Have you heard of VeloVixen? This is a retailer of female cycling clothes and accessories, although if you are of the male variety you might like to read on just in case you want to buy your favourite lady cycling friend/partner/wife a nice gift.
Just recently VeloVixen won the Total Women’s Cycling Award for Female Specific Retailer of the Year 2015.
Founder Liz Bingham said: “We’re thrilled to be recognised like this, especially given that we were nominated 100 per cent by public vote in a strong category. The buzz around this evening is a really exciting reflection of how women’s cycling continues to go from strength to strength.”
How VeloVixen started
I like the story of how Liz and husband Phil came to start the shop. (If I’m honest, I’m more than a tiny bit jealous of their cycle trip that turned into a business.
Liz and Paul met and decided to set off for an epic cycling trip. It ended up being 10,300km, from the southern tip of Argentina up and over the Andes to Lima. And then from Canada to Mexico. At the end, they put down their bikes and Phil proposed. The couple were married in April 2011 and now have two young daughters.
When preparing for the cycling trip and during it, Liz said she struggled to find clothing and kit that was both practical and exciting. She did discover a few items that she like on her travels, including a reflective vest from a generous Peruvian roadworker and Sugoi shorts from Seattle.
Then, one night while cooking over a campfire in Patagonia, the pair decided to create VeloVixen – to offer women a range of hand-selected products that allow women to get more out of their cycling.
They aim of the retail outlet is to sell women’s cycle clothing that is comfortable while riding a bike and lets you feel great in your own skin. Velovixen clothing aims to be both practical and stylish.
VeloVizen website
VeloVixen have also relaunched their website. It now offers improved filtering, sizing and photography, fully-responsive screen sizing and a fast-growing blog section for “Advice & Inspiration” to all kinds of women cyclists.
Liz said: “Women’s cycling’s going through an exceptional time and we expect high profile events like the second running of The Women’s Tour to consolidate that this summer. We intend to continue growing and leading the sector from the front”.
The VeloVixen shop
Take a look at the website. It’s great to see bright colours and fabbie designs for women’s cycle clothing. I have long been fed up of boring black clothing or men’s cycle clothing shrunk to fit women.
The mix of clothing and accessories is certainly eclectic. Road cycling kit is there, alongside commmuter style items. I spotted stylish and practical bib shorts and cycling jerseys, socks, helmets and underwear. Many of these items I would be very happy to wear on my road bike or mountain bike.
I also checked out cycling items that I would be very unlikely to wear but I could see would be perfect for city commuters with much more funkiness than me, such as long cycling rainwear skirts, cycling belts, jewellery, leggits and basket raincovers.
It would appear that whether you are a stylish London commuter cyclist or a serious road competitor there is something for you on this site.
Take a look around the Velovixen shop to see what you think.
And, for interest, find out how to Make Cycling Sausage Leg a Thing of the Past.