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Fat Fashion Thursday is back for another dose of hot fashion and animal-friendly accessories. Sort of.

This post was inevitable, though perhaps less fashiony than the usual (not so frequent lately, sorry) Fat Fashion Thursday posts. I figured since I’m commuting by bike now I’d share what’s been working for me clothing-wise.

Donning lycra and a helmet and gallavanting around town might sound like just about the most uncool thing since stirrup pants and a side-ponytail, but trust me, if you’re riding 18 miles per day it’s a hell of a lot better than the fierce chafing you’d receive in street clothes. Two outfits today. One is my pretty much daily riding outfit. The top changes depending on the weather (it’s getting colder) but I actually own all this gear so I can give it an honest evaluation. The other is for the less than stellar days when stuff decides to fall from the sky. Shall we?

Oh, one more thing before the clothes: Support your local bike shops! Before you order something online, why not give them a call and see if they can order it for you? Locally, I highly recommend BikeBeat (ask for David), Conte’s or East Coast Bicycles.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Active, hot, curvy women the world over would do well buying a pair of Women’s Workout Capris by Moving Comfort ($42). I love these. They’re sleek, supportive and are the perfect thing for riding in the fall. If only they made these padded around the girly bits, they would be perfect. I usually throw on some sort of technical fabric t-shirt like the Moving Comfort Ventus Tee ($38 on sale $33) which keeps you cool (or warm) by wicking away sweat. It’s darn comfy too.

On the feet goes some variation of running socks plus these Shimano SH-MT31 shoes ($65). Why special bike riding shoes? The bottom is inflexible and really makes a difference on how your feet feel (comfort vs. pain after a few miles of hard pumping). Walking feels a little funny at first though. On the hands go some Trek WSD Club Gloves ($15) which are padded on the palms to make you impervious to all the vibration your poor hands will be subjected to. I hate riding without gloves unless it’s less than a mile. Mine are chartreuse green to match my Giro Indicator Helmet ($35). Yes, helmets are about the dorkiest-looking thing out and they make your head sweat, but I figure it’s a lot better to look dorky while riding than look brain-damaged or dead when you fall off. Please wear a helmet, kids.

Last but not least I love my Sigg Water Bottle ($19). Besides being environmentally friendly and reusable, it doesn’t make your water taste like plastic and it’s sturdy as can be. I dropped mine this morning going about 23mph coming off the Granby St. bridge and just about ran over it. Just a few scratches. I know the plastic bottles I used to use would have cracked right open. Check these bottles out, they have tons of awesome designs, you’re sure to find one you’ll like.

If it’s raining out and your commute is more than a few minutes you pretty much have three choices. 1) Wear breathable, water-resistant clothes and get wet from the rain. 2) Wear waterproof clothes and get wet from your sweat. 3) Drive.

I choose number one. If it’s warm out, I don’t really bother with rain stuff. If it’s cold, then I’m putting on my Sugoi Zap Bike Jacket ($90). I love this jacket because it’s windproof and does a heck of a job resisting a lot of water. It also looks snappy and has a ton of reflective strips on it for maximum visibility. Comes in pretty colors too. Pair this with some Coolweather Tights ($90) which aren’t water resistant at all but have lots of other great qualities like keeping your girly bits happy with a nice padded area and keeping you really warm by wicking water & sweat away. You also wanna wear something under the jacket and while it’s been too warm to do a serious base layer yet, I think the Sugoi Midzero Zip base layer ($75) would be great when it gets below 40ish. You’re also gonna want a pair of SealSkinz Waterproof Gloves ($33) and SealSkinz WaterBlocker socks ($40) to keep you dry as possible. If you’re lucky like me, you have a shower at work and a shower after riding in the rain is just about the best feeling ever. If not, well, get under that hand-dryer and get to work, missy.

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