Portland-based Retro Image Apparel has launched "the Portland Collection."
The collection includes a men's and women's jersey and a shirt based on art by Portland artist Jimmy Cavalieri.
I got an interesting press release today from a company named Madame de Pe. They make "rain couture from Amsterdam, designed and tested on Dutch bicycles". With the amount of rain we get here in Portland and the wide affection for Dutch bicycles, I was curious what you all might think. At about $300 per jacket, they're not cheap (for comparison, a top-end Showers Pass is about $200).
Check out a few more images... (more...)
An interesting article published on MSNBC.com today touched on a trend we've been hearing about for a while now — that today's teens aren't as excited about getting a car as their parents were. Here are the stats via MSNBC:
The percentage of new cars sold to 21- to 34-year-olds hit a high of nearly 38 percent in 1985 but stands at around 27 percent today... Just 31 percent of 16-year-olds had their license in 2008, down from about 42 percent in 1994.
Thanks to Twitter, I was able to connect with Maria Boustead from Chicago-based Po Campo bags while she was in Portland this past weekend.
Po Campo launched last summer with bags for women who want style and function that look good on and off the bike. The company has only been around for about a year but they've already gained a strong foothold in Chicago and several other cities where urban biking is on the rise. The bags are also sold in Japan, the Netherlands, Australia and the U.K..
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Tony Pereira and his new suit.
(Photos © J. Maus) |
Bikes and fashion have enjoyed a renewed romance in America in the last few years. From the Cycle Chic movement to the proliferation of bike fashion shows, there is a growing awareness of -- and market for -- clothes that are stylish and comfortable to bike in. Today I spent some time on yet another bike fashion front, custom-tailored (a.k.a. bespoke) cycling suits. (more...)
Bike fashion in American is finally going way beyond spandex.
As biking takes off in big cities around the country, it's not surprising that people want to look good doing it. They also want clothes that can stand up to the rigors of daily riding. At the Pedal Nation Bike Show, happening all this weekend at the Oregon Convention Center, there were several companies looking to fill that demand. There was also a fashion show where models on bikes showed how to put it all together. (more...)
A reader has sent word that Portland has a new fashion start-up focusing solely on bike-able threads. According to their still-under-construction website, Gear offers "functional, fashionable bicycle clothing" that is designed and manufactured right here in Portland.
Here are a few photos from their website:
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So, I just have to dish about my new pants. Red Ants Pants are work pants shaped for a woman. Designed by outdoorsy gal Sarah Calhoun, who lives in a ranching town of White Sulphur Springs, Montana, these pants are made for women who ranch, garden, fight fires and do the hard work of being a mom.
From the moment I put these sturdy pants on, I knew that I had found a new friend. Although I don’t plan on vaccinating any cattle in mine, they are PERFECT for biking my kids around Portland in the fall and winter. They have two layers which helped keep me more dry and warm as I rode around in the rain all morning.
But what makes these pants really awesome is the gusseted crotch. Ahem, if you wear your Levis to bike in you probably have encountered that gnarly lump of fabric down there. Well these pants don’t have that. A diamond shaped piece of fabric replaces the four way cross junction which you find in most pants.
The pants come in two cuts, curvy and straight. My husband liked the way they fit so much he just ordered a straight-style pair for himself.
Learn more at RedAntsPants.com.
At Interbike, a lot of the best stuff never makes it to the main floor. One of the highlights of the week for me was heading up to an 11th floor hotel suite for a trunk show with a few small, independent companies.
There I met Matt and Muriel of Swrve, a small, hip cycling apparel company; there were also a handful of enticing retro-inspired t-shirts from two young companies. But I was there mainly to check out Outlier, a year-old New York company run by two men who make high end, tailored clothing that's engineered for urban riding.
Abe Burmeister walked me through their clothing line. He and co-founder Tyler Clemens met when they were both regulars at two different locations of a New York coffeeshop, and both happened to talk to the same barista about their grand schemes of creating beautiful, tailored clothes which they could wear to
ride in all weather to professional meetings. She introduced them and Outlier was born. (more...)
For the second year in a row, Momentum Magazine produced their Urban Legend Fashion Show at Interbike. (more...)
Even with more sunny weather ahead of us in the forecast, it's impossible to escape the impending reality of the rainy season. Cool, rainy mornings last week had us delving into the backs of our closets for pants, long sleeve shirts, even jackets. And of course, wool.
Last winter we sang the praises of wool as a winter riding fabric, for the chic utility rider as well as for the performance minded sporty cyclist.
It seems that the bike industry is starting to catch on. (more...)
Here in Portland, we’re used to our top-notch selection of local framebuilding talent, but how about some locally-made, custom clothes to wear on your locally-made, custom bike? And no, we’re not talking about tight hipster-jeans, or roadie lycra and spandex.
Enter Emily Horton, who is putting the finishing touches on the patterns and designs for her bike-specific, custom clothing. Horton is proprietor of M-Horton Clothing Designs, a one-woman custom-clothing and sewing house.
Horton says that when she got started commuting by bike at the age of 26, she immediately felt her wardrobe was lacking. (more...)
As the urban cycling revolution continues, more people than ever are using bikes to take their kids to school, haul groceries, or go out for a night on the the town.
Thankfully, a quick scan of fashion in the bike lane reveals that the percentage of performance-minded clothing you see out there has declined.
Synthetic apparel, while awesome for some pursuits, isn't always comfortable, classy, or good for the environment. Synthetics can also be expensive and they're not always very durable. Cotton quickly becomes soggy if it's raining or hot, and polyesters are a nightmare. (more...)
Via BoingBoing.net, here's a cool new product from San Francisco that was unveiled at Interbike this week -- the Bike to Work Pants by Cordarounds.
They're just a regular pair of khakis, but with hidden, reflective powers.
From their website: (more...)
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