I really don't think bicycle commuter clothing is missing from the fashion world anymore. The cyclechic movement is going strong. Everyone from Kate Spade to Armani are coming out with bicycle outfits or using bikes on the runway. The cycle specific clothing (Swerv, Nau, Betabrand, Eva Franco, Brompton, Merrill, Levis, etc.) are all over the place.
My current favorite are the made-in-Wisconsin brown SPD dress shoes from Cyclelogical. At $250, they are certainly not cheap, but are on par pricing-wise for hand made MUSA shoes. I hope to review a pair as soon as they are available. As a bike geek, I like all this stuff if it is stylish and I like the idea of fashion designers thinking about end use as well as appearance. All that said, I don't really see the need for bicycle specific clothing for most urban commuters. If you ride a typical urban distance (7 miles or less) on an upright bike with platform pedals, fenders and a chainguard, you can ride in anything. I ride in regular jeans (I tried the Levis commuters and did not like them), vintage and new suits and ties, dress shoes or Pumas, etc. and don't have any trouble. I dress for my day or evening, not my mode of transportation. Yours in cycling, Dave Schlabowske Dir. of Communications Bicycle Federation of Wisconsin 414-431-1798 (desk) 414-736-2209 (mobile) www.bfw.org 3618 W. Pierce Street Milwaukee, WI 53215 On Thu, Apr 5, 2012 at 10:04 AM, Troy Thiel <[email protected]> wrote: > In Seattle for another day and was meeting with a fashion designer and > mentioned to him "Commuter clothing for cycling" is a missing niche in the > fashion world.....so many materials that are used in golf, cycling and > other jerseys could easily be adapted into making comfort wear that > works...hard to find suitable commuter wear! Maybe we should all band > together and form a company to provide! of course here in the Queen > City...you have to prep for rain! > > > > *From:* "STRAWSER, Charles" <[email protected]> > *To:* [email protected] > *Sent:* Thursday, April 5, 2012 9:02 AM > *Subject:* Re: [Bikies] bike commuter clothing from Levis > > Carhartt work pants cost up to twice as much (~$38) as the cheapest jeans > (~$20) at Farm and Fleet, but last at least twice as long. > And occasionally I can find my size on sale for the same price as the > cheapest jeans. It's why I'm often wearing pants of a strange color. > > They are often, but not always, made in the US. From Wikipedia: > http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carhartt > > Due to competition from other apparel manufacturers and pressure to drive > down prices, many of Carhartt's non-core apparel items have been > increasingly > outsourced abroad. Some countries where outsourcing is and has been done > are: > Honduras, Guatemala, Dominican Republic, China, and the Philippines. > [snip] > Carhartt continues to own and operate unionized cutting, sewing and > distribution centers in the United States and Mexico, and offers a > "Union-Made in USA" line of workwear through its retailers, but items like > T-shirts, knit caps (and even some lower priced items such as chore coats) > have been increasingly seen with labels from a foreign country, though most > feature American-made fabrics and components. Carhartt has stated that its > international suppliers must have Worldwide Responsible Apparel Production > certification. All the Mexico plants were required to meet Worldwide > Responsible Apparel Production (WRAP) certification. > > chuck > -----Original Message----- > From: [email protected] > [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Paul T. O'Leary > Sent: Wednesday, April 04, 2012 5:56 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [Bikies] bike commuter clothing from Levis > > On 2012/04/04 16:45, Robbie Webber wrote: > > Nice idea. What I really want is a pair of jeans that won't wear out > > in the crotch and thighs before the color is even faded. Or am I the > > only person that has that problem? I'm assuming it's from commuting by > bike. > > http://www.treehugger.com/sustainable-fashion/levis-introduces-spring- > > 2012-collection-urban-commuter-cyclists.html > > Gotta love how they gloss over (or slither under) the whole > country-of-origin > / treatment-of-workers / fair-trade / WTF-happened-to-the-economy > question(s) > by listing them all as "imported". > > -- > Paul T. O'Leary > Chronic Nuisance > Madison, WI USA > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org > > > > _______________________________________________ > Bikies mailing list > [email protected] > http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org > >
_______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://lists.danenet.org/listinfo.cgi/bikies-danenet.org
