Women's jersey

The Vulpine Women's Merino Button Jersey is a gorgeous looking top, with a subtle and stylish v-neck and four button fastening, long sleek, contoured cut with curved hem and neat short sleeves.

It has plenty of features too, with a partial hem gripper, reflective accents, a small light tab at the back and three rear pockets (one with a zip). It's easily non-bikey enough to wear with jeans around town, or in the café.

A proper full-on summer jersey this one, designed for those days when the sun is melting both you and the tarmac and speed is the name of the game. The Oxygen FZ Lady is designed with high performance road riders in mind, to deliver comfort and a stable temperature during rides of any distance.

There's definitely a time and a place for skin-tight Lycra, but for riding around recreationally, pedaling to the gym or down the shops, it can feel a little bit, well, skin-tight! The Long Sleeve Active Top from Zoca is designed to be a more general fitness top, for all sorts of activities, rather than an out and out cycling top, but still technical enough to be suitable for vigorous pedaling if you want.

The first thing I noticed was the style of this top. Yes, that IS important, and especially in a more casually-styled garment.

The Contest SE Lady Jersey from Gore Bike Wear is intended to be an ultra lightweight, cooling jersey with a slim fit for hot summer riding. It's also designed to be an eye-catching design led jersey for those who like to stand out.

The Ultrastar is part of Pearl Izumi's lower-end Select range of products, aimed at the mass market cycling consumer. It's a casually styled jersey, straddling the road and MTB markets, with plenty of features.

Building on Rapha's slow but steady introduction of female specific garments into their range, the Merino Jersey marks the company's first attempt at urban cycling gear for women. Designed to be a casual jersey with performance inherently built in, it is aimed at a huge spectrum of riders, from serious riders for down time use through to recreational and café riders. And of course, WAGs of established male Rapha addicts everywhere!

'Ride Loud' is the motto of Ana Nichoola's new spring/summer range and indeed, shrinking violets might want to pass on the Star Jersey. Available in Gothic black and purple with white stars or white with pastel stars it's a jersey that, as the manufacturers say, shouts 'look at me!'.

Long sleeved jerseys for non-winter use are often pretty thin on the ground and rather hard to get right, and yet they're actually very useful, since a bottle of Pimms usually lasts longer than the classic British summertime.

Shutt VR Signature Sportive women's top - rear

Shutt VR Signature Sportive women's top