tjspiel

From a CNN Money article:

Biking to work can be a sweaty disaster. Can Ministry of Supply's dress shirt help? - Jun. 30, 2016


I haven't tried any of the clothes, just skimmed the article. The clothes are from a company called "Ministry of Supply" which was created by some MIT grads. Not sure what the NASA connection is.

At $100 a shirt, it's probably not something I'll be buying anytime soon, but it might be a good option for some of us.

bmthom.gis

So cute: "8:30 a.m.: I wheel my bike outside and hop on. I'm three miles from the CNN newsroom. For now, I'm as dry as can be. But it's 74 degrees, humid and late June in D.C., so this could get ugly." - by 8:30 here it's been well into the 80s, if it even managed to cool off lower than that. Nice looking clothes, but for those prices I'll stick to conventional cycling clothes. Those are more or less Rapha prices for their city/urban line...if I were to spend that I'd probably just buy Rapha

BobbyG

A solution for some people...not for me.

alan s 

Let's see...20 minutes to ride 3 miles, so that's 9 mph at 74 degrees. Doesn't take an MIT grad to figure out that you aren't going to sweat.

jade408

Depends. Some people aren't good at dissipating heat.

I personally think this is great, and targets a person probably not on the Bike Forums. A person who,doesn't see themselves as a "cyclist." They bike for transportation or are bike curious but don't want special clothing. They want to ride and go, have disposable income to get a "proper" city bike with fenders and chain guards. And this helps biking to fit into their normal life.

I personally wish there was more urban cycling clothing aimed at women in a broader range of sizes, that fill a similar niche.

bmthom.gis

It's definitely special clothing. Just because it isn't lycra doesn't mean it isn't special. You're talking about dropping ~$100 on just the shirt in their clothing line. Someone who is going to spend that kind of money is either a) well off and doesn't have any particular clothing budget they need to stick to and/or b) has been commuting long enough to want to buy specialized clothing.

Check out Rapha. They have a city/urban collection. Not sure what's in the women's line. I think Terry has a pretty extensive clothing line, as well.

wphamilton

Reckon the shirts would work for twice as fast, three times as far in 80°?

alan s 

In all likelihood, since it's designed by an MIT grad.

snow_echo_NY

i use Terry clothing for women for when i want to commute after work to a dinner or bar or event where i need to not look like i just got off a bike (that is, blend in with the crowd). it's pretty great, but if it had holes i'm sure i would stay even drier.

when i don't need to dress up i've been using Eddie Bauer which makes dri-fit clothing as well as cotton dri-fit at a reasonable price.

these men's shirts seems like a perfect go-to solution for those with no time or no place to change - esp. in NYC i would imagine this would fly off the shelves for the men. nice shirts cost just as much! sometimes you can get a deal for less but for a good shirt for business when you need to impress, $100 is not really unheard of.

bmthom.gis

I guess if you live somewhere like NYC seeing dress shirts for around $100 is pretty common.
Like all shirts that look this nice (and I do think they look nice), I wonder how they would look on a normal person and not a model.

jade408

I find the women's oriented "urban cycling" clothing is either casual or boho - not my style. And a whole separate issue is sizing and cut which usually excludes me one way or the other. The only line I found promising was Iva Jean, but she closed up shop by the time I heard about her and I couldn't get the skirts or awesome cape.

I don't see these shirts playing well at my office (too formal) but goes well when paired with Lululemon's new athletic work clothes line. My colleague came in really excited about his new pants. They looked like regular nicer khakis and they had good movement and venting.

tjspiel

The problem is that you'd need several of them, not just one. I could buy a new bike for that kind of cash.

I have my priorities.

Darth Lefty 

I find the whole thing pretty funny. It fails its promise to solve the stated problem, you still need layers, just like always

SlvrDragon50

I had a Ministry of Supply shirt, it's pretty neat, but it's too expensive for what it is.

Gresp15C

Somebody needs to make a dress shirt with back pockets, just as a statement.

wphamilton

I don't follow your reasoning. What does that have to do with the performance under specific conditions? Did the MIT grad claim that you'd be professionally presentable after 10 miles at 80° riding hard?

PatrickGSR94

Wrong. I hauled my son to school back on the first day of school, about 3 miles, at 7-8 mph. I was DRIPPING wet by the time I got to his school.

ksryder

I have a pair of their pants, they're OK. They're comfortable and they do a good job drying quickly if you get sweaty. I haven't commuted with them; I got them for being comfortable in the office.


Cons: After a few months and minimal washing the material is starting to pile a little, so I have some concerns about longevity.


Also, even though this is common with dress clothes, they only come in one leg length and you have to get them altered (although if you send them a picture of the receipt they'll reimburse you.) Where I live it's an absolute PITA to get men's clothes altered.