Today we thought about fashion. Not fashion in and of itself, but what it means to feel like you look good doing whatever it is you are doing. Biking seems to be a somewhat grey area when it comes to looking good. We understand that while all the stretch Lycra and fluorescent colors have a distinctly utilitarian purpose, they have somehow come to also encompass the “Cycle Fashion”. Looking back through the history of cycling, we can see that as bicycles became faster and sleeker, so did the clothing. With the advent of tightly fitted synthetic materials, a loosening of morals about seeing the true bulges and bumps of the human body, and fluorescent dyes, a fashion was born from utility. I must admit that for years I have made fun of porky middle agers, not unlike my self, who jammed themselves into tight and garishly colored bike wear. However, after donning said gear, I can say the slipperiness and tucked in feeling does somehow seem to help. I can vouch for the necessity of the day-glo colors as most drivers spend a good deal of their commute in a fugue state and will unknowingly run a cyclist off of the road and never know it. Herein lies the crux of the problem. How can I look good while wearing not so aesthetically pleasing clothing that feels good to wear, in a utilitarian way, whilst cycling? Now, before any one gets upset about me disparaging Cycle Fashion, let me clarify that I feel like I look dumpy in Lycra and neon pink but pass no judgment on anyone else likes or fashion sensibilities. That being said, I want to start a revolution in Cycle Fashion, or at least find one that is already in full swing. I want to look great and feel great while doing something I enjoy. So , to this end I have started to do a little research on the history and current state of Cycle fashion. I started my search with these keywords in Google: vintage cycle fashion. I was not disappointed with the results; everything from Victorian to 70’s to current trends in one crazy collage. Here are a few of my favorites:
Granted, these styles look dated in their way but they have one thing in common, Style! Riders didn’t have to worry about cars nearly as much as we do today plus what cars were on the road were considerably slower and people were used to sharing the road with horses and pedestrians. It seems that all lot of the current Cycle Fashion revolves around a commercial advertisement style like on Nascar vehicles or endorsements for professional athletes. I am going to bring us into the 60’s and 70’s where we can see the first changes in the gear to reflect the new ‘Wonder’ fabrics that also invaded regular street clothes.
I love the idea of the retro gear from the 60s-70s, but I really love the older stuff for its lack of the commercial emblems. A suit made for riding bikes and looking great. I certainly can’t ride to a friends house and go out to dinner in my modern Lycra kit, assuming I wasn’t just because I was too sweaty from the ride, but the stuff isn’t comfortable to lounge about in once off the bike. I would love to have all cotton for summer and wool for winter. A stylish cut that serves utility and safety without compromise. Does it exist? I am having strange fantasies about Jodhpur pants and colorful handmade socks. A white cotton turtleneck with a tweed bolero style jacket…
Special thanks to all the website from which I lifted these various vintage cycling gear pictures. Some may be in the public domain and some may not. Please forgive if the latter is true.
http://www.wheelsuckers.co.uk/profiles/blogs/five-of-the-best-retro-cycling-jerseys
http://www.adventure-journal.com/2011/09/the-daily-bike-september-1-2011
http://musicbicycles.blogspot.com/2013/07/historic-cycle-racing-photographs.html
https://cyclingcaps.wordpress.com/2010/07/15/a-1970-tour-de-france-celebration-of-cap-wearing
http://www.oldbike.eu
*NOTE In the course of researching this post I found that there are several great companies making retro cycling gear:
http://www.solocc.com/index.php?route=product/category
http://www.rosasport.co.uk/cycling-products/clothing/wool-cycling-clothing
http://www.rapha.cc/us/en_US/shop/classic-jersey/product/CLJ03
Dear Kavin,
We are ecstatic that we were the inspiration for your first blog comment ever! We are so proud of your fledgling “commenting on blogs” career.
Good luck commenting on other blogs in the future!
The Boys
I must say that it was the direction that cycling fashion was going that prompted my into dumping my bike. Now that I read your article I wonder if I wasn’t being lazy. Who is to say that one can’t look good while wearing practical attire?