Not a want, but a 'Thneed.' People think this new Lululemon dress is giving Dr. Seuss. Could it also be a recession indicator?

A new dress from Lululemon is stirring up controversy on the internet. People love it or hate it — but mostly, they think it looks like the brainchild of Dr. Seuss.

The subject of this discourse is the Lululemon 2-in-1 Maxi Dress, which retails for $148 on the athleisurewear brand’s website. At first glance, the dress — which currently comes in light ivory, brown, green and black — looks like your average strapless number. However, it’s called the 2-in-1 for a reason, because, per Lululemon, you can “convert this luxuriously soft and stretchy strapless dress into a flowy maxi skirt by rolling down the bodice.”

The dual function of this dress is what has some social media users calling it “the Thneed.” The term stems from the overconsumption-eschewing book The Lorax, by Dr. Seuss, and refers to the versatile piece of clothing knitted from the leaves of a Truffula Tree. It can be a hat! A dress! Whatever!

Social media was quick to jump on the reference. One TikToker shared a video of the dress with the caption, “Is this not a thneed omfg.” Another pulled a Mean Girls and called it the “ugliest f-ing skirt,” noting in the caption that it’s a Thneed.

A third TikToker who compared the dress to a Thneed also declared it the “ugliest” in a video. “Who is walking into Lululemon, trying that on and going ‘Wow, that looks really good, really cute, it’s a fit.’ Reveal yourselves.”

Still, some people on TikTok are loving their Thneed — err, Lululemon 2-in-1 Maxi Dress. One fan posted a video of herself wearing the dress and wrote that she “can’t comprehend” how it’s from Lululemon. And another said she was “literally obsessed” with the fit, which she showed off in white on her TikTok.

Could the Thneed be a recession indicator?

Yahoo reached out to Lululemon for comment on the reasoning behind its newly launched design but had not received a response by publication time. Still, the decision to introduce a versatile 2-in-1 piece comes at a moment of economic uncertainty. During a March investor call, CEO Calvin McDonald acknowledged that “consumers are spending less due to increased concerns about inflation and the economy.” With proposed tariffs threatening to raise the cost of consumer goods — particularly those made in Vietnam, the country which manufactures the most Lululemon’s products — price increases may soon follow.

And the 2-in-1 dress comes at a time when many people are pointing out fashion trends that indicate a downturn in the economy. In the mid 2000s, right around the time of the 2008 market crash, it was popular to have a look that could easily go from the office to the club — which, yes, meant that there were a lot of blazers and statement necklaces being worn while people got down to the latest Rihanna track.

As José Criales-Unzueta wrote for Vogue Business, the prevalence of peplum tops, tailored vests and slacks as clubwear “had much to do with the fact that, during and immediately after the recession, people were less willing to invest in clothes for different occasions and rather spent on a more versatile wardrobe.”

In other words, it was a whole wardrobe full of Thneeds.

At $148, Lululemon’s dress is hardly a bargain — but given its versatility, it could be an item that money-conscious buyers gravitate towards in lieu of, say, a single-purpose dress.

Of course, that’s only if customers think it’s cool first — and while the initial reviews online are thus far mixed, much like the company at the center of The Lorax, Lululemon has a proven track record of driving customers to consume.