Categories: Accessories and GearKitLook Pro

The Tightness of Being

Diego Caccia demonstrates how to make tights work. Photo: Pedale.Forchetta

Sprezzatura. Leave it to the Italians to dedicate a word to trying to Look Fantastic without looking like you’re trying too hard. I’ve haven’t spent much time in Italy, but I automatically love a country where an entire nation holds aesthetics in the same high regard that I do. Not to mention their dedication to drinking espresso and wine. A bottle of wine at lunch? I can work with these people.

Sprezzatura for the Velominatus applies to every aspect of the sport; how we set up our bikes, our style and technique when riding, and how we select and wear our kit. Looking good in the summer isn’t very complicated; any fool can look good in short-sleeved kit adorned with tanned guns. Where things start getting tricky is when the cold and wet sets in and we need to add more kit to the equation. How does one control the chaos as leg warmers, long-sleeve jerseys, caps, gloves, rain jackets and overshoes are added to the mix?

The basic concepts have already been covered under the principles of wearing one’s Flandrian Best; always wear as little as possible, never wear an accoutrement below when a complimentary set is not worn above (i.e. no knee warmers without arm warmers), and never – under any circumstances – wear full-length leggings.

Which brings us to today’s lesson: how to wear full-length leggings and still look as Fantastic as possible. Sometimes it is simply too cold for three-quarters and there is no denying the Pro-ness of casually wandering about sipping a pre-ride espresso in sandals, full length leg warmers, and a long sleeve jersey – especially on a warm summer day. Sprezzatura is an art, and it should not be taken lightly.

The fundamental problem with leggings is that they make the guns amorphous; lots of fabric without any points of definition give the eyes nothing to focus on. If you have amazing calves (which I don’t) then you may be able to break up the monotony with your bodacious leg curves, but the rest of us are going to need some help.

Always go with leg warmers and not one-piece tights. The reason for this is simple: the legs of your shorts will provide the first visual delineation for the eyes to grab ahold of.
The leggings should also always have an elastic gripper around the ankle, not a stirrup. This is Cycling, not ballet. Better yet, the ankles should have a short zipper to ease pre-departure removal of said leggings and also to provide a little more delineation.
When it comes to materials, the more matte the better. In fact, I prefer wool. Thick materials are also handy, as they add some bulk and make the guns look less spindly. All good things.
Look for some leggings with good, thick seams. Again, this makes wool a strong candidate. Align the seams carefully to accentuate whatever curves your leggs can muster up, and make sure both legs are symmetrical. We are not savages.
Wear a contrasting color sock. White is preferable, of course, as demonstrated by Diego above but any color works so long as its not the same as the legging (which should obviously be black).

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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View Comments

wiscot says:

Mar 23 2015 at 1:45 pm

Good piece. Here in WI full tights are a must if Rule 5 is to be followed. (When the wind chill is in the teens, then damn right I'm leaving as little flash exposed!) My issue is, a lot of tights have loose ankles. I don't think my lower leg is particularly slim, but I'm amazed at how many tights are a bit loose down there. Luckily, if it's cold enough to be wearing tights, then a bootie/overshoe can sometimes mask the worst of it.

Colors? Black, black and black. A wee bit of white sock works too.

Arm warmers? Never wear them. It's long sleeved jersey or short sleeved jersey. If it's warm enough for shorts, it's warm enough for bare arms.

I'm looking forward to the first shorts ride of the year, but slightly horrified at the prospect of showing the world how white my guns are after the winter. Tan lines are almost imperceptible by now.
piwakawaka says:

Mar 23 2015 at 2:29 pm

Socks should never go over tights. Thats the equivalent of tights over shorts.
Walbly says:

Mar 23 2015 at 2:46 pm

"and never – under any circumstances – wear full-length leggings" ???

Are you serious? Why don't you tough guys come up north and ride when it is 14 degF in your groovy knickers with your frost-bitten calves sluffing off in big black chunks. With two pair of full-length fleece tights and one pair full-length regular tights I still am lucky if I can do 12 miles without feeling like I won't even be able to get off my bike, much less strut around showing everybody my delineation.

Do you ever even wear full-fingered gloves? And you call yourselves tough.
wiscot says:

Mar 23 2015 at 3:17 pm

@piwakawaka

Socks should never go over tights. Thats the equivalent of tights over shorts.

You got that right. The lead picture is a shocker. Ok, so he wants to show off the sponsor logos on his socks (a modern abomination IMHO and the real culprit in the ever heightening sock debate) but if it's cold enough for full leg warmers, wouldn't a nice knit overshoe look more pro? Merckx knows these guys must have access to the full range of team gear.

While we're doing fashion police duty, those hi-viz yellow socks Katusha wore for MSR were shocking in more ways than one. Baseball caps on the podium again . . . sigh. I'm not a super fan of the BMC kit but when the rain gear went on they looked the best. Most teams end up looking like a bag of washing.
Nik says:

Mar 23 2015 at 3:52 pm

I have newly discovered nanoflex leg and arm warmers. Great stuff, for those looking to spend a bit to make your regular kit more versatile. They have them in a couple different lengths for those full leg phobic. Ha! Love the things.

Seriously though, socks, always wear them inside the warmers. But....I think the outside look is a bit Sprezzatura and the V seal of approval may make me change my ways. Frank, please enlighten me on this.
torrefie says:

Mar 23 2015 at 4:47 pm

I'm with Frank on the full-length tights, there is something slightly drag-queenesque about them, leg-warmers every time.

On that photo, however, I'm fairly certain it is some kind of test. Socks over leg-warmers is a definite "Nope". especially, as in this case, when the socks are semi-opaque and you can see the leg warmers through them... And while i'm being OCD he really should have lined up the velcro straps on his shoes properly.

This whole photo suggests to me that a rule #87 violation was about to occur and that he had to hastily pull himself together!
Ccos says:

Mar 23 2015 at 4:50 pm

True story: One Saturday I was sporting leggings and my two compatriots took note and asked a few questions as they had tights over their shorts (t'was cold) and liked the look of my shorts over the leggings. The following week I wore my standard knee warmers and they appeared to have leggings too. When I shed the warmers later when the temperature rose, there was a long pause from one of them and a quiet "oh, so that's why you weren't chafing wearing them like that..."
PeakInTwoYears says:

Mar 23 2015 at 5:00 pm

Another request that if full leg warmers are worn then socks be worn inside the leg warmers.

Then all Frank's well-taken suggestions about the leg warmers can apply.
unversio says:

Mar 23 2015 at 6:32 pm

@Walbly

Do you ever even wear full-fingered gloves? And you call yourselves tough.

I prefer full-fingered gloves. My best pair from GIRO I refer to them as Mary Tyler Moores -- they are slim.
Puffy says:

Mar 23 2015 at 7:01 pm

Is Tomeke wearing ski boots?