More Stripes

• Striped fetishists, fear no longer, for another boatload of stretchy banded apparel has hit the shelves here in TATIville. Now that the weather is verging on agreeable, it's time to ratchet up your cycling fashion quotient, friends. Now that everything from Dutch omafiets to carbon maniac Storcks to fixed gear minivelos are readily available here in Hyde Park, I'm expecting a corresponding improvement and diversity in the style of our fine neighborhood riders. It's time to put away those clunky winter boots and balaclavas; racers, save your boring (if chic) maroon-on-white kits for your race weekends -- here's to some velo esoterica this spring!

  Socks are about the same as last time: knee high cotton/wool/synthetic blends... just stretchy enough for most, and comfortable for all. Two dozen colorways, so coordinate or clash with bicycles of every hue. The arm warmers now come in two varieties: last year's design in pink, orange, and blue -- perfectly suited for moderately chilly mornings; and superthin, available in pink, black, and blue. These are much stretchier and a little less constricting for those with atypically large cycling arms, but still workable for smaller riders.

  Socks, $12

  Arm Warmers, $20