Where do tall women shop for cycling apparel?

[BethinPR]

Hi all,
I am new to the boards but have enjoyed reading them for a while!

Just got back into cycling this summer and I'm having a blast. However, with cold weather on the way, I need to get some long pants/long sleeves type riding gear.

The issue is, I am 6'2" with 36" inseam. It is hard enough to find cute pants for work, let alone working out!

Any suggestions would be great

Thanks!
Beth

[HipGnosis6]

I'm 6' even and find that most stuff is OK. My inseam's a 34, though - only 1 length longer than the usual 32" instead of 2.

TE has great customer service and if you call the folks there are really knowledgeable about their products.

For the record (I'm probably starting to sound like a broken one to all the ladies here) it was my difficulty finding plus size jerseys that calcified my decision to go back to school for fashion design. I'm tall AND fat.... and have watched my father who is a whopping 6'7" struggle with technical gear for sailing for years. Us folks out on the ends of the size bell curve deserve service!

[bcipam]

Tell you a funny story...

a couple of weeks ago I attended a woman's only fun ride. After the owner of Shebeest ( a local So Cal company) attended and presented a fashion show. My buddy and I giggled through the whole thing. Each of her models was about 5'3" tall and weighed around 100 lbs. my friend, who is 5'3" is what I call an average 50 year old woman. Narrow shouldered and broad through the waist and hips. I'm 5'8" have very broad shoulders and am just big all over. My friend asked about Plus Sizes, the owner replied that Shebeest recognizes that not all women have not yet met their weight goals and while they are trying Shebeest offers Plus Sizes in its XXL. BTW - the XXL sizing is for sizes 12 - 14 hardly Plus sizing for big or tall women!

Alittle argument came up from all of us women "who had not yet met their weight goals". I explained no matter what I weigh, the jerseys are just too short. Not all small women want to wear jersey just at or above the waist. If 5'8'' or taller or long waisted, the jersey show too much skin. Ms. Shebeest was offended. Oh well, she does sell good products. Shebeest, however, does not catered to fat women who ride. Tall or Plus sizes are equally hard to find. I find I have to buy men's jerseys even though width wise I can fit into a woman's XXL, it's just too short. And worse yet I have broad shoulders and big boobs. Terry has done the best in making Plus size clothing but I wish more companies made larger jersies as well.

I have started to look at alternative clothing. Wicking materials for active persons but not specifically made for cycling. Since I use a Camelbak, I don't need the back pockets.

Good luck with your search. Let us know what you find!

[KnottedYet]

I'm shorter and smaller, but I've got looong arms and legs. I've had good luck with Ibex (www.ibexwear.com) for length and with Terry.

Did you find anything here on TE? If not, PM Susan O. and ask if she'd consider looking into carrying taller sizes.

[HipGnosis6]

My friend asked about Plus Sizes, the owner replied that Shebeest recognizes that not all women have not yet met their weight goals and while they are trying Shebeest offers Plus Sizes in its XXL. BTW - the XXL sizing is for sizes 12 - 14 hardly Plus sizing for big or tall women! . . . Shebeest, however, does not catered to fat women who ride.

That's funny, because my favorite jersey yet is a Shebeest plus size. The TE website says they're a TE exclusive. I wear a size 20 (sometimes a 22) and the 2X Plus fits me fine. AND I'm 4 inches taller than you are. On the flip side, I've never bothered trying a long sleeve jersey. The sleeves are bound to be too short.

I have one of the Mt. Borah Plus size jerseys and I definitely don't like it as much. And I didn't like this year's prints from Terry - but I LOVE my Terry Plus Knickers!

I'm glad to hear that there's a strong market for plus cycling and excercise gear - I staked the price of three years at a private college on it...

[BethinPR]

Thanks everyone for your responses. I am not a plus size, but the height part makes this pretty difficult. Three-quarter length sleeves won't cut it come November!

Funny you should mention the jersey length ... I have a rather dark tan line right across my lower back from riding all summer with that one strip of skin exposed between the bottom of my shirt and the top of my shorts. Lovely!!

I'll keep looking but please let me know if you have any other resources...

Beth

[Cari]

Hi bcipam,

The comment about "women who have not yet their weight goals" seems really annoying. Hey, maybe I'm 6 feet tall and my "weight goal" is to gain 40 pounds so I can work as a plus size model? lol... Yes, I'd love to be a size 6 or 8 or even a 10 again and I'm slowly losing weight, but it's irritating to me that people automatically assume that because I'm overweight I must be unfit and unhappy. Ugh.

On the other hand, Shebeest does seem to be fairly considerate of larger women in their sizing. According to their size chart, XXL is equivalent to a size 18. Also, their measurements assume that a woman of a given size will have hips that are 2" wider than her chest, which seems very realistic as well.

I normally wear a size 12-14 (more often a 14), have a somewhat large chest (36D), long arms, strong (read: big) thighs and large hips, and I wear Shebeest size *large*. In fact, several months ago (when I weighed 8 pounds more than I did today) I tried on a long-sleeved Bellissima jersey in XL and it was *huge* -- I mean, it looked like I was wearing men's pyjamas or something.

Shebeest also has different styles to fit different body types. For example, if you're big chested and/or have a pudgy torso, try their Bellissima jerseys (my favorite!), and definitely stay away from Retro Jerseys and Wahini jerseys, which are very fitted.

At Team Estrogen you can get several Shebeest products in sizes 1X-4X. The sizing chart doesn't offer a number equivalent for 4X, but it says it will fit a 50-53" chest, 46-48" waist, and 53-55" hips. That's pretty generous sizing, don't you think?

Maybe we have Susan and TE to thank for pushing the envelope on *that* one and taking a chance on carrying truly plus-sized clothing? I don't know too many female cyclists to begin with, and believe it or not, at a size 12-14, I'm the largest female cyclist I know, so we must not be a huge market. I'm just glad that *someone* caters to my needs, so I try to vote with my dollars, spend most of my clothing money at TE, and encourage my friends to shop there as well.

I can't tell you how many times I've called TE and asked Molly or Abra to measure a jersey for me, and often I end up ordering two of each, trying them on, and returning the one that doesn't fit.

Oh and if you're looking for plus-sized long-sleeved jerseys, try the Velo Bella Long Sleeve jersey. It has a relaxed fit and very long sleeves.

Good luck with your shopping, keep riding lots, and thanks for shring the story.

Cari

[KnottedYet]

Molly is such a babe. She has helped me with sizing, too. She really knows her stuff, and is great on the phone!

Yay, Molly!

[7rider]

Cari, I hear you.
I'm 5'9", 16x lbs, and a solid size 12. I have a good friend who's about 6'2" and a cyclist and she's the biggest I know (but she's skinny). No other cyclist I know comes close to us in height (but I've seen some bigger - i.e., heavier - riders). I have a long standing argument with my LBS about women's clothes. He likes to carry high-end stuff like Descente and Castelli. Nice stuff, but size L in Descente is snug on my and I need XL in Castelli (yet I can wear size M in Cannondale...go figure...but it's short). He NEVER has that size in stock and he wonders why I rarely buy clothes from him! Bike clothes seem to be all over the map.
TE will probably banish me from their list, but while I love to shop TE, I've never actually bought. Unless I know the brand well (Shebeest is okay, but runs short, Pearl Izumi is wishy-washy....somethings I can do M, some I need L), I generally don't do mail order. I must try it on first. That's why I'm hesitant to try those CW-X tights I mentioned in another thread from Sierra Trading Post.
p.s. I can't believe the woman from Shebeest was "offended." She should take some constructive criticism from possible customers as an opportunity!