Where do tall women shop for cycling apparel?

[Susan Otcenas]

Hi Ladies,

Hopefully I can provide a little more info.

Tall sizing is tough. Most cycling manufacturers do NOTmake tall-specific apparel. That said, we always keep our eyes out for longer than average apparel (longer inseams, or longer in the torso and sleeves) and add these items into our Tall Specialty Shop here: http://www.teamestrogen.com/categories.asp?catID=105 Again, these are things that we've added to the category because we've noticed they are longer. With our fall items just starting to arrive, we will be progressively measuring the inseams in all our tights. We'll put those with leg measurements of greater than 30 inches in the tall category (remember, we are measuring the GARMENTS, so its not a true inseam measurements, which is meaured to the floor. Tights end at the ankles ) We'll also add those with particularly long-sleeves to that category as well.

Regarding plus sizes:

First, let me state that I am 5'4" and 160 pounds. I mostly wear size 14s and a 36D bra. My size, and frustration with finding well-fitting apparel, was one of the primary motivators for founding Team Estrogen over 8 years ago. I'm an active gal - ride my bike to work and log plenty of miles on the weekend - and I wanted the same technical apparel the skinny girls got to wear. If I haven't met my "weight goal" by now, I'm not likely to anytime soon.

Soooo, one of the things we've worked really hard on is finding apparel that fits all body types. While we have a long way to go, it's gotten MUCH better than when we started 8+ years ago.

This year, Shebeest designed custom plus size jerseys exclusively for TE. The Bellissima Plus is a generous cut and in the 4X could easily fit a woman up to size 24 or so. We'll have another TE-exclusive Bellissima Plus print in Spring 2007. The Bellissima in regular sizes is both generous in sizing AND longer in the torso. It's Shebeest's longest style and would work well for taller women (6'2" might be a stretch, though) The large fits me quite well.

Pam, was it Claudia that did the fashion show for you? The reason I ask is that at the beginning of July, the folks from Shebeest, including Claudia, came here to TE and we discussed broadening the selection of larger sizes available. We discussed which pieces would best lend themselves to pattern changes to be adapted to a plus size line. There are several styles, that with a few tweaks would make fantastic plus size pieces. We're probably talking 2008 before they become a reality, but they ARE in the pipeline.

As far as other plus size pieces go - Sporthill out of Eugene, Oregon has been doing a fantastic job of adding plus, petite and tall pieces to their line. We have a HUGE order coming for the fall, most of which falls into one of these 3 categories. While none of it is cycling specific, it is all fantastic athletic apparel that easily crosses over into a cycling application. So hopefully some of you that don't fit the "average" parameters will find something in their line that makes you smile. Keep an eye on the "what's New" page on our website for it's arrival. We also have tall tights arriving from Hind shortly.

OK, it's almost 7:30pm and I gotta get out of here. It's perfect cycling temperature out there right now and my bike is calling to me. During the week, my commute is about the only miles I get to log.

Let me know if I can provide any more info.

Susan

[bcipam]

Susan it was Claudia (she's actually a member of my bike club). I'm surprised she didn't mention that she has been working with TE to develope more Plus size clothing. Alot of women who attended the event would have been happy to hear trust me. All us old, frumpy women who ride were getting real frustrated seeing size 2 after size 2 model clothes. The one thing I think most manufacturers need to realize is that generally women are getting bigger, not just broader, but taller and just bigger. I'm 5'8" and don't feel all that tall any more. In my bike club, alot of the women are much taller. And even a skinny 6 footer won't ever wear a size 2!

I would really like to see bike clothing expand into size 16 to at least 20's but still have style and some fit. Larger sizes tend to be unfashionably tent like. Too big. There's needs to be a happy medium somewhere.

Anyway look forrward to what's coming...

[BethinPR]

Guy at LBS was really helpful and set me up with some men's long Pearl Izumi thermafleece tights that I love. They are so long!!

I also tried on a longsleeve jersey that had these neat holes in the bottom of the sleeves to put your thumb through, to keep the sleeves from pulling up. But alas... need to save some $$ first.

Anyway, thought I would pass this on for any 6' plus women looking for winter gear!

[SouthernBelle]

What was the brand on that nifty sounding jersey?

[BethinPR]

it was a nike jersey and it also had a hood built in. very cool!

[DirtDiva]

Thumb loops are great!

[Lise]

I *love* thumb loops for cold weather running.

My problem with biking jerseys is that they are generally too short for my preference, and end up emphasizing the curves of my hips and belly, instead of covering them. And then the jersey rides up to my waist as soon as I get on the bike. Jerseys for taller-torsoed women would be perfect. Thanks, Susan, for the link. I wasn't aware that you had a "tall" section.