Like many, I don't understand the fashion industry, which is not to say that I care nothing about fashion. It is a sort of visual art and a form of communication that can't be ignored. But the industry built around it seems so profoundly absurd as to be a parody of itself.
A fashion blog in the New York Times declares that one reason people don't bike to work is for lack of stylish biking clothes.
A perhaps more superficial, though still important, consideration is figuring out something to wear....
“We have to make bicycling fun and elegant, which it is not yet in New York,” said Renaud Dutreil, the chairman of the North American arm of the luxury goods conglomerate LVMHClearly what we need is LVMH Moët Hennessy • Louis Vuitton S.A. offering us Louis Vuitton handlebar bags and Gucci saddles and Tag Heuer cyclo-computers and Givenchy toe clip straps. Yes; those brands and dozens of others are all part of the LVMH luxury conglomerate.
But I digress; the piece is actually about the “Bike in Style Challenge.” This is apparently a fashion show sponsored by LVMH and others that's geared toward bike wear. There is an audio slide show of the results here.
I suppose it's good to see urban cycling receiving this sort of attention. On the other hand, it's also somehow disturbing to see the ludicrous branding and empty labels of the fashion industry slapped onto bike wear.
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58 comments:
As if there isn't enough ludicrous branding and empty labels on bike wear (and in the entire bike world) already.
Funny, I'm wearing my comfortable, stylish cycling pants as I write. They're called "jeans."
Andrew in DC
For a less parodying version of this topic than the industry's attempt, give a glance to this blog>
http://chiccyclist.blogspot.com/
I would argue there are plenty of well-looking options available. Heck! You can even buy wool and tweed suit knickers with knee socks at a few online sources. I have always thought, though, that dressing too specifically for your bike became equally a parody... akin to getting in your car with eye goggles and a leather cap. 95% of clothing can be safely worn on a bike. The rest requires a few biking accessories (many of which VO kindly provides for sale). I would argue fashion on a bike is backwards, although acceptable. Building bikes that seamlessly allow one to ride in any clothing---including high fashion---is more reasonable. This, by turn, is largely an unfortunate misconception rather than an impossibility.
it is interesting that people need clothing "specifically designed for cycling" to be stylish on a bike.
I think perhaps the people in question want to make sure everyone knows they are riding a bike because it is hip/stylish...
perhapsp they think everyone else on bikes are homeless/crazy/poor/lower class etc.
Andrew (in sacramento!)
Somebody needs to send the NYT reporter a link to Wallbike.
Gilles Berthoud and Watanabe
are finer quality than 'luxury' brands.
Scott G.
the fashion industry should be promotting the following, in my opinion: ride in your regular work clothes unless it's raining.
leave 20-30 per cent earlier and take your time to avoid the big sweat.
Fit your bike with mudguards and put some pantsguards around your ankles or roll up the cuffs. add a helmet and reflective whatevers and be ready to yell "lookout!!" for whenever the first car driver tries to kill you.
no need for fancy clothing in normal weather. rain and snow complicate matters, a bit but not too much.
Allan
this seems backwards to me since there is an entire fixed gear/bike messenger aesthetic that is starting to permeate mainstream culture; aerospokes, neon deep-v rims that match your nikes and fitted caps, etc. i think the fashion industry is way behind on this one. a berthoud bag is a much more flashy piece of bike bling than name gucci toe clips (isnt campy already name brand?). surreal article!
Most thrift stores have a wide range of fashionable clothes for a whole lot less than what VL will steal from you.
And what about these dapper lads and lasses:
http://sftweed.com/
Next ride is tomorrow, in Oakland.
Urgh. The second place winner has a bag that holds your "tire levels." This project is about people who never ride a bike designing clothes for people who think they would ride a bike if they had the right outfit. The same people who pick out the bike that looks best on their car's roof rack.
It's easy for puristi like us to gang up on the shallow ideals of the fashion industry. But if we really want to see more people on bikes, I would say bring it on. You don't want bike riding to be the province of dumpy unsexy guys in old ratty clothes. Racing gear is widely available, but is really silly for most biking applications. I really don't have any problem with the idea of trying to come up with some more dapper bike togs. In the closet I have tons of old racing stuff, and then just normal street clothes -- it wouldn't be crazy to have something that was in between the two, if it wasn't affected and dorky.
My $.02.
In countries were a large segment of the population rides bikes as transportation, bike clothes, like car clothes are just what you happen to be wearing when you get on the bike.
Of course they don't ride racing or mountain bikes. They ride street clothes, grocery bag and child on board friendly bicycles.
In a lot of ways it's no different than people wearing specific outfits for playing tennis, running, cross country skiing and most other endeavors. Yet, what do we buy and wear? Ridiculous as it may be, if somehow it gets people on a bike, I see that as a good thing. These same people may discover they enjoy biking apart from the fashion statement.
Let those of us who do not own a pair of padded shorts cast the first stone.
I don't want to see more people on bikes. I like it just the way it is, a niche activity. I commute sometimes, but like most folks, it's an escape, more smiles per hour than anything else. I wear lycra in to anywhere I'd normally go-what's the big deal?
IMHO, fewer numbers are better.
I will never forget the woman I saw, years ago, riding her Herse Mixte along Manhattan's gold coast in her Chanel (at least, it looked like a Chanel) suit and kitten-heel slingbacks. All I could think was, "I want to be her when I grow up!"
Greetings,
Just when I was beginning to feel good about myself, you've ruined my id, or is it ego, or superego? Well, I not sure what to wear when cycling anymore. Shame on you.
Hi Chris,
I can't imagine paying a premium for luxury biking clothes. Good post.
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Say what you will about the styles, that envelope bag is pretty brilliant- that's a nice alternative to a messenger bag, designed for the needs of a commuter, not a freight-hauler. There's some smart thinking there. I may have to steal her ideas...
as cool as the leather and canvas bags are, not everyone wants to look as though they're in the pages of a french cyclotouring mag, circa 1955.
(full disclosure- I like leather and canvas and have a VO handlebar bag)
In fact, I found the top two contestants' ideas functional and attractive, with good design integrated with inexpensive high performance fabrics and conscious style. All of these could be produced in the Far East for very little and sold at popular prices. Chris, this is your big chance: it's time for VO Apparel! Velo Orange enters the rag trade.
Steve in Ames
Steve, I've long harbored a secret ambition to start an outdoor clothing company, to be the next Doug Tompkins or Yvon Chouinard. Please don't encourage me. I am a serial entrepreneur on the 12-step program.
I am surprised no one mentioned Rapha and their suit project with regard to excessive luxury:
http://rapha.cc/timothy-everest-and-rapha-threepiece-cycling-suit
Timothy Everest & Rapha Cycling Suit
or more realistically, the http://acontinuouslean.com/2009/01/27/london-the-tweed-run/
Tweed Run
My little company is not threat to Gucci, but is certainly on-topic here. Bicycle Fixation tries to make clothes that are bicycle-friendly but still stylish (I've ridden fixed-gear centuries in my own) and let people ride the longer distances that are part of the American landscape in comfort in most weathers, while not looking too outlandish.
I used to ride in jeans; they are not practical for really long distances; nor, for that matter, are jeans any more practical than spandex for a lot of destinations you might go to as a transportational cyclists. (Work, nice restaurant, your fussy aunt's house, etc.)
I blame my wife Gina for getting me mired in all this as a result of her efforts to hide my inner Neanderthal, but apparently a lot of folks were looking for something like our line, 'cuz they keep buying them--and a lot of them are V-O customers who also enjoy the needless elegance of Chris's (and Grant's, and Bruce's, and Brian's) bikes, bags, racks, and whatever.
It's all right to look good, says Gina. (Okay, she says it's imperative!)
If I can be forgiven a plug, you can see the stuff we've designed at Bicycle Fixation.
I kind of struggle with this. Trundling along in my jeans and t-shirt, I often inwardly sneer at the extreme togs worn by those on what probably is less than a 10 or 20 mile commute.
Poseur's, all, mindless sheep in thrall to skillful, amoral marketers.
But then I get nagging doubts about my sensible ride. The hours spent on ebay hunting down the right vintage part. The dogged determination to stick with loose ball bottom brackets. What's with all that shellac? And let's not even start on vintage saddle travails.
This forces me to grudgingly acknowledge that maybe there is a little more going on than simply an admirable embrace of economical utilitarianism and mechanical simplicity.
So, with apologies to the Bard, every cycle is a stage, each rider merely a player.
Ultimately, the kids are alright, even if they want to dress up a little. At least they are riding.
As ridiculous as the fashion world might be, it's good to see them get involved in the market. I once noted in a local news post I wrote that my experience has been that americans view cycles in three ways: children's toys, exotic "things" fitness fanatics play with and transportation of last resort for the impoverished. Most people don't want to dress up like a fitness fanatic in bike branded lycra (and I don't want to look at them either) and they don't want to be caught going to the bank, office or store without their "stylish" auto for fear of what others think.
If cycling appeared more chic to more people than more people would ride, and we'd all be better off.
We all know there are lots of options, but we are obviously not the mainstream and doesn't hurt to have more options.
Also, I kinda liked the "cape."
The obsession with the idea of cycling in the media, on the internet and among some sectors of the public is getting tedious. Instead of obsessing with it, I just ride my road bike, same as I always have. I just wear whatever clothes are appropriate for the weather or for my destination. For most of my recreational and exercise rides, that usually ends up being some shorts and a long-sleeved shirt (I need some extra protection against sun). And if the shirt flaps in the wind, so be it. I've ridden long distances like that, day after day, with no problem at all.
I ride my road bike with the steering geometry it came with, and I've never measured it. Whatever riding idiosyncrasies it has, I just ride it and adapt to it, whether I'm going slow or fast, on flats, uphill or downhill.
I don't own the right tires, the right bags or racks, the right tools, the right pedals, the right pump, the right bell, the right lights, and certainly not the right clothing, but I've managed Ok riding like that for quite some time.
Young people and older newbies to cycling would do well to learn how to distinguish between real needs and those that are drummed into them by the consumerist society.
Be your own man or woman, for god's sake.
P.S. That's not to say that Velo Orange doesn't sell some really nice stuff, and I have to say that I love any company that loves lugged steel frames, no matter what specific style they emulate. It's not a matter of style, just habit I suppose...
I have been waiting for someone to make Rapha-esque cycling clothes (at least as far as the classic style, perhaps with less of the frou-frou styling) at industry standard prices. Seems like a niche that there's a lot of demand for.
A neighbor of mine told me stories of young Japanese girls riding their bikes in a drizzle, wearing mini skirts and high heels, and somehow talking on the cell phone while holding an umbrella open. Do we want this kind of chic road hazard on our streets? No freakin' way!!!
I say bring on the Japanese bicycling in mini skirts and high heels!
Of course, I have an ulterior motive, apart from wanting to see bicycling become more mainstream in america...
Greetings,
The door is opening, the times are achangin' and YOUR time is here. The "Velo Orange Cyclotouriste Clothing Line" is in sight. This opportunity will most likely not come again.
Your clothing for the cyclotouriste, daily realistic and normal commutor, and the mom and pop weekend adventurer, not to mention the casual food gatherer presents a need and will undoubtedly be successful. I will defininitely be interested in buying stock in the company. Please, Please, Please, make the offering public.
And one last thing, I want a pair of the all leather lace up retro cycling shoes
Good luck and keep in touch. My personal investor is standing by, I'm standing by, and operators are standing by!
Chouinard has managed to maintain some sense of it's roots at Patagonia. On the other hand, The North Face's products seem over priced and over hyped by comparison. The difference is likely due to Chouinard maintaining ownership while Tompkins sold out many years ago.
Chris, I'd say start a clothing company. Of course that's easy for me to say. Find a niche that you can build upon. Smartwool started simply by making better socks. Ibex and Icebreaker fashion merino wool into attractive garments that take a great deal of bite out of Minnesota winters. Their lineup of clothing options continues to expand. Bicycle fixation used to sell one model of knickers, now they sell several.
You've got a great eye for style, go for it. By the way, I'm in search for the perfect anorak; 3 layer event, unlined, snap flap over the zipper, chest pocket, kangaroo pocket with handwarmers behind, waist drawcord, hip drawcord, minimal velcro.........
Responding to Keithwalker's link to the Tweed Ride in the London: While it appears the event was rather tongue in cheek, assuming one rides in a usually damp and cool climate, tweed is one of those rare materials that is at once robust enough to hold up in almost all riding conditions without making the wearer look like a wanna-be athlete. Too bad no one has come up with something that works as well in warmer conditions.
For the most part I am with David NJ on this. I want to see more commuting and getting around town done by bike. Addressing the casual cyclists' concerns that doing so does not mean wearing what certainly looks like a rubber suit to me.
Kilroy wrote: "And one last thing, I want a pair of the all leather lace up retro cycling shoes"
I second that! I don't know why it hasn't ocurred to me to bring that up. A traditional leather touring shoe is nearly impossible to find. I know all the trouble with selling shoes by mail, but man, if you could find a shoe factory somewhere that could make a classic-style lace-up touring shoe, that would be awesome. I will buy several pairs if you make it in size 13!
Vittoria, Quoc Pham and Dromarti are making traditional leather shoes but no one is making these sorts of shoes in wide sizings. Something that would work with clips and straps, SPD or platform pedals in American sizes would be nice.
My beef is not about people buying stuff they want, it's about the excessive fashion and brand consciousness and the superficiality of all this which is completely unrelated to cycling function.
Unlike others who have commented, I don't like to see cycling being popularized as a fashion accessory. These may be people on bikes (usually all over the sidewalk, going the wrong way, etc.), but they aren't cyclists. It's too superficial, and it won't last. In the meantime, both the high-fashion and the anarchy on bikes people give all real cyclists a bad name.
Cycling is not about Japanese or Danish girls in high heels, unless you're an overly-hormoned teenaged guy.
If A VL or Hermes saddle cover, grips and chainguard get more people to leave their car at home and tool around town on a bike, I'm all for it. Who cares what people spend their money (and how much) on? Velo Orange will still be it's own brand, and there will be tons cheaper alternatives for all the anti brand grouches (who look for branding as ques to quality and social branding anyway).
Cycling as transportation and mere conveyance is now more popular than it was 10 years ago. There's nothing wrong with how we got there, and how to further expand that. Making it a cool kids club is short changing all our efforts, and potentially thwarting a sea change in our nations attitudes towards climate change. Even anarchists, libertarians and socialists can agree with middle class housewives going to Whole Paycheck on their Pashley.
The problem is cycling is considered a special activity practiced by 'cyclists' who need special cycling clothes or indigents and children who can't afford proper transport. When just like with cars, any idiot can get in or on their vehicle and drive without driving on the sidewalk or going the wrong way and is expected to more or less respect traffic laws when piloting a traffic vehicle -we will be much better off.
We are also likely to have a lot more Japanese, Danish and every other variety of girls in high heels on bicycles. Which would be a sure sign of great progress.
Bring on the LV Moet Chandon Mont Blanc (seriously, ever compare MB's guarantee to Cross or Parker's?) Burberry Gucci Vogue-Funding Fashionistas. They'll find the territory has already been colonized by Rapha.
But seriously, rode to work today in grubby cross-trainers, faded black cotton twill shorts (no chamois or chamois clone), a duofold long sleeve wicking poly T shirt and a very thin GAP 1/4 zip pullover.
A truly civilized destination would and should have a place to change, be it ever so humble as the storage room/transformer closet. Although I do keep the work shoes at work.
Greetings,
By the way, I neglected to mention I want those lace up, ALL leather cycling shoes in a dark brown. 11 1/2 wide, men's, of course. No rush, but I'm waiting. Like the shoes on the ALEX SINGER website.
speaking of bike fashion, this was posted by @twwilliams via twitter today:
http://www.rocketfuel.net.au/ladies.html
As per my previous message: Now you know why I got rid of all of my bike-specific clothes, except for gloves, last year. At my age, I feel pretty silly wearing the sort of spandex outfits worn by the sorts of riders who want to emulate--in terms of fashion, anyway--TdF cyclists. Much as I love some of those guys, why would I want to be mistaken for one of them?
this is about the closest I've found to a leather touring shoe. It can take a spd cleat, but the sole works with regular pedals too. It has gotten good reviews in the UK. I haven't seen it in the US yet.
http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/cycle/7/Exustar_Stelvio_SP705_Touring_Shoes_2009/5360042497/
best,
michael white
This story sure is making the rounds around cycling blogs, anyway.
Sometimes I think that much of this kind of stuff is really more of an internet fantasy world than it is real life.
Do people who ride really care about that? It's kind of like the outfits on fashion show runways. Nice show, but real people with real lives, real responsibilities, people to care for, etc., don't buy those clothes.
Of course you can wear regular office clothes (cotton/wool) when you ride, as long as you SLOW down!
Michael,
That Exustar Stelvio is nice, but the other Exustar model, the "Office Commuter", looks even closer to the classic style. It still has a rubber sole, but it is thinner and looks better. Of course, they need to get rid of the big white Exustar brand.
Bravo, bravo for these efforts to create comfortable weather-proof options for commuting. Whatever gets people on bikes and feeling dry/warm/cool as needed works for me.
I was particularly pleased to see them playing with the traditional bike cape. There is not much available in the way of thisonce popular garment. My shower-curtain version is certainly workable, but I recognize it would benefit from some design tweaks from a better clothing mind than mine.
Not much difference finally between obsessing about bike frame aesthetics and riding-kit aesthetics. Certainly most of what these young designers propose would make long commutes in Canadian weather less intimidating to the as-yet-uncommitted commuters.
i have a serious question: has ANYONE found a pair of stylish jeans that don't tear apart at the crotch after a few months? i commute 20+ miles a day, always in street clothes, but @(*&# jeans start tearing right away. i am not willing to pay for breathable jerseys, wool gloves or any rapha bullshit. but i would definitely be happy to pay a large sum for skinny jeans (yes, kill me) that are really strong in the crotch.
People are so used to living within a consumerist culture that they don't even recognize the silliness anymore.
You may need specific cycling clothing for sport cycling... like many of us do. You know, we go for speed or distance or both, we sweat, we fix flats, etc. We also ride in a position such that ordinary, every day clothing might not be very comfortable. People who commute by bicycle might need cycling-specific clothing too if they have to go far enough.
But you don't need special cycling clothes whatsoever for the kind of urban bike culture which is being promoted these days. They didn't need it 100 years ago, and we don't need it now. You can wear anything you have in your closet, whatever is appropriate for the weather. It follows that if you want to do your urban culture riding in style, you can just wear the stylish clothes you already have. Having "fashion" cycling-specific clothing adds absolutely nothing in the context of urban cycling.
Sure, I support entrepreneurship and commercialism that provides a needed service or product, but I don't feel compelled at all to support those who flog uneeded, useless products, and I don't at all like the flawed idea behind it, which is that riding a bike around town for other than sporting purposes requires special clothing... and I don't think it's useful to convince newbie bike culture cyclists that they do.
Anonymous:
100 years ago? When bicycles were changing fashion (especially women's fashion) as people adapted clothing styles (which were very little different for men from what we have now) to the bicycle?
A couple of pictures from 1885 or so shows cycling-specific knickers and ahts here, and our Bicycle Fixation Classic knickers were styled after cycling-specific non-racing clothes in England in the 1930s and 1940s.
Some of my "commutes" here in LA (to work meetings, to relatives' houses, to lunch with a pal) are twenty miles one way. Why I should be condemned to racing togs for those rides, and look nice only for short neighborhood spins?
Sure, if you live in a village, no problem. But US cities are big, and so are some European ones--I sell a lot of knickers to Londoners, whose riding is the sort "which is being promoted these days."
No, such clothes are not a "requirement," any more than anything other than a welded gaspipe singlespeed is a "requirement" for most utility cycling. But if light, breathable, versatile clothing is also stylish, and not horribly expensive, what is so terribly wrong with that?
I know I've got a dog in this fight, since I and my colleagues/competitors make and sell designs that fall into the category, but I gotta ask: what's so wrong about dressing yourself as nicely as you dress your bike?
I agree with Rick R. I have no vested interest in the clothing industry, but there is no reason not to dress well. Sure the obsession with "name" brands can be just plain stupid, but does it do the sport any good to look like slobs? I was riding through Kalamazoo today and the riders I saw on the trail were riding nice urban bikes with varieties of baskets and bags for Saturday errands and each rider was wearing sloppy shorts and well worn t-shirts, not lycra. I was the only rider I saw on the road who even had a collar on his shirt. Not that I was dressed stylish, but twill shorts and a sport shirt are more attractive than cutoffs and a worn-out T-shirt. After all we sweat and get dirty playing tennis and golf, but still manage to wear attractive clothing, why not bicycling? I think the whole lycra thing is a ship sailing over the horizon. After all, most people don't look that great naked and lycra is our best chance to not look good in public.
Marc, you are kidding right ? If not, you must iron your underwear.
I stop by this blog every month or so-personal interest in cycling has mostly faded-It's amazing how much effort is expended on parts/clothes/doodads. While moving house this spring I gave away a huge pile of old campy and other bike boom stuff to a friend. I was very upset for a few weeks, but now I feel like my mind has lost a huge burden. I have come to almost envy the oblivious masses of sqeaky-chained huffy riders that pass my house; enjoying a bike without all the marketing is a nice principle(though I'd hate to rely on one for getting to work).
"But if light, breathable, versatile clothing is also stylish, and not horribly expensive, what is so terribly wrong with that?"
Well, first of all, it *is* horribly expensive. Second, breathable, versatile cycling attire already exists. If you don't want the road racer lycra look, there is already plenty of less racy, functional clothing available in the bike shops - and it's not unattractive either.
I suspect that much of this kind of stuff is being promoted or argued about by people who actually don't ride bikes very much, or else they would know what it takes to regularly ride 20 miles in reasonable comfort.
No Lauren, I am not kidding and I do own an iron--to wax my skis. But yesterday I went to the Post Office, bank, visited two stores at the mall, rode crosstown to visit the local Greek Fest, a wine shop, met a friend for lunch at Applebee's, and stopped at a grocery store on the way home. I am
sure I clocked more than 25 miles, do it on a regular basis, and doubt that anybody would have guessed I was cycling if they didn't see me getting on or off. My point is that you don't have to lock like a serial jock to enjoy cycling.
Riding naked is against the law. Otherwise, it is whatever-I-can-get- my-hands-on style for me :)
Several years ago, I saw a middle-aged guy on a weekend "tour" (most of the riders took it as a race) who was dressed entirely in pink lycra. He was pear-shaped and wore click-in shoes. My eyes are still burning.
Yes, high fashion styles in bike clothing are silly to most of us, but whatever advances bicycles in the public mind is good in my opinion.
I really don't see this style emphasis for bicycle clothing as somehow effete or ludicrous. Think about the Rapha line, does anyone seriously presume to think that those products are not fashion conscious? Is anyone really going to spend $200.00 US for a pair of goatskin gloves that doesn't find the style aspect appealing? Give me a break...
Bike clothing that you would be happy to wear around town being made by a few determined designers around the country. My favorite so far is Swrve Cycing. I have a pair of their cold weather riding pants, their jeans, and a pair of their WWR knickers. I bike every day around new york city, and I wear one of them almost every day. Their pants are functionally slim fitting but not tight, somewhat stretchy but not lycra, and it is possible to go for a two hour ride and then straight on to dinner without anyone knowing you're wearing bike clothes. Brilliant. I recommend them highly.
http://www.swrvecycling.com/
Just a follow up real world note. I just had a happy hour meet with a woman I had only known through e-mail and phone calls. She "knew" I am a cyclist and it was beautiful day so I didn't think it would be a surprise that I rode to meet her. I was dressed as I normally do for city riding, in a pair of twill shorts and a common brand "polo" shirt. She had no idea I had ridden my bike (more than 8 miles each way) until I mentioned it. When we were leaving she pointed to a harley outside the door and asked if it was mine. When I pointed out my bike she said she thought I needed "special tights for that."
It is interesting. speaking of bike fashion nice.
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