Vulpine launch new spring merino clothing

It’s been a busy year for London-based Vulpine but they haven’t been sitting back resting on their laurels (as we saw when we get a sneak peek at their latest clobber last month),  they’ve added three new women’s merino jerseys, a sport Alpine Jersey for both men and women, and updated several of the men’s jerseys, including the Merino Button Jersey that we liked a lot here at road.cc.

We’ll start with the Alpine Jersey (£80) first, because it’s shiny and new. Founder Nick Hussey describes it as an “interesting direction for Vulpine.” It’s available for men and women. That’s because it’s a performance-cycling influenced top “for riding up beautiful cols in the searing heat and screaming down past the snow line. Or just a nice cakey jaunt to Box Hill,” Hussey tells us.

It shares similarities with the Button Jersey but still has a slightly more relaxed fit than an out-and-out racing jersey, but closer fitting than the rest of their range. Relaxed and fitted is how we’d probably describe it, and doesn’t require the low body fat of Wiggins to squeeze into it. It's made from the same 180g Tasmanian merino wool Vulpine use for their other garments, which is great at wicking sweat away from your skin and stays smelling nice.

It’s packed with performance features, including a full-length contrast zip, angled rear pockets and a central zipped pocket for valuables. The two main pockets have v-stitched button closures, for a touch of the classic 50s racing look and to tweak the casual side of things. The Zip pull docks in a merino port, with non-slip leather pull. It’s all made with flat-lock stitching and the waistband is lined with silicone details to stop it riding up. It’s available in four colours; claret, astral blue, grey and fern green. How good does the green look?

Onto the expanded women’s range, and they’ve added the Merino T (£55) and Merino V-neck (£55), alongside the Alpine Jersey we’ve already talked about. Both are made from high-grade 180g Tasmanian merino with a choice of three colours and sizing from. Like the Women's Merino Button Jersey we’ve reviewed, the tops are tailored to fit women better, a little shorter in the body, cut in at the waist and wider at the hips.

We know Vulpine have had a lot of interest from women cyclists for more choice, as Hussey explains: "I'd planned to go 50/50 on male/female ranges from day one, but the economic realities of working with factories on minimum runs etc meant that I had to wait until we had a bit of momentum before jumping in".

Onto the updated men's range, and the V-Neck Merino T (£55) is a natural progression merino T that Vulpine launched with. There are no changes to the T, as Hussey said: "why change a winning formula? We built it to be the best, and it is getting reviews as such. Its not cheap, we know that. But it uses the best, plushest, no-piling merino. Fabric and finishing of that quality is pricey! It's actually great value. Honest guv." (For more of his direct thoughts on value, read Fifteen Thoughts On Value).

The Men's Merino Button Jersey (£80) is updated from direct customer feedback. It is now cut shorter at the waist, with silicone grip tape at the rear only, a larger valuables zip pocket and a tweaked shape.

That’s not all, well it is for now. But, in the pipeline for a July release is an updated Original Rain Jacket, Harrington Rain Jacket, new cotton trousers and cotton shorts, all in up to four colours all in women's sizing too, which Vulpine intend to continue as they grow.

Nick, cleaning up after the shoot...

www.vulpine.cc