What about the kit??

[shellkay1212]

Okay, so I just put a Litespeed Tuscany in lay-a-way. (it's going to be a long three weeks). It isn't painted and has yellow stickers with some sort of yellow/grey camou-y handlebars. I got black matte bottle cages. And, I've read posts about accessorizing the bike.

But, I just got new pink sunglasses that I've only worn twice! According to the LBS resident fashion police - the glasses are to match your kit. Well, I don't really have kit(s). Perhaps I should have gotten black or white. I have a grey helmet which fashion guy says should also match the kit. Is the kit supposed to match the bike? What do I do about pink sunglasses with no pink on the bike and no pink kit? The bike is soooo cool I don't want to muck up the scenery with weird color combos!

(I am trying to post pictures but I'm doing something wrong!)

[divingbiker]

Okay, so I just put a Litespeed Tuscany in lay-a-way. (it's going to be a long three weeks). It isn't painted and has yellow stickers with some sort of yellow/grey camou-y handlebars.

Is this (http://forums.teamestrogen.com/showthread.php?p=356462#post356462) your bike? The one that was for sale here on TE?

[shellkay1212]

It is exactly like this one! It was at my LBS. One of the shop owner's wife wasn't riding - didn't like riding - so he sold it...TO ME!!!

[Flur]

Congrats on getting the bike!

I personally don't worry about matching the bike. My bike's celeste green, so unless I'm going to outfit in Bianchi clothes all the time I'm not going to match. I just wear whatever I want and as long as my clothes match each other I don't worry about the rest. I'd recommend getting a neutrally colored helmet so that it works with a lot of stuff.

[mimitabby]

you don't have to match your bike. if you did, you'd always have to wear the same color.
hm, i'm always wearing bright yellows for visibility. not sure that matches my bike. see what i mean? and sunglasses? they cost a fortune!!

enjoy your bike. work towards having an outfit that matches, but not for every day riding.

[martinkap]

Occasional matching is nice. Worrying about matching all the time is for 'sissy' or those with low self-esteem.

We, strong women can defend our fashion choices with one heavy sigh and long stare at the person. Honestly, if someone suggested that my sunglasses must match my watter bottles or something like that, I would laugh for a very long time. It is great to have your own style and choices which our not dictated by some 20 yo clerk in the LBS. Sunglasses are too finicky to care about color; they must match your cheekbones (we don't want additional wrinkles from too large sunglasses or from too small ones), must match you head size and must not give you headache after a day wearing them. That is important.

Honestly, I wear black with occasional red accents because I like red. My bike is silver and black. Recently I got a red chain because I just thought will be funny. But I will hapilly wear screaming yellow jacket in cloudy/rainy conditions and yellow screaming helmet because it MIGHT save my life. I don't care if I don't look as professional biker. It is actually even more fun to look like someone who just start biking and then blow fast around all the 'matchy' professionally $1k-spent-on-outfit. I never forget to remind them that they have 30 (or 20) gears and are still slower than me on a fixie. "Sorry, I have a fixie, I must pass you since I am FASTER than you!"

[Fujichants]

Wear whatever you want to wear, as long as it is comfortable for you. That is my take.

Are your pink sunglasses made for sports though? Or are they just for fashion? I tried running and riding with my oversize Prada sunglasses, and they kept slipping off my face because sweat started to accumulate at the nose pad part. I never had this happen with my running/cycling sunglasses.

[Aggie_Ama]

Oh to heck with the bike shop. I got my feelings really hurt when the guy at the bike shop told me my helmet had to match my bike. I have a gorgeous blue/white/black bike but I fell in love with a pink Atmos helmet. It only coordinates with a couple of kits, I could give a rat's arse less. Half the time my socks don't coordinate because I in too big of a hurry to find the ones that match. I wear brown sunglasses and cheaper ones too! Oh well. There can be too much snobbery and judgement, just ride and enjoy. :D

I also have blue Sidi shoes that match nothing, including the blues of my bike, but I love them! They are quirky and hardly anyone has them, that is the stuff I like. I probably look like the biggest fashion disaster in cycling but I have a darn good time in spite of it all.

[shellkay1212]

You guys are SOOOO right!!!!

I got the pink cycling glasses cause I LIKE THEM! I didn't like the white and didn't want black. I'm not even a pink kind of girl but those are the ones I liked!!!

I don't even have kits - so not sure why I even gave a hoot anyway! I'm really a hippy at heart anyway - so that means I can wear all sorts of odd ball stuff - right!? :D

[SouthernBelle]

I just read this:

http://jacquiephelan.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/unmitigated-gal/

If Jacquie isn't worried, I'm not either.

[bluebug32]

Considering I ride this bike, I don't think I'll be finding clothing to match it unless Kermit the Frog starts a clothing line.

http://tbn0.google.com/images?q=tbn:dS-mWTD4D7vtNM:http://www.konabikes.co.uk/2k7images/2K7_JAKESNAKE.jpg

[ilima]

You don't have to match the bike. But you still may want to get rid of the yellow stickers! My Merlin came with red stickers, which clashed with my pink King headset. A hair dryer, credit card and 30 minutes later--no more stickers.

I do plan to get some new stickers at some point, either from Merlin (the new Litespeed stickers are white) or make my own. I might try this place:
http://www.quickstickers.com/custom.php

I also want to get just a bit of bling to match my headset. Maybe some handlebar end caps and bottle cages.
http://www.purelycustom.com/c-31-road-bikes.aspx

[Kalidurga]

I just read this:

http://jacquiephelan.wordpress.com/2008/08/29/unmitigated-gal/

If Jacquie isn't worried, I'm not either.

Jacquie's one of my heroes. The fact that she recently rode a single speed mtb race in a men's three-piece suit (http://jacquiephelan.wordpress.com/2008/08/25/singlespeedwhirls-08-napa-ca/) is inspirational. That's a woman who can make up her own mind how to coordinate! (Though everyone else in that race (http://www.flickr.com/photos/71073602@N00/sets/72157606938592611/) also appears to be somewhat unusually coordinated...)

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3221/2797571852_b37f516d9d.jpg?v=0

[Madride]

Yeah you should just wear whatever you want. I wear blue sunglasses that don't match with anything. My bike is orange and I don't have any blue clothes so they really don't match. I used to worry about it, but I decided that I don't care if they match because they are nice glasses and they are comfortable.

[LainiePants]

I also have a pink atmos helmet and it doesn't match anything I own, bikes or clothes. I'm fine with that.

[TxDoc]

Is the kit supposed to match the bike?

Nope. Some people like everything to match (yes, yes, alright, I'm one of them) and some others don't. Wear what you like - your pink sunglasses included - and don't worry about it. You are the one that has to like the bike and the kit - not the LBS fashion guy...
:)

[Zen]

I take pride in having nothing match.
I may start wearing one Adidas and one Sidi.

[tzvia]

I've always felt that one risks looking like a poseur with a 'kit' that matches. I see them when I ride at the beach, nice bike, not a speck of dirt, perfectly matching clothing, down to the socks. Never actually riding, mind you. Just standing around some waterhole. Most people I see actually RIDING aren't quite as fashion consious.

I ride whatever isn't in the wash. My mother was the accounts administrator for HiTorque (MTB Action, Road Bike Action..) magazines and she brought home a lot of shirts and shorts over the years and nothing matches and I don't care. Free is good. I've got stuff with logos of teams and companies that don't exist any more and I don't care. I look like a circus on wheels sometimes. As long as I'm riding and not posing I don't care. I'm having fun.

To me, the 'kit' that matters is what is in the saddlebag or Camelbak (and yea I ride with a Camelbak so I guess I'm a Fred). Kit is what I use when something happens and I have to fix my bent wheel and patch a tube so I can make it home.

[TxDoc]

I've always felt that one risks looking like a poseur with a 'kit' that matches. I see them when I ride at the beach, nice bike, not a speck of dirt, perfectly matching clothing, down to the socks. Never actually riding, mind you. Just standing around some waterhole. Most people I see actually RIDING aren't quite as fashion consious.

That's ok, just remember that appearences can sometimes be defying... there are people out there that ride 60miles per day and just clean their bikes (or ask their mechanics to do that). And they like to look nice and have matching team clothes, helmets, socks, gloves, etc - especially if there's the chance of someone around taking pictures.
You cannot infer just from their looks that all of them are poseurs that never actually ride. In fact, I know quite a few good racers that are fashion divas as well, more than a couple of them gone pro...
:)

[Bluetree]

The guys on my team are notorious posers...and that's not considered a bad word because style points at the coffee shop count! ;) In fact, many of the race reports end with "...and we looked great, too!"

But they indulge in their divaness because it's a fun diversion from the intensity of racing. Dont believe for a second that they don't razz each other if someone wore the wrong socks or if someone else forgot to shave their legs the night before! But its all in fun and part of the team-bonding rituals. If they're hangng out at a local waterhole, they usually have no intention of real riding that day, or else it might be a post-ride break. (Keep in mind that a lot of racers ride every day, so some days are "easy" days.)

Wear what you want. Have fun riding your bike. If anyone has an issue with what you're wearing, it's their problem... not yours!

[AliceB.Toeclips]

And ready to share...the sartorial secrets of the stylish old bat!
Go ahead, be 'clothes-minded'...in here, we are all safe.
Check out last year's VERY successful 2008 calendar where I posed in 85% cacao chocolate and little else (see "new calendar" on right margin of my blog at jacquiephelan.com)
Marin photographer Anne Cutler said: "Why not show everyone what you are wearing the OTHER half of the time?"
And "Unmitigated Gal 2009" was born: a full-color calendar that ONLY people who want will be buying, since we were clever and had the company that makes them ship only when an order arrives (thus: no boxes full of beautiful calendars in the home of the model, who is tragically incapable of actually selling her own...er...fabulous calendar.
This is where you (my tribe, after all) come in: word-of-mouth (the first three letters in "WOMBAT". How about looking at the calendar and lodging your very valued opinions?
You can imagine what kind of reception it might get at a print bike magazine (which is a thinly disguised men's lifestyle mag, n'est-ce pas?)

So, here tis: http://www.lulu.com/content/3682015
at least, I hope it is...
Cheers, all...

[Lifesgreat]

You mean you're supposed to match? :o
I suppose my shorts and saddle match. . .:D

[lph]

Oh, sheesh. Sometimes I nurture these sweet dreams of finding a stunning red vest, a gorgeous red helmet and, of course, red shoes, and looking terrific on my brilliant red road bike and metallic red mtb. But I end riding 90 % of the time on my turquoise green with red fork FrankenKonacommuterbike wearing whatever fell out of the closet, and the remaining 10% in the hideous club kit some guy dreamed up mid-70s. (5 primary colours, I kid you not.) By sheer chance my helmet and shoes match each other, though.

[pardes]

Lph, I never liked the color red until I got a red bike. I was happier with muted fall colors. Especially autumn hunter green and indigo night blue.

Now I have a red helmet, red backpack, red winter biking coat, red gloves all delivered to and modeled at work for coworkers who just shake their head.

I put them over the edge with this (http://www.amazon.com/TAIGA-Inca-Hat-Polartec%C2%AE-circumference/dp/B001CJMBUK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=apparel&qid=1220211512&sr=8-2) when I walked through the lab with the flaps down in my spiffy new white labcoat.

Now red is the new autumn hunter green.

[snapdragen]

And ready to share...the sartorial secrets of the stylish old bat!
...

O.M.G. I love the Airstream trailer shot....although the purple...wtf is that, a giraffe print? is great too. Ooh, and the couch...hell they're all fun. :D

[sundial]

The nice thing about getting older is you care less what other people think.

[Jiffer]

Occasional matching is nice. Worrying about matching all the time is for 'sissy' or those with low self-esteem.

This whole thread cracks me up, and this quote in particular! Well, put me on the "sissy" list because I'm a matching fanatic and I certainly don't have low self esteem. I wouldn't say I "worry" about matching, though, I simply "like" to match and make a point to whenever possible ... :)

I'm having a hard time visualizing the guy at the LBS shop telling you that you "have" to match your "kit" (whatever THAT is!) ... and being serious! I'm all about matching, but I would never tell someone that they HAVE to match except in jest. If he thinks you HAVE to match, what happens to those who don't? Are they outcasts in the cycling world? Give me a break! I match because that's what I like to do, not because there's some rule about it.

And, actually, when I just thought about it, my sunglasses only "sort of" match me. I'm all about pink (and black and white). My Oakley sunglass frames are black, but my lenses are yellow, the only yellow I wear. I love those lenses, though, for their function. I can wear them when it's bright or when it's dim and they are great for both.

Where what you want. It's your life and I'm pretty sure you won't be a cycling outcast for wearing pink sunglasses with a black and yellow bike!