blog MommyGyver and frequently writes about LuLaRoe — often to highlight criticisms of the company — defended LuLaRoe’s Americana print on her blog, pointing out that there are lots of depictions of the American flag on clothing and that the style of the American flag itself has shifted over time.

“I don’t think it’s fair to say a company woefully printed the Liberian flag on its Americana leggings if that wasn’t the case,” Hinks, a former LuLaRoe consultant, tells Yahoo Style. “The print has received criticism, but Americana in its definition is, ‘pertaining to America.’ If you have an Americana collection, it’s safe to assume it’s the good ol’ red, white, and blue. It’s when the flag is been inverted into neon colors, or if “Americana” goes pastel, that’s not Americana. The flag is red, white, and blue, not peach, lime, green, or teal.”

In a statement to Yahoo Style, LulaRoe says it’s “proud of the LuLaRoe Americana Collection and these designs, which are intended to celebrate the American spirit.”

LuLaRoe, which generated $1.8 billion in wholesale sales from April 2016 to April 2017, according to the company, releases new collections periodically throughout the year. Most recently, LuLaRoe partnered with Disney to release a collection of items printed with Mickey and Minnie Mouse-inspired designs.

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Alexandra Mondalek is a writer for Yahoo Style + Beauty. Follow her on Twitter @amondalek.