A Jacket for All Occasions

The package came in a regular brown box, but once open it’s meticulous wrapping in red tissue paper made it seem like a Christmas present forgotten for weeks. At least, it even felt that way. The jacket was soft as I ran the soft baby blue fabric over my hands, wondering was this truly a bike jacket, or something I was expected to wear out next weekend with my friends? In lieu of a Christmas card, there came a letter direct from the owner or Harlot Clothing Company. In it she thanked me for this, the review, but went on to brilliantly explain to me the content of my “present”, The Sophia jacket. However, in only a few hours of wear it was evident that she didn’t need to convince me of this jacket.

I was somewhat familiar with Harlot clothing company as this past summer I was looking to eek out of my lycra riding shorts and in to something more mountainous and less road biker. The only bump in bike clothing shopping was finding women’s specific clothes that fit a womanly, sporty figure and not your “average woman.” Because at 5 foot nothing I am still in shape. I run marathons in the winter and race mountain bikes in the summer. I coach the girl’s tennis team and run circles around our boy’s baseball team in the winter. Athleticism is not a question in my life and there is no denying the genes of my family. Hips, thighs, curves, I am every “match.com’s” desire. Hence why I wanted away from the lycra and into something with a little more fabric. Here came Harlot.

I started with their shorts last summer. An elastic waist won me over coupled with padding that left you feeling as if your seat bones were bare as opposed to feeling as if an adult diaper was strapped to you. It’s not your ordinary biking short. They are fitting, yet stretchable, and hugging yet breathable. And again, as with the Sophia Jacket, you can wear them while you kick back with a beer after a satiating ride.
The Sophia Jacket offers all this and more. Immediately after opening, like a kid at Christmas, I threw it on over my sweaty running clothes and took the dog out for yet another run. It has all the additives of a biking jacket including being longer in the back to cover it all as you hunch over the bike as well as having longer sleeves. Yet, the look was blended into a checkered soft shell on the outside that could easily be worn out for happy hour on Friday. Add the cozy fleeced inside coupled with a higher collar and you have yourself a comfortable jacket for the biting winds of the changing seasons.

The jacket fit and it fit well. Versatile does not even begin to explain the first day (the earlier paragraph only described the evening I spent with it) I had with my Sophia. I wore it at 5 am for my run in 20 degrees with a thin wicking shirt underneath and managed to stay warm and dry. Surprisingly, after a quick whiff of it, I realized it still smelled new and I was able to wear it to work as an extra layer for when the heat shut off in my classroom (one must love public education). Coworkers complimented me before I even had a chance to brag about my new digs and by the afternoon I was wearing it to coach the tennis team all the while basking in compliments from high school girls and other coaches. Undoubtedly, it is one rugged, cozy, warm, yet sleek and stylish all at the same time.

The Sophia Jacket is not your average Christmas present, which makes it all the more exciting. There is no doubt that Harlot is coming up with innovative, comfortable, versatile outerwear for active, adventurous women that goes beyond what we have ever expected. It has taken into account the details that we forget including a longer backend, pocket on the sleeve, and fleece collar and of course their insignia red star that reminds you that this is one tough chick wearing it.

To view a 2009 Harlot catalog and order your own Sophia Jacket, visit www.harlotwear.com