Yoga is a physical and spiritual practice for any age or experience level. But only women of a particular economic privilege and physical slimness can buy Lululemon Athletica yoga pants, the status symbol of yogis du jour.  Lululemon sells pants and tops in sizes 2 to 12 (US sizes). In short, size small is the word on the street. And this is exactly how Lululemon wants it. As company founder Chip Wilson explained to Bloomberg Television's Street Smart this week:  Quite frankly, some women's bodies just actually don't work for [Lululemon's yoga pants]. It's about the rubbing through the thighs and how much pressure is there.  His interviewer, Bloomberg's Trish Regan, asked if Wilson meant to imply "not every woman can wear a Lululemon yoga pant", which range in price from $82 to $118 on the website. Here, Wilson backpedaled. "No, I think they can," he replied. "I just think it's how they use them."  Let me translate from biz-speak: if your thighs rub together – meaning if they touch – you might be too plump for Lululemon pants. They might as well have a "thigh gap" measuring device in their stores. Only if a woman is slim enough to fit the sizing, she can "use" the pants – as in, you know, actually wear them during yoga practice. As Chip Wilson clearly explained, the problem is not the pants' sizing, but in the woman's body.  The average US woman's dress size is 14, according to the president of the lingerie line Frederick's of Hollywood (among other studies). That is not, however, a size Lululemon even offers. Over the summer, the company was accused by a former employee of hiding its larger sizes (10 and 12) in the back of the store. Elizabeth Licorish told the Huffington Post the Philadelphia Lululemon Athletica store where she worked intentionally only displayed smaller sizes on the floor. Customers in need of a bigger size had to ask – if they dared – for larger sizes to be personally retrieved from the back. "It was definitely discriminatory to those who wore larger sizes," she said.  This does not concern the company, of course. In response, Lululemon said their "target guest" is size 2 to 12 and larger sizes are not part of its "formula". It's not the only brand to do this – Abercrombie & Fitch got in similar trouble again this year for comments by its CEO saying the brand is only for cool, skinny kids.  Their "target guest," in other words, is an exclusive one. (Yes, we really are talking about "exclusivity" in terms of fabric that covers our sweaty rear ends.) The brand is an elite fitness status symbol for the skinny and wealthy set – both, not one or the other. Only an exclusive cadre of women can pull off a Herve Leger bandage dress on the red carpet without looking like a lumpy frosting tube, and it would seem that Lululemon ascribes to the same goal in the yoga studio. If you're thin enough and financially flush, congratulations! You're now a walking billboard for both Lululemon and your own success in life (and perhaps maybe even health – hey, remember health?).  As a curvy woman whose thighs touch, I probably could not fit into Lululemon yoga pants in their largest size of 12. But I have not bothered to try. I'm quite happy with my cotton Gap yoga pants (part of the Gap Body line). They not only cost significantly less than $118 while providing great quality, but it doesn't matter how I "use" them. Would you believe it? Yoga pants that can be worn by anyone, for any reason!  More importantly, I didn't finance a company which condescends to me because of my thighs. I don't want to join this club that wouldn't have me as a member, either. If you are not rail slim, Lululemon's CEO has spoken to you this week: spend your money elsewhere on yoga pants you can actually use.
Jessica Wakeman: The founder of Lululemon actually blamed fat women for ruining his yoga pants by rubbing their thighs together too much