While runners like myself prefer to embarrass our families and friends by donning the most stained and raggedy mismatched clothes possible when hitting the streets or track, new Wellesley “premium performance apparel” e-tailer Tracksmith is targeting a wholly different clientele with its stylish throwback shirts and shorts (including these skimpy ones that go for $60).
The venture-funded company ($1.6M in seed money) with a hare for an icon plays up the fact that most of its stuff is made in New England factories and that its offices are based in the town at the Boston Marathon’s halfway point — your very own Wellesley, Mass.!
But don’t think Tracksmith and its Ivy League-themed clothes for men are all style and no substance — some items include the sort of wicking material that serious runners have embraced to keep them cool and dry even in sticky weather. Prices range from $35 for a racing shoe bag to $65 for a singlet to $90 for some shorts.
Company CEO and Wellesley resident Matt Taylor has a background in running at Yale and marketing at Puma, while co-founder Luke Scheybeler’s track record includes co-founding a cycling fashion company called Rapha (the guy even has his own Wikipedia page).
The online retailer has made a slick debut in the press, lining up coverage to hit today from fashion watchers like Esquire, GQ and Maxim as well as from business and trends publications like the Boston Business Journal, Techcrunch and Wired.
Meanwhile, no matter how much you beg, you will not find me running the Thanksgiving Day Wellesley Turkey Trot (registration opens Aug. 1) in these shorty shorts. Well, unless they make me significantly faster.
