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louison bobet porticcio 69 merino pullover & letouquet74 merino cardigan
i have recently endured an extended bout of wedding preparations of which i was deliberately a very small part. in fact, when time came for my son to make his first speech as a married man, when offering the obligatory thanks to his parents, he should probably have added in metaphorical brackets, that he was thanking his father for keeping out of the way. i am not one who suffers fuss and faff gladly; the past few months have been punctuated by regular periods of both. there were several iterations of invitations to be gone through and the inevitable need to adhere to a somewhat nebulous dress-code.
while those who had been merey invited to the nuptial celebrations were effectively given carte blanche as to their own level of sartorial elegance, those of us designated as wedding party fodder were the subject of inescapable designation. in short, this being a scottish wedding, it was implied, if not stated, that the males of the group would be expected to wear kilts. as one who spent 13 years in islay pipe band, reinforcing my reputation for being a tad awkward, i refused. in a vain attempt to defuse the heavy silence that followed, i offered to wear tartan trousers, though more in the hope that this would be thought ridiculous and i'd be allowed to wear a normal pair of trews.
as if that was ever going to happen.
mrs washingmachinepost, on the other hand, spent many a frustrating evening, searching high and low for a dress that she'd be happy to wear throughout the happy day. so many were the items sent and subsequently returned, i had offered the helpful suggestion that we might better have the garments delivered directly to the post office and thus cut out the middle-man. i need not elucidate on just how well that suggestion survived.
at day's end, there was little escaping the fact that jacket, waistcoat, white shirt and tartan trews became order of the day and i (almost) suffered in silence. but oh, how much nicer it would have been had i had the option to choose something that would allow me to be not only comfortable, but indulge my velocipedinal affections.
obviously, those purplish tartan trousers (which, coincidentally, matched the kilts of both the groom and best man quite remarkably) would have been given a large body-swerve in favour of a comfortable pair of cycling jeans, while the t-labs stelvio would have replaced the white shirt and purple cravat (i wish i was joking). but at that point, i would then have come across a bit of a dilemma.
france's louison bobet, aside from a comprehensively admirable range of on-the-bike clothing, also present items of particularly desirable off-the-bike apparel. and two of those desirable items sent in my direction were the vibrant blue merino porticcio 69 and the light grey, ribbed merino letouquet 74 cardigan. the conundrum would have been which to wear for the day ceremony and dinner, then in which option to lounge about in the evening.
both of these items of quality merino knitwear feature tall collars that can also lie flat when their zips reach just below the neckline. the letouquet owns a fill length zip, adopting every aspect of cardiganhood in a fabulously velocipedinal style. should this ever be in doubt, just take a look at the folded cuffs with their sculpted thumb hole ready and waiting to keep the sleeves from heading towards the elbows when briefly on the bicycle. this aspect is also present on the porticcio; it may be casual attire, but it wears its sporting pretensions on its sleeves.
the porticcio sports a quarter-length zip, 'neath that high collar and a thin, light-blue hoop around its middle and the name of its benefactor louison bobet embroidered at bottom right at the back. dressed in either, i could have exuded a considered suavity amongst the assembled wedding guests, all the while retaining those subtle cycling proclivities, safe in the knowledge that neither would have looked remotely appropriate with a purple cravat.
for relaxing evenings in front of eurosport's giro highlights, periods of bike fettling, afternoons chasing the kids round the garden or, as alluded to above, family weddings, i can think of few other items of merino apparel that would maintain that relaxed, yet athletic look in the face of marital disapproval.
unashamed quality.
the porticcio 69 is available in electric blue in sizes small through xl at a direct cost of €290 (£245). their grey letouquet 74 retails at €300 (£253) and is available in the same range of sizes.
wednesday 10 may 2017
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