The 2008 Alpinestars clothing collection for women, to my mind, is one of the best we've seen to date from the Italy based company.
It's a unfortunate that such a great collection came to be in such a crappy economic situation for the world. Each day I talk to women who are pretty much disgusted with the stock at local shops for women sportbike clothing. "NOTHING" is used a lot for the quantity and quality of inventory at shops these days. Unfortunately, there's little a shop can do to actually stock or even sell women's clothing when the retail sector is so grim. To stock a varied selection and full size run of women's clothing in this market would be suicidal. The market is just too small.
Manufacturers too are trimming their options for women. The women's motorcycle clothing market is a tough one to crack and even tougher to maintain for manufacturers. We know because we see them squirm each year to try and figure out what women really want. Of course, it doesn't help matters that all this stuff is generally designed by men and often more for their own enjoyment rather than really protecting a women rider. Generally speaking (as in, I'm generalizing), nothing fits women, they typically only ride in warm dry weather and tend to come in and out of the sport quickly. A large part of the market are not riders at all, but passengers and a lot of poor products are designed only for the passenger, where as I can't think of a men's motorcycle clothing item that's designed specifically for those times when "he's a passenger".
Then there's the fashion side. One year pink is in, the next it's yuck. One season, the "Outlaw Slut" look may be en vogue and perfectly acceptable and the next season that stuff is passed up for more conservative and classic stuff.
Fortunately, there's always mail order. We often advise women to order at least 2 sizes of the same garment from us. Just return the item that doesn't fit (or both if neither fit) and save some time. Motostrano's return policy is among the best in the business when it comes to clothing.
From the 2008 Alpinestars line there are some unique garments worth checking out for women riders and women passengers:
It's a unfortunate that such a great collection came to be in such a crappy economic situation for the world. Each day I talk to women who are pretty much disgusted with the stock at local shops for women sportbike clothing. "NOTHING" is used a lot for the quantity and quality of inventory at shops these days. Unfortunately, there's little a shop can do to actually stock or even sell women's clothing when the retail sector is so grim. To stock a varied selection and full size run of women's clothing in this market would be suicidal. The market is just too small.
Manufacturers too are trimming their options for women. The women's motorcycle clothing market is a tough one to crack and even tougher to maintain for manufacturers. We know because we see them squirm each year to try and figure out what women really want. Of course, it doesn't help matters that all this stuff is generally designed by men and often more for their own enjoyment rather than really protecting a women rider. Generally speaking (as in, I'm generalizing), nothing fits women, they typically only ride in warm dry weather and tend to come in and out of the sport quickly. A large part of the market are not riders at all, but passengers and a lot of poor products are designed only for the passenger, where as I can't think of a men's motorcycle clothing item that's designed specifically for those times when "he's a passenger".
Then there's the fashion side. One year pink is in, the next it's yuck. One season, the "Outlaw Slut" look may be en vogue and perfectly acceptable and the next season that stuff is passed up for more conservative and classic stuff.
Fortunately, there's always mail order. We often advise women to order at least 2 sizes of the same garment from us. Just return the item that doesn't fit (or both if neither fit) and save some time. Motostrano's return policy is among the best in the business when it comes to clothing.
From the 2008 Alpinestars line there are some unique garments worth checking out for women riders and women passengers:
- Our favorite jacket for 2008 is the Alpinestars NYC Jacket for women. Classic good leather jacket, fully perforated, clean cut. There's also a men's version if you need to match.
- Gotta admit, this jacket is not popular, but we still love the Alpinestars Stella Tokyo Jacket anyway and would like to see more women in it. It's bold, different and more like a high fashion jacket, with armor to boot. Fashion wise, it's ahead of its time.
- We used to hear it all the time "Why doesn't any one make a real track glove for women?" Well, now they do. Alpinestars does, with the Alpinestars GP Plus Gloves for women, so please buy this glove if you want it to be around next year. Good sales of this item will ensure that it's available in the future.
- Bootwise, Astars stamped out some high style boots that are for every day commuting and tooling around in the city. The Alpinestars Armada Boots and the Alpinestars Torre Boots are made of soft leather with a lot of attention paid to the style of these boots. Many women get freaked out about the race boot look. For those, these two casual riding boots are a great pick for something unique on the market that offers protection, comfort and style rolled into one.
- Of course, there is the hardcore, the gals that spit past the guys on twisties or on the track. For you there is the Alpinestars Julie Suit. Gotta say, this suit fits women nearly perfectly, as long as you're of "average build", whatever that means. The Julie is cut so well for curvey women. We haven't seen a girl's suit of this caliber off the rack. Great product.
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