You are so lucky in the US

[gilly]

Hello ladies
This is such a lovely forum, everyone is so supportive of each other

So why do I think you're all so lucky? easy! you have so many places to buy girly cycling clothes!

Everytime I go into a cycle shop here (UK) they have one tiny rail of women specific clothes, always only in black

I follow links on here and other US cycle sites and there they are, colourful and stylish women specific cycle wear... Most, in fairness, do ship to the UK, but delivery is not cheap and often times our import tax can be more than the original cost of the item.

I read earlier of a lady here who found a friend in a Perl Izumi outlet a Perl Izumi outlet ? I am green with envy.

And then there are your women specific cycling clubs

You are indeed lucky ladies.
And it's nice reading all your stories

I may not post very often, but I read you often

[Trek420]

gilly wrote: "So why do I think you're all so lucky? easy! you have so many places to buy girly cycling clothes!"

yet I'd trade my girly clothes for nationalised healthcare! and.. european folk get waaay more vacation.

"Everytime I go into a cycle shop here (UK) they have one tiny rail of women specific clothes, always only in black

And then there are your women specific cycling clubs "

Are you in a club? If you started a womens ride bet there'd be takers.

[smurfalicious]

The Pearl Izumi outlet isn't that exciting. I'm really not that impressed by their shorts. The only ones that at all appeal to me at all are so expensive! They do have some nice long sleeve jerseys, that are soft inside.

I can relate to your angst about local stores and the lack of clothing. I live in a small town, and we are relegated to a selection of about 4 boring shirts and a few shorts mixed in to the rack of mostly mens shorts. I hate the clothes here! The area is kind of earthy so all we get to chose from is solid colored, pastel, subdued garbage. Hello, I wanna scare the wildlife!!!

love and cookies
-smurf

[SnappyPix]

Hey Gilly

I had exactly the same problem ... bored with blacks and sickly girlie pastels, I resorted to the only feasible solution available ... I booked a return ticket and headed off across the pond. Came back with a suitcase full of vibrant clothing and managed to get in two weeks' fabulous cyling around SF and Muir Woods. Mission accomplished!

Most definitely the more expensive option and with hindsight, the import tax would probably have worked out cheaper, but the sheer thrill of standing in a bike store and having CHOICE over stuuuuuuuuff made it almost worthwhile!

Girl gear envy is a very baaad thing!

[SnappyPix]

Check out www.primalwear.com.

I love my curl up and dye top, always gets a double take!

[MightyMitre]

Trouble with girls stuff in the Uk is the market is so small shops don't bother with a big womens range as there's just not the number of people to buy it.

Another problem is that shops tend to stock very general girls stuff. Some girls like flowers and bright colours so when you're riding you're proud to show you're a girl, where as others are more serious athletes and prefer function over fabric colour.

As a result a lot of shops have to try and stock gear somewhere down the middle - to appeal to both the serious riders and the more casaul. Not an easy task when you've only got a small rail. So you often end up with pretty medioca choice.

Now if there were more girlies riding shops would have to respond to the demand...

[jplum4]

I know that this is a stretch, but does anyone know if you can buy the fabric to make a jersey? I need mine about 1 1/2 inches longer and can't find anything except a man's jersey. THen you have to deal with boxy men's styling. Seems like they would be easy to make if the fabric was available...

[Trek420]

SnappyPix wrote" Came back with a suitcase full of vibrant clothing and managed to get in two weeks' fabulous cyling around SF and Muir Woods. Mission accomplished!"

So, when I go to England I'll pack a case full of Shebeast and Primal , drop it off and come back with....? Sounds like a good import/export biz. I thought bike and cycle culture was popular in England? Come to think of it my Norwegian relatives when they are here head to REI for outdoor gear. What's funny is that Norwegians tend to be tall yet my brother in law can only get his favorite outdoor jackets, shirts in large/tall here.

[SnappyPix]

LOL

Sigh. Shebeest. Came back with loads of their stuff too! Thank God Customs never opened my case! We do a good range of waterproof gear over here, to protect our milk white skin against the wet British weather!
Like MightyMitre says, most shops only stock a limited range of token women's gear, usually basic, middle of the road stuff. There are 6 bike stores where I live, with a dismal range of clothing.
We need to get more women out of the spinning classes and onto the roads!

[caligurl]

lol! i don't know about that! the largest selection i've found is at supergo.. and wasn't all that impressed!

i've ordered several things from performance.

i do find cute things at sports chalet... and usually on the clearance rack.. i hit the jackpot on saturday.. we were on our way home and i noticed a sport chalet outlet.. never noticed it before cuz wasn't interested in sports i guess!

so we stopped.. it was a whole store of clearance racks! EGADS! i could have spent hours looking! however my focus wasn't on fitness or regular clothes.. but cycling clothes... well i hit paydirt... cycling stuff was an additional 30% off! woo freaking HOO!!!!!!!!

i got a heavy pearl izumi winter jacket for $55! a pretty light blue.. (i had already gotten a wind breaker type one at a sports chalet store a while back!)

2 pearl izumi short sleeved jerseys (and should have gotten the other two i left.. cuz i realized i have no short sleeved jerseys!)

2 long sleeve.. on PI and one fox (the fox one has a fleecy lining.. yum!

a PI sleeveless jersey

and a pair of tights (no chamois)

all for $128 (yes.. that inclused the $55 for the jacket!)

they had a pair of PI ultrasensor tights for 34 (before the 30%) but i decided i'd get their fleecy leg and arm warmers instead.. cuz i don't know about the whole no chamois thing and wearing the tights over shorts...

prior to that i had stopped at incycle cuz they are listed on trashy cat's site and i wanted to see their stuff in person (well.. wanted to buy! lol!) but they only had large shorts *POUT* but i did pick up a pair of tights with a chamois (cannondale) for $34.00 and cute pair of cannondale shorts for $11.00!

i think i need to stop buying for a while!

[Irulan]

Originally posted by jplum4
I know that this is a stretch, but does anyone know if you can buy the fabric to make a jersey? I need mine about 1 1/2 inches longer and can't find anything except a man's jersey. THen you have to deal with boxy men's styling. Seems like they would be easy to make if the fabric was available...

if you search the apparel sub-forum, there's a big thread on making jerserys. I make most of mine, and all my shorts.

Irulan

[Trek420]

caligurl wrote "i think i need to stop buying for a while!"

nah, just ride lots and wear it all out

[Pedal Wench]

I've found that I do most of my shopping online. Even in a somewhat big city (Atlanta) that the stores don't have a large selection of women's cycling clothing. REI has some, but a store like Atlanta Cycling has about 5 jerseys to choose from - pretty sad, actually. Go online - Performance, Nashbar (with a 20% off women's jerseys sale!) and right here at Team Estrogen!

[emily_in_nc]

Terry. Their stuff is expensive but good quality, and the sales are good! www.terrybicycles.com. I buy most of my cycling clothing from Terry, Team Estrogen, and Performance.

Emily

[MightyMitre]

Gilly - if you can't affort a ticket to the US how about Easyjet to Italy. They've got some excellent stuff over there.

Brands like Nalini do some womens stuff, as do Sportful. I went to their factory shop in Italy in the summer and their latest range of womens kit is fantastic - sporty and practical, but cut and designed to fit and enhance the female figure. Very nice gear.

There's a few Sportful dealers in the UK who might be able to order the things for you.

You could also try www.wiggle.co.uk Don't know if they do Sportful but they've got a great big section on womens gear.