Another Castelli :o

[Grog]

If they don't sell any, presumably they won't make more ugly stuff next year.

Unless their business's purpose is to launder money?

But even then...

Anyway, someone must have been buying their stuff. Not me! (Although I did consider the Cuore - Heart - jersey last year. For a minute.)

[Lifesgreat]

I thought the jersey would have one of those bikini top designs on them.

Yikes!

[Flybye]

I thought the jersey would have one of those bikini top designs on them.

Yikes!

And there we have it - our costume for the Little Red Century Ride

[tab123]

This is why I buy Etxe Ondo clothing - functional yet stylish without being silly.

[KnottedYet]

Exte Ondo is some seriously good looking clothing.

[roadie gal]

I hope that when they don't sell, Castelli will make the (male I'm sure) designer wear those horrible shorts around the office as punishment.

[VeloVT]

Yeah the frustrating thing is that their men's summer 2008 line, with one or two exceptions, is pretty nice looking.

Exte Ondo -- wish I could justify spending that much on cycling clothes. They are pretty.

[SouthernBelle]

I love the looks of Exte Ondo. They had an orange and black winter kit a couple of years ago I would have killed for. But I couldn't justify spending over $300.

There are several pieces of Castelli that are OK, but the EO or Assos are better looking for the price.

[VeloVT]

But EO and Assos are both like 2-3x the price of Castelli, sadly...

[Flybye]

This is why I buy Etxe Ondo clothing - functional yet stylish without being silly.

Holey Moley - I'd have to refinance the house or sell a couple of kids to get myself outfitted in Exte Ondo - I love their stuff, but COME ON $145.00 for a sleeveless cycling jersey???? Let's see - make the car payment or purchase a jersey???

[Thorn]

Holey Moley - I'd have to refinance the house or sell a couple of kids to get myself outfitted in Exte Ondo

Yeah, but you'd look really, really when you have no place left to live

Seriously, I love going through EO's online catalog. I can't wear any of it, but I can admire the eye of the designer. I feel the same way about Orbea bikes. They will never fit me, but I find them sleek, elegant works of art. Interestingly, they seem to be out of related design houses.

Unfortunately, I can vote with my pocket book against the Castelli designers, but I can't vote with my pocket book for EO's....

[SouthernBelle]

EO has a kit called Sua for this summer that I love. TE has it but only in the fuschia colorway. It looks SO cool in the oranges.

Of course it's also $155 for the jersey.

[Pedal Wench]

Holey Moley - I'd have to refinance the house or sell a couple of kids to get myself outfitted in Exte Ondo - I love their stuff, but COME ON $145.00 for a sleeveless cycling jersey???? Let's see - make the car payment or purchase a jersey???

I just bought a pair of their shorts from Sierra Trading post -- quite reasonable, especially after a coupon. But honestly, after a short spin on the trainer, I found that they bunched up a bit uncomfortably.

[blueskies]

Yes, the pictured shorts are incredibly silly.

OTOH, I couldn't have ridden 2000+ miles last year without my Castelli shorts. I love the Castelli chamois, and last year, it literally saved my a$$. I tried a lot of different shorts when I was having bad sit bone pain, and it was the Castelli shorts that made it possible for me to do 3-5 hour rides.

I don't buy a whole product line... I buy a pair of shorts or a jersey at a time, so I don't mind if there are some that aren't for me. And really, if you have designers that are pushing the envelope & trying to bring some fashion & variety to bike clothes, there will be some hits & some misses. And yes, I agree, those shorts are a huge comical miss. It's like Britney & Minnie Mouse got together to design some bike clothes.

Still, I LOVE CASTELLI.

My current favorite:

http://www.castelli-us.com/pm-842-4-...ls-jersey.aspx

[Greg Cowan]

Hi All,

I'd like to introduce myself. I'm Greg Cowan and I'm President of Castelli USA.

I almost never read blogs and this is the first time I've posted to one, but I got a mail this morning from a Team Estrogen customer/blogger and she let me know about this one so I thought I'd take the time to to write.

First, I think it's great that CASTELLI generates so much passion among women. Second, we value feedback. As Team Estrogen has a non-advertising requirment to this blog, I won't try to sell you anything. If you have feedback, you can send it directly to me via our website - www.castelli-us.com. I personally read and answer all of our website inquiries. I've answered questions on virtually every topic concerning CASTELLI and that includes what you do and don't like about our products, and we take that product feedback seriously. If you have some styles that you've liked in the past, let us know and we'll take a look at where we think we're hitting and where we're not. Third, the Koori Jersey and Short is NOT designed by a man. It is a concept drawn up by Niki Gudex (who is a top Australian mountain biker, model and fashion design graduate) and designed from that concept by a designer named Maria Theresa in Italy. Maria Theresa has been with CASTELLI for at least a decade. Hers is the same firm that designed the pieces that some of you have referenced that you liked. We also use outside designers in Portland, Oregon (one of whom is a woman and a leading sports apparel designer here - and she did a couple of the designs for Spring 08) and all the designs are reviewed for whether we include them in the line in both Italy and the USA.

Finally, I noticed a number of comments relative to pricing. We work very hard here to make our products price competitive. I could do a whole dissertation on apparel industry costs and pricing but I won't. I will say though that with the design and innovation we put into our fabrics (most of which are imported from Italy) and pads we feel we're providing great value to consumers both men and women at every price point that we have a product offering.

We won't please everyone - but we try to produce a range of product that includes something for everyone. We're not the biggest company out there so as I said above - we place great importance on our consumers and their feedback. And, every season we try to improve. Feel free to send me a note via our website.

Best Regards, Greg