With a continuous increase of female riders and a higher demand for correctly fitted motorbike gear, for all our wonderful curves and sizes, Sara Bernice a member of The Litas Plymouth organised a Motorcycle Maids Fashion Show on 21st October. Karen and Robin from Chequered Flag agreed to host the event. All proceeds raised would be split between Royal British Legion and Cornwall Air Ambulance.
Sara came across the idea of organising the event after speaking to a few local girls about bike gear in general. Some of the ladies were slightly taller or had trouble finding gear tailored to their specific figures. This got Sara thinking and after speaking to Karen from Chequered Flag she came up with the idea to showcase women’s motorcycle gear by organising a fashion show.
However, it didn’t come without it’s challenges. Sara wanted to get as many local dealerships on board as possible to donate clothes and showcases their women’s clothing range. But unfortunately she came across a barrage of unhelpful dealerships and generally felt a stigma attached to organising such an event. Out of the 30 local dealerships she contacted, only 3 responded. With others either given excuses of why they couldn’t get involved, such as they had their own cafe in store? As if somehow hosting at another cafe would hindrance their business? And others just not responding at all and even cutting off contact completely. I personally have never had to deal with such experiences as a woman motorcyclist in the industry but it is a shame to hear that others do still come across such issues. Surely by now it should be accepted that us women are a huge part of this industry and our interests in motorcycles is fast growing.
But this in no way had a hindrance on the event which was a great success. We had volunteers to do the models hair and make-up. Courtesy of Clare Munday at Headcase hair salon in Looe and Jessica Stallford, Liskeard Facepainter.
The clothing range that was showcased were from Hedgehog Motorcycles, Triumph Plymouth, Plymouth Harley Davidson and second-hand gear from Nigel Blenkinsop. The clothes were fantastic and really showed the kind of gear available to women of all shapes and sizes. It was also great to see so much had a tailored fit which as a female rider is a dream especially with our ever changing body shapes.
The highlight of the show was the MotoGirl Kevlar leggings. All the models wore these at the start of the show and they all gave excellent feedback on their comfort and flexibility. We also saw a wide range of kevlar jeans which are a more popular choice nowadays, there is a fantastic ladies range with customer reviews at UK based company Sports Bike Shop.
Overall the response from everyone who came and participated was very positive and there has been interest shown to do another event next year. So if you’re a little unsure about what bike gear you can get as a lady rider then fear not, there is an ever increasing demand and suppliers are slowly introducing a wider range of women’s gear. As well as Sports Bike Shop, you can also find some great women’s only companies such as Lady Biker and Moto Girl who specifically specialise in women’s motorbike gear.
You can watch the full fashion show video below
A huge thanks to everyone who was involved and in particular to Sara for organising such a insightful evening for all us fanatic women who love to ride. The show raised £120 for local causes.
Donna May Photography 
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