When cargo ships have to start employing sails or kites to make their trip economical again, thanks to rising fuel prices, what gets carried had better offer significant profit per volume. That means spices and valuable things, not teeshirts or other cheap clothing. This is a primary reason I think being a Tailor is going to make a real comeback as a profession, along with cobbler and machinist. All these imports are going to get slower and more expensive, less profitable. If we can make a product here, we will.
For the last century, bicycles have been a mature technology. There have been some improvements, like multispeed gear shifters in 1897 which surprised me because 10-speed bicycles weren't a thing until the 1970's, or so I thought. I suspect effective marketing was responsible. 100 years ago, bicyclists wore woolen clothes, no helmet, usually a hat and possibly gloves, a scarf and maybe goggles. There are still bicycling clubs in Britain and France which dress in period costume. It was very proper for the exercise craze that swept the world in the time of Kellogg and the belief that a fit person would live longer or forever. This does not turn out to be true. Eating less will let you live longer. Getting ENOUGH exercise will delay or deny heart attacks if you have good genes. The bicyclists of the time would stop for tea in the various villages and manors converted to hotels for tea and sandwiches, then press on with newly repaired inner tubes, rain or shine. You have to admire English cyclists for riding no matter the weather.
Modern aluminum or carbon fiber framed bicycles are light and fast. They use the latest technology to compete in the Tour de France, which is a massively grueling competition across France and into the Alps and Pyrenees. Racers need every advantage so they usually have the typical skin tight spandex clothes rather than tweed woolens. This is a widely followed sport for bicyclists, one of the reasons I pay attention to it, and the gear and clothing are emulated by cyclists who admire or want to duplicate that level of competition and fitness. Thus your weekends will find bright yellow jerseys on the side of the road, pedaling along and looking very serious.
A fit bicyclist is skinny, like an eel, and covered in bright colors and patches of black and slips through the air so they can go faster. Bicycle clubs that focus on speed rather than tourism compete heavily with components so their clothing is very functional at getting every trace of speed they can, mostly to keep up with the others and not be left behind. Form follows function.
Skintight riding clothes for competition are inappropriate workwear unless you work in a gym. Hard exercise doesn't do good things for personal hygiene in an office either. This is one of the reasons that bicycling to work or school needs to be balanced and less strenuous, allowing more conservative clothing and hopefully sufficient aeration to avoid sweaty smells. Usually you accomplish this by riding more slowly on a different sort of bicycle, more upright. During WW2, the code breakers who were mostly women, at Bletchley Park bicycled to work in military uniforms with skirts.
The most fuel efficient personal vehicle is the 49cc scooter and basic safety gear is a must to save your skin and your life in a wreck. Most people choose to either wear street clothes and risk bad injury but ride in comfort, or they go with full motorcycle leathers despite the low 20-30 mph top speed. You can die at 15 mph, keep in mind so its not paranoid, its just that full leathers on a scooter might be a bit much for a 10-15 minute ride to work. You don't do that on a bicycle, after all.
I can see real value in tailored scooter gear, in style, for each season. Safety gear works best if it fits properly, and tightly on the rider, so it doesn't slip during a crash and injure you or expose you to injury. A riding jacket should be skin tight with the appropriate vents so you don't get all sweaty in the summer and don't freeze in the winter. The essential armor underneath are plastic plates with foam rubber so the impacts won't shatter your arms or collarbone, with armored fabric that won't tear as you slide across pavement, hopefully not hitting obstacles that break bones or kill you. Not to be grim, but we all know of people killed in motorcycle accidents, and a scooter is a type of motorcycle. Their low speed makes them comparatively safe, but there is still some danger from other vehicles.
Motorcycle wear is meant to catch the eyes of drivers in split seconds to save the motorcyclists life. They are very LOUD colors. Not exactly discrete or fashionable unless you are a rap star. Replace the loud with something at least a bit fashionable in form and color. Personally I don't like black leather. I had a black leather jacket. It was glove leather and smelled like fish on a hot day, cod liver oil to be specific. I have no idea why. Lots of old motorcyclists wear black leather jackets because they are both traditional and functional, I just don't like them. Too many pirate cosplayers are wearing black leather with big bright steel zippers like the thug of a 1980's action movie, waiting around for Stallone to punch out their spine. These cosplayers typically end up drinking too much at biker bars, wrecking on a corner, and if they aren't killed, spend the rest of their lives operating an electric wheelchair with a drinking straw. I don't want that. Neither do you. But I do want some better looking scooter gear, in browns and tans and maybe some blue piping and some reflective strips. Something I wouldn't be ashamed to be seen wearing at a decent restaurant or the grocery store.
I saw several motorcycles out yesterday in the Winter sun. The weather that looks warm but the shadows have ice in them and the wind cuts through you. I also saw a scooterist, wearing a clear face helmet and sunglasses. He looked about 60, probably a retiree living in one of the local apartments or a house, motoring around with obvious grocery bags sticking out of the top of panniers behind him, including a loaf of french baguette. He was wearing non-armored street clothes, looked like a London Fog jacket from the 1980's. I used to have one of those.
While that's one approach to scootering, most scooterists recommend armor. I just wonder about armor that's still comfortable work wear. With linings and a cut that appears to be appropriate for the workplace and the riding season. Most motorcycle jackets are loud and flashy stripes which belong on a Power Ranger or black leather. I don't belong in either. I have more class than that. Unless I can find something right, I may end up working with my Mom to tailor something which actually fits me properly, or modify a jacket until it does. I'm sure that kevlar thread is expensive, as is the stronger reinforced fabrics, but expensive doesn't mean unaffordable. Particularly if it fits properly and is comfortable. Its only reasonable that someone else has already done this so I just need to search harder and I'll find gear that's sufficiently conservative in appearance and comfortable to wear. When I find it, I'll post here.
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