Hi All (and Southern Belle),

I think this Team Estrogen forum (I was corrected, it's not a blog) is somewhat addicting.

Thanks for the comment regarding the Fever jersey.

I appreciate the comment regarding girly versus feminine. Certainly, the Koori jersey and short are on the young side. But, in our defense, we also have some very attractive styles (while that's in the eye of the beholder) that are feminine without regard to age. Two examples this spring are the Pois jersey and the Onda jersey off the top of my head. And for most, young is a mental state. I'd guess everyone on this site feels themselves mentally youthful. Anyway, this was the best selling women's line we've ever produced.

We're never going to have 100% of consumers (either women or men) like 100% of the line. All product line decisions are jointly made between European headquarters and the USA. Economics dictate we get the most from limited design and development resources so the product offerings overlap quite a bit. And there are definitely different connotations of feminity depending on the culture. Some pieces that are considered outrageous here are big sellers say in Italy and vice versa. Last year, the Curore (the heart cut and sewn piece) sold in a limited way to our USA retailers (male dominated buyers maybe?)- they didn't take a chance on it. Then when it hit the stores it was gone (so some women liked it) and we couldn't get more. We had requests for that top and bottom all summer long. Including from Team Estrogen. In Europe they sold 5x as many just in Italy as the USA did and they also couldn't keep them in stock. Anyway, my main point being, that when you have to distribute the products all over the world there are differing tastes among the consumers that you have to try to satisfy. Arguably CASTELLI may be the best selling brand across all the different countries where it is sold. Regardless of design we strive to deliver the finest fabrics, pads designs, fit and constructions to the market.

Finally, CASTELLI has always produced some very outrageous designs. We're known for it. Some of the older Paola Pezzo line is absolutely unbelievable. Pat Benatar looking tops, snakeskin shorts, etc. Being a little out there on the design and innovation side keeps things interesting. CASTELLI not only introduced lycra to cycling - but the first lycra cycling short wasn't a black short - it was bright blue. It's what makes CASTELLI fun.

Anyway, as I mentioned before - I am happy to take feedback on particular favorite styles that CASTELLI has produced in the past. Maybe a few readers here might want to post a photo of their favorite CASTELLI jersey of yesteryear. I'm guessing there's a pretty good diversity out there.

Best Regards, Greg