Sombrio Womens Flannel
Here at The Spindle we've been working dilligently to give you reviews of the latest and greatest products coming out for the daily commuter. But so far we've only been able to give you opinions on the latest men's gear..well..because we're men, so we decided over a month ago we needed a woman's touch. So one of our dear friends and cyclists Caroline Templeman swooped in to save us from Captain Cavemandom, here is her review on Sombrio's Women’s Silhouette Riding Shirt:
I have to say that being a woman and looking for stylish but yet functional commuter bike clothes can be harder than one would think. After taking the boys at Spindle's recommendation, I checked out the Sombrio website, a company from Canada that has been making high quality mountain bike clothing for years, but recently they have been tapping into the daily commuter market designing fashionable, street-worthy clothes but with some function to it for an active lifestyle , and they even make women’s clothes too, JACKPOT!
So, I quickly jumped in and was immediately impressed with their wide range of offerings from gloves, tees, shorts and all kinds of jackets. One of the shirts that really caught my eye was the Silhouette Riding Shirt. A stylish plaid shirt with a nice feminine cut and snaps down the front. The website was very helpful in describing the cut, which is on the generous side, so ordering the right size is easy. The shirt is plenty long, even for me at 5’9”, and is great for layering a shirt or tank underneath it. I would definitely recommend going down a size if you are wanting a tighter fit and don’t want to layer.
The fabric has a nice stretch so leaning over and extending your arms fully is no problem at all and there is even a mesh underarm panel to keep you cool. The front pocket is made to the perfect size to fit my phone so I can listen to music as I enjoy my ride. The shirt definitely has some weight to it which is great for cooler weather and breezy days. My favorite part was that I can take it off, stuff it in my messenger bag and pull it out hours later and the shirt is barley wrinkled at all! The shirt has held up well after many washes, since it is a blend of cotton, polyester and spandex, it barely shrunk at all and the color hasn’t faded a bit. I am certainly eager to check out more of Sombrio’s clothes especially considering my plaid shirt hangs and waits patiently for me in my closet until the sweltering hot, southern summer days have passed.
