Thursday, August 9, 2012

DRESS FOR THE JOB YOU WANT, NOT THE JOB YOU HAVE: When I go to the gym, I see people wearing all kinds of clothing. Not different people wearing all kinds of clothing, but each person wearing all kinds of clothing. One woman might have Asics shoes, Lululemon pants, and a Nike top. I might (and do) wear Nike shoes, Adidas shorts, and a ratty t-shirt. Mix and (mis)match seems to be the rule, and it doesn't seem odd at all. So why are cyclists so fussy about matching? Would you just die if your Capo jersey didn't match your Castelli bibs? If your top said Garmin but your butt said Rabobank? I just don't get this.

12 comments:

  1. Its worse than that, though. They insist on matching the other members of their weekend peloton.

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  2. isaac_spaceman9:29 PM

    Yeah, I just don't get it.  The husband-wife cycling teams plastered with ads for, like, Vodafone or ABN-Amro?  What on earth?   

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  3. spacewoman10:25 PM

    But why do cyclists wear those outfits anyway? What Lululemon pants do for the butts of moms across America, cycling clothes do the exact opposite.

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  4. I cannot even begin to start on this one - the sponsorships are so extensive that they can't break.  As for amateurs, it's a team mentality.

    My brother works for a cycling company and there aren't enough lawyers to sort this all out.

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  5. I cannot even begin to start on this one - the sponsorships are so extensive that they can't break.  As for amateurs, it's a team mentality.

    My brother works for a cycling company and there aren't enough lawyers to sort this all out.

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  6. Slowlylu12:00 AM

    Road Cycling  (as opposed to mountain bikers or hipster cycling) is the one sport where aspirational clothing is more public. If all athletic activity is self selected then perhaps all cyclists tend towards the fussy. Which explains the pernicketyness/pernicketiness towards matching but not conclusively the prevalence of endlessly branded clothing.

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  7. "<span>perhaps all cyclists tend towards the fussy"  --  Thank you, Slowlylu, for finding such a nice way to put that.</span>

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  8. bill.7:58 AM

    As someone who used to do a lot of cycling I never understood this. My kit was mainly black shorts and gray t-shirts. For long rides I did have a few cycling shirts for the back pockets, but they were all a single, solid color.

    In general, though, I've always avoided shirts with prints or words or pictures, and if something has a company name on it I believe that company should pay me to wear it.

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  9. Kelli Oliver George (cagey!)10:59 AM

    Yes, I've always wondered about this, too!  

    Says she of the Nike/Danskin/Prospirit/Hanes themed attire.

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  10. The cyclists I see are usually wearing khakis and polo shirts, much like I do.  I think maybe we're doing it wrong.

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  11. kcosmo's neighbor12:38 PM

    I cycle all the time (no racing, but for exercise and pleasure). The last thing I'm putting on my body is shorts with writing on the rear. I don't have real issues with my rear, but it's certainly not a billboard. I tend toward tank tops from the Gap and black stretchy shorts. Sometimes I even wear regular shorts. If anyone wishes to sponsor me, I'm open to that...but for now, my exercise clothes are far from fancy.

    My husband rides too--he wears black bike shorts--no writing, and dry-fit tops (Champion or Adidas). We have no one to impress.

    I love seeing completely out-of-shape people all gussied up for the ride, like that will make them pedal faster. Sorry!

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  12. isaac_spaceman7:57 PM

    I have to say, I used to wear pretty plain bike shorts, but now I only ride in bibs.  The well-constructed bibs -- made by the same company whose shorts I used to wear, I should say -- don't pinch me around the waist, don't feel like they need to be tugged up or tugged down, and are easier to pull on.  They also fit me better around the thighs, though that may just be my thighs.  What a guy at Mike's Bikes told me is true:  once you wear bibs, you never go back.  The downside:  all bibs are completely stupid-looking.  They can never be just black or just white; they always have to be some kind of bad Kandinsky imitation stitched onto fabric.  One pair I have actually has some kind of design that basically just points at my junk.  Plus, the moment when you get the bibs on but have not yet put on the jersey -- you will never look as stupid in your entire life as in that moment.  So to sum up:  great in every way except that they will make you look like an idiot. 

    But at least there are no ads on my bibs (except for the manufacturer's logo) and they don't match my tops.

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