La Classica Vintage Winter Jersey

Matt Wallis

A review of the La Classica Vintage Winter Jersey.

La Classica are an Italian cycle clothing company based in the riding hotbed of Lake Como. They aim to bring together fashion and cycling, while maintaining a high attention to detail. Their range has a kind of vintage style to it, which plays true to their name. Personally I’m a massive fan of this kind of minimal styling, it seems to stand out among the abundance of fluoro yellow and loud prints seen on the roads today.

The La Classica Vintage Winter Jersey is a subtle ‘classic’ look jersey

I received the Malta colour of this long-sleeved jersey, which is a kind of cream/grey colour predominately, with navy and burgundy bands around the wrists, base and neck. As mentioned earlier, La Classica go with understated Italian style. The jersey is woven with a merino wool mix, which should be nice and warm without sacrificing any wicking properties.

There’s the standard, three pocket arrangement at the back, with the only exception being the rear right pocket, which is secured with a zip. They’ve also included a hole inside this pocket which allows you to thread your earphone lead through, should you wish to. The cable management continues at the right side of the neck, where a button-hole exists for this purpose.

A merino mix keeps the La Classica Vintage Winter Jersey nice and warm

The jersey has other nice details like a rubber gripper at the rear, to prevent the jersey from riding up or down on your back. First impressions suggest this will be a warm jersey either to use as a layer in the wet under a waterproof, or as an outer layer in the dry.

On the road, the jersey has impressed me. On dry chilly spring mornings it’s been the first piece of kit I reach for in the wardrobe. The breathability of the fabric combines with the thickness to allow me to remain warm, yet overheating hasn’t been an issue while riding. Combined with a base layer, and the right pair of gloves, I’d comfortably ride in lower single digit temperatures.

Standard three pocket layout at the rear, with a zipped security pocket

Through winter commutes, the earphone cable management solution has worked nicely, keeping the bulk of the cable out of sight, but not tangling or becoming a nuisance under the jersey. Despite the jersey being slightly on the large side (normally I ride a small, but was sent a medium to review) the jersey is cut somewhere between a race and a club type of fit. This is unlike many other Italian brands who tend to sit more on the extreme race end of the scale, prompting many headaches when deciding which size to opt for.

In summary, I’d not hesitate to recommend this jersey to any rider looking to add some Italian style to their wardrobe. While not being groundbreaking in any particular area of function, I think La Classica strike a great balance on performance while offering the wearer a slice of the exclusivity that some of the bigger more established clothing brands have lost.

With La Classica’s Vintage Winter Jersey, you’re buying well thought out design. Combined with genuine Italian style from a company who pay attention to the small details. Priced at the upper end of the scale – €188.99 for the jersey – this kit goes toe to toe with the big manufacturers. La Classica are offering some refreshing exclusivity to the buyer without sacrificing performance.

La Classica Vintage Winter Jersey

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