I like to ride my bicycle.  I ride it to the corner store, the Pho shop, Home Hardware, and other reputable businesses.  One thing I don’t do is ride it to work for reasons known: sweat.  Unlike the effortless girls of Dundas, when I get hot, I can’t gun it and get some extra air conditioning afforded by the airstream of a buffeting skirt.  I’ve tried a few things: X-Acto knifing unnoticeable slits in my pants (sorry Bugle Boys), changing at work after a bird bath in the handicap washroom (potentially embarrassing), all to no avail, enter stage right – Outlier Tailored Performance Clothing.  Although I don’t completely buy the “bike to boardroom” motto, this NYC-made collection is extremely well cut and a lot of thought has gone into their design, selection of fabrics and textile purveyor.  The New Zealand sourced Swiss constructed merino is hydrophobic, hydrophilic, and most importantly odour-free.  In layman’s terms, it’s what you want.  I most likely won’t be making my fiscal 2010 projections to the execs in these, but I damn well will be wearing them in every other circumstance.  My money’s on the pale grey summer pants and according to their shipping options – 15 more sleeps! - Grimey

Editor’s Note: Grimey is a hesitant, beat reporter from T.O., if you like his words, show him some love with a comment and he may be persuaded to return.

3 Responses to “Outlier Tailored Performance Clothing”

• Joe Fotheringham says:

  July 23, 2009 at 6:55 pm

  Brilliant post, great writing, great find… We want more Grimey!
• Kim says:

  July 23, 2009 at 11:00 pm

  Agreed! More Grimey I’m liking the New Zealand sourced. We do make very good stuff over here.

  Though I fail to see how it can be both hydrophilic and hydrophobic at the same time…?
  Is it hydrophilic on the inside and phobic on the out?
• Grimey says:

  July 24, 2009 at 8:13 am

  Kim.

  You are correct !

  This is how I figure: if it’s sunny outside and the outer layer doesn’t have to “work”, the hydrophillic interior pulls the sweat out so hard that it ends up on the outside of the fabric and ready to evaporate. If it’s raining outside the hydrophobic layer will repel the rain while the interior pulls the moisture off your skin and on to the surface, keeping you dry. It’s complicated – I’m not a textile engineer, although at times I wish I were. Did you know that classic and top quality cycling jerseys were/are made from merino due to those characteristics ? I’ll have to believe them until I can prove otherwise and if I’ve had the wool pulled over my eyes than it’s due to a great looking product and I only have myself to blame.