..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
rapha shadow blazer
though cycling often adopts a self-congratulatory attitude towards its allegedly impressive sartorial elegance, in point of fact, nothing could be further from the truth. in this instance, i am referring specifically to those of a pelotonic persuasion, the very chaps and chapesses who ready themselves for an all-out sprint at some point of the working day. however, much of their dress du jour is at the behest of the sponsor, not so much in the shape of the jersey, but certainly with reference to the dye-sublimated colour scheme. step off the bicycle and into the nearest coffee stop and there's little chance of blending into the background.
though i would hesitate to refer to snooker as a sport, there's no denying that a shirt, bow-tie and waistcoat is more acceptable in polite society than bright polyester and lycra, though perhaps no more invisible amongst coffee beans. or, at the risk of incurring the wrath of the bunker people, take a look at the dress code for teeing off with your bank manager (not too early) on a sunday morning. though club rules will surely dictate that jeans and a t-shirt are not welcome in the club room, try as i might, i cannot fathom why so many opt for a lime green pringle jumper and perchance a pair of phil collins chinos.
tartan trews appear to be optional.
of course, cycling is a far more exertive sport or activity, one where a mere matter of a few kilometres in the saddle demands wicking and breathability. sort of like squash, tennis or marathon running, though none of the foregoing seem infiltrated by quite so many commercially obvious logos.
but with the continual advancement in garment technology, there is little doubt that cycling garb could surely be fashioned in a more socially acceptable manner, one where the definition of mamil would evaporate into recent history. it would not, therefore, be too much of a stretch to conclude that professionals and pelotonese alike, are beloved of the svelte look conferred by the current range of shorts, jerseys and jackets on the bike store clothing rack. in itself, that is nothing to be ashamed of; it's occasionally quite pleasant to portray one's velocipedinal leanings in public, particularly if seen at speed.
the disappointing aspect of the latter is a propensity for several incumbents (and you know who you are) to maintain this particular dress code when the weekend has gone and it is time to commute to the office. though not an aspect of cycling life that has infiltrated this particular region of the hebrides, on my occasional visits to the great metropolises of the nation, i have observed a growing number who seem quite at ease, riding to work on several thousand pounds of carbon fibre, clad either in club kit or a verisimilitude of chris froome and alejandro valverde. thankfully (for them at least), rumours of a cycling fashion police are just that.
rumours.
though domicile in a free country is allowing of such sartorial infidelity, i cannot help but wonder why, when there is a more than stylish and pragmatic range of city cycling clothing available from raphaand several others. according to statistics, you have a 35% chance of getting wet when cycling in glasgow, a number only outdone by those needing to get to work in galway. yet, there's a less than a 10% likelihood of the same happening in london.
mind you, those numbers constitute a monthly average, probably quite irrelevant when you arrive at the office dripping all over the receptionist's carpet or being told to stay outside by her indoors on returning from a hard day at the office. the ideal would surely be a garment that offered all the je ne sais quoi of the average chief executive officer, yet shrugged off precipitation as if it never existed in the first place.
that seemingly unattainable ideal has just been fulfilled in the shape of rapha's new shadow fabric blazer.
for those unfamiliar with the fabric, each thread is coated with a durable water repellency before being woven into lengths of fabric. that fabric is then shrunk to minimise the gaps between threads before being coated with dwr once again. rapha already offer both long and short-sleeve shadow jerseys, along with bibshorts, armwarmers and legwarmers to great effect. i would likely cycle into the back of parked cars, watching little rivulets of rain pouring off the sleeves and torso, so effective is the level of waterproofing.
this sartorially elegant blazer is fashioned from a lighter version of the same fabric, though with apparently no reduction in the level of rain protection. while it can be worn in the manner to which the well-dressed are most accustomed, there are poppers fitted on the collar that allow closing it all the way to the neck, should the precipitation prove fiercer than shirt and tie can readily cope. often the failing point on jackets purported for velocipedinal purposes is in the length of the sleeves, particularly for those of us with arms just a tad lengthier than joe average. rapha's blazer features a finely adjudged sleeve length, meaning that there is no sign of bare wrists even when grasping the bars on an italian taurus corinto.
there are two zipped front hand pockets along with an internal ipod pocket (imperial works have designated this as a phone pocket, but since i do not own one...) and a zipped pocket that has the ability to accept a passport or document of similar size. cleverly, there is also a small zipped pocket on the left sleeve that might see service as a credit card, keys or coffee money repository. though its principal super-power is that of waterproofing, the construction also ensures a high degree of breathability in order that steam is not seen to exude as you enter the boardroom.
though it would be amusing to see riders return to the team cars during this year's milan-sanremo (assuming it inherits the weather conditions of four years ago) to grab shadow blazers, legwarmers aside, it would ensure their ungrudging acceptance by the patrons of many an italian coffee bar. quite simply put, this is state of the art when it comes to cycling normality and a garment i plan to wear at my son's wedding.
rapha's shadow blazer is available in black only and in sizes ranging from xs to xxl (medium reviewed) at the not inconsiderable price of £400. the blazer arrives with a specifically cut travel bag, the operation of which i confess i'm still trying to figure out.
sunday 12 march 2017
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................