Suddenly, Every 17-Year-Old Has This Lululemon Key Chain
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The day 17-year-old Celine Zhu got her driver’s license, she drove herself to the nearest Lululemon in her corner of Southern California and bought a pink key chain — specifically, a chunky, dual-pouch wristlet that could fit her new car keys, Touchland hand sanitizer, and Pink SugarSummer Fridays Lip Butter Balm. “When I got into high school, I started seeing the juniors and seniors who were driving carrying these big key chains,” she says. Now that she’s a senior, she estimates 60 percent of the girls in her grade have bought the same Lululemon key chain for themselves, too. And it’s not just popular in Celine’s high school. It turns out the wristlet is making the rounds in Isabelle Ochoa’s preprofessional ballet program in New York, and both Addie Bradley, who lives in Omaha, and Romy Bergetz, a high-schooler in Chicago’s western suburbs, say all the girls in their friend groups have one — each in a different color. They’ve even reached ruralish northwest Alabama, where Raley Gaston, also 17, uses her wristlet to hold some cash and a gas card (and convinced her stepmom to buy one for her stepsister).
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Sure, it’s been a while since Lululemon’s leggings and sports bras were the status items of New York’s Pilates and spin classes — Alo, Adanola, and Splits59 have all posed serious competition — but in high schools from California to Alabama, it’s still “Lulu” (as the teens call it) at the top of holiday wish lists, on team uniforms, and, increasingly, in the school parking lot. “It’s not weird if you were to wear a full Lululemon outfit,” Illinois-based high-schooler Grace Reid says. The key chain, which was released almost two years ago, simply completes the ensemble. “When you see it, you know what brand it is,” Romy says.
The wristlet is available in an assortment of colors that changes seasonally; this fall’s lineup includesleopard printandfire-truck red. Still, almost every girl I spoke to owns a pink one. To personalize the key chains, some teens, like Addie and Celine, attach AirTags andbag charms. Celine even filmed a “build my key chain with me” video for TikTok in which she transforms hers into a “ball of pink” with a Jellycat dupe,Touchland case, and Lip Butter Balm with aspecial lid. In the six months since it went live, the video has gotten more than half a million views, and dozens of other high-schoolers have commented asking for links so they can customize their own key chains.
The wristlet isn’t the first Lululemon accessory to become buzzy. There was the popular belt bag (ourbest fanny pack for errands).Then there was theNever Lost Key Chain, which my college-age sister and her friends all own in different colors. Fans of the dual-pouch wristlet insist that beyond its trendiness, it’s a largely practical purchase, especially given the size. “I’m not really at the age where I really need a purse per se,” says Addie, who mainly needs something to hold her new driver’s license, debit card, and keys. “This is just something small and easy to put on my wrist and walk.”
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