Cycling love: care less on fashion off-bike?

[shootingstar]

You know ever since I started cycling alot about 14 years ago, I spend less time hunting down non-cycling fashion clothes.

It's probably because I simply spend more time on the bike instead of window shopping while walking along or hanging out in malls.

My love for cycling actually coincided in suddenly stopping my sewing of my own clothing. I used to sew nearly my entire wardrobe (ie. tailored suits for work, etc.)

While true that keeping/becoming fit and more trim, might generate renewal of off-bike fashion and other cool chick outfits that you would have hesitated before to wear, I just find I'm more interested in spending time/effort of remaining healthy and fit: it's the new fashion at this stage of life for me.

I still enjoy watching fashion runway shows on tv. I consider it more from the standpoint of art, technical mastery to create some incredible outfits and do still love colour, design and texture of fabric. This is more appeal to my artistic/creative non-cycling side, rather than the chick love of fashion.

[Zen]

That's why I love those Title 9 clothes. Some of them you could wear to work.

[KnottedYet]

my fashion sense ossified in the 1980's.

My saving grace is probably that I shop through stores like Ibex and Title 9 and TE, bike stuff that I figure I can also wear to work... so I'm sort of fashionable just by default (thank you store buyers, I'm borrowing your fashion sense.)

[kelownagirl]

I live in jeans, jeans, and more jeans. Dressy tops and heels if I'm going out.

[DirtDiva]

Meh. I'd much rather spend the money on something pretty for one of my bikes.

[onimity]

Hmmm, yea, I know what you mean. I have a bit of a reputation for pointy shoes and dressing up, but since I started commuting to work by bike I've started moving toward things that fold up easily into my messenger bag and one of the three pair of shoes I keep under my desk at the office.

The other problem is that my body shape has changed and a lot of my more fashionable clothing doesn't work so much. I put down muscle rather easily and Cavalli doesn't make jeans to fit cyclist quads. On the other hand, I've lost a good deal of volume on my waist/upper thighs, so the waist and butt of a lot of my pants look really lousy and sloppy. I find that I don't stop to shop so much riding my bike home, either.

That's actually one thing that I'm hoping to find a better balance with in the new year; I really like fashion & dressing well, but I am really pleased with my bike commute too & the time I spend riding on weekends.

Anne

[elk]

Today I am wearing wool tip to toe...and I have managed to make it look like "me"...a short skirt over a pair of capris and a LS crew on top with a red merino sweater. It is it's own style....and suits me as well as anything ever did!!!
But then I have never been a pointy toe/tailored suit kinda gal...

[shootingstar]

Hmmm, yea, I know what you mean. I have a bit of a reputation for pointy shoes and dressing up, but since I started commuting to work by bike I've started moving toward things that fold up easily into my messenger bag and one of the three pair of shoes I keep under my desk at the office.

The other problem is that my body shape has changed and a lot of my more fashionable clothing doesn't work so much. I put down muscle rather easily and Cavalli doesn't make jeans to fit cyclist quads. On the other hand, I've lost a good deal of volume on my waist/upper thighs, so the waist and butt of a lot of my pants look really lousy and sloppy. I find that I don't stop to shop so much riding my bike home, either.

Bike commuting has changed what I choose to buy abit to wear for work since some stuff is difficult to fold up without causing creases that are difficult to shake out.

I currently work at a construction site for an engineering firm where it's been more jeans and casual pants. Previously I worked in more formal workplaces where there was (and still is) a dress code. While jeans are great, I'm finding it masks weight gain.....unless I spend yet more hrs. trying to find jeans that are tighter and aren't hipsters.

Not even sure why people like hipsters,..allows your gut to hang over and expand slowly.

[sundial]

Almost all of my clothes have a little splatter of paint somewhere. Even my shoes.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

My biking clothes are now almost no different from my everyday clothes- except for wearing either chamois or non-chamois.

I always used to wear black leggings or capris anyway- even before discovering biking.
Now if it cool for everyday I wear wool leggings, maybe a short skirt, merino tops and wool jackets, hiking boots, etc. If I'm going biking I'll just take off the skirt and put on chamois tights and maybe add a screaming yellow vest or windbreaker.
In summer it's everyday black capris, perhaps a short skirt, tank tops or loose cotton tops and sneakers. To go biking I'll change to chamois capris, lose the skirt again and throw on a screaming yellow top of some sort.
The stretchy black tights/capris are the basis of most all my outfits, biking or not.
It's all slowly morphing into the same look. Luckily, I work at home and so I don't need to conform to any office attire rules.

[elk]

oh yea...work...i have found myself lately wondering if my Ibex is OK to wear to work....and decided I wanted to keep my ibex for me!!
(i teach college and you can pretty much wear whatever...!!)

One thing I really love about the Ibex etc/wool lines is that they don''t look much like "jock" clothes.

[surgtech1956]

I wear 'scrubs' at work, so I can wear whatever I want to work. I've always been into comfortable clothes. To me dressing up are dockers, oxford style shirts, and a blazer or dockers and a polo style shirt. I am acquiring more and more cycling clothes.

[shootingstar]

Almost all of my clothes have a little splatter of paint somewhere. Even my shoes.

Well, I have some blobs of block paint ink and it's black splattered on an expensive cycling jacket. How on earth that happened, don't know. Obviously I wasn't alert where I placed my stuff at an art painting course that I was taking.

But I still wear the jacket. It's loved. Cycling makes you like that, a love for great functional, (flattering would be nice) clothing to do the sport. But in the end, it's not what you wear, it's how you perform and how much you love to do it nearly daily.

One thing for certain, I have no interest in keeping up with purse styles. I carry around my bike pannier half of the time with my money, etc. The current carpetbag leather purses are useless for me. I was so excited to find a classy, small dressy handbag for a dressy outfit. The criteria that it could fit my bike pannier and it was lightweight was a huge factor!

[Dianyla]

Not that I ever spent much money on civilian clothes anyways, but since getting seriously into cycling most of my clothing budget goes to athletic clothing items. Also, something about cycling wear scratches my wardrobe itch for cute, or matching, or stylish, or whatever garments. Now that I'm getting my fashion needs met this way, I am a lot less focused on looking good at work or anywhere else.

[Brandi]

I live in jeans, jeans, and more jeans. Dressy tops and heels if I'm going out.

Ditto! I do like a cool off the wall different t-shirt too! I am attracted to strange patterns and unusual designs. I am kinda known for that. I wear some wacky stuff some times. But I am an artist, my husband says that gives me the ok to do that!