Here comes the sun

Posted by Gavin

Well, sort of. In fact let's be honest - we've seen precious little of it so far [unless you were lucky enough to go somewhere warm on training camp]. Mind you, that might nor be a bad thing. I seem to remember that we had an amazing April last year and look what happened come Women's Henley [an event that has scarred me for life].

Anyway, more to the point, it's also the time when you are starting to find out whether all that winter training has paid off. It's the regatta season again and that means it's time to start looking at kit for the summer [any excuse not to think about the actual job in hand]. And it's at this time of year that one garment in particular cries out for consideration. The zephyr. We've always been big fans of the zephyr [it's arguably one of our 'signature' garments] as we feel it's a great bit of kit that reflects the heritage of the sport better than anything else yet can also be just as effective [in terms of performance]. We've now uploaded the new '08 Design Sheets for the two different zephyrs we are offering this year [which means that you can now download them direct from this site via the Severn page. The Design Sheets will give you all the information you need about the actual garment including about the fabric, fit and features]. Why two different types? Well, it means that we can then ensure that we are offering a garment that is genuinely 'fit-for-purpose' for everyone. If you want a garment that can be used at the very highest level of the sport then we've got the ultra-close fitting 'Omicron' - which we designed in conjunction with Cambridge specifically for this year's Boat Race - which utilises a great new mesh fabric we've developed [Meryl Breathe]. And then of course there's the Elite. It's still a performance garment [utilising the lightweight, highly breathable Spartax 155 fabric] but it's got a more relaxed feel to it. And that's what makes it such a great all-rounder as it caters for a whole range of different athletes [different ages, different sexes, different shapes...] while still being really comfortable and surprisingly effective [Cambridge actually won last year's Boat Race in them].

Of course both the Elite and the Omicron are now available in female specific form as well [we're much more in touch with our feminine side than we used to be] so if you're a women's crew you don't have to end up looking as though you are rowing in one of your grandfather's old collar-less shirts.

Another thing that we've been able to do is find a new way of replicating the 'vintage' striped braid that zephyrs [especially at the Oxbridge colleges] are traditionally associated with. Originally we used to use exactly the same braid that A.E.Clothier use to trim their blazers but we decided to drop that a few years ago as it became increasingly apparent that it simply wasn't compatible with the latest generation of fabrics. Striking it might have been but performance-enhancing it certainly wasn't. Now we are using some of the latest sublimation techniques to offer the same look 'look' as the old stuff but using our Spartax 230 fabric instead [which is specially designed to be sublimated]. Granted, the new striped trim won't make you row any faster - but it's a great deal more comfortable and practical than before.

So, there's now no excuse for not looking great on the water. Let's just hope the sun comes out...PS Of course if you an Oxford College you are already too late for this year [sorry - cut-off was at the start of this week]. But the good news is that we are still a few weeks away from the cut-off for the Cambridge Colleges [for May's] and Women's and Men's Henley. One thing though, if you are interested in the new 'vintage' stripped trim you would need to let us know by NEXT WEEK at the very latest [it might be significantly more comfortable than before - but it still takes a bloody long time to produce].