Georgia in Dublin's Hustle and Bustle Jacket is a love or hate piece of cycling kit. If you love it, it's a truly innovative design, that looks a bit different and raises the spirits, whilst still managing to be functional and technical cycle wear. Or you'll hate it. It's a fact.
Bizarrely you may even find yourself doing both at the same time. Its style is definitely different, harking back to Edwardian times with a nipped in waist, ruffled cuffs and flouncy tail and it's certainly a jacket that sits most easily with a more genteel ride such as a Pashley or one of Halford's new Pendleton bikes. It's designed to look good with a skirt as well as trousers and to elevate cycling attire to a whole new, more elegant level.
But it's not all style over substance as this jacket and gilet combo is fully waterproof and breathable. The jacket comes in two parts, an outer waterproof jacket with button fastening at the front, and a waterproof fronted gilet with mesh back.
Both parts can be worn separately if desired, although the jacket does look a little strange without the gilet underneath. The jacket has an internal Velcro fastening phone pocket, full mesh lining and a large Velcro fastening pocket in the tail area. The collar can be worn up or down, and has a button to secure if desired, while the long ruffled cuffs can either be worn down to cover hands or gloves, or turned back. Both cuffs and main jacket are generously decorated with reflective trim. The gilet is reminiscent of old fashioned waistcoats in style, and actually looks great on its own, for less hostile conditions. It has two side pockets with no fastenings, a decent high collar, an adjustable back to accommodate bulkier layers, but no reflectivity.
OK, so the style isn't going to suit everyone, and to be honest, I'm not sure it entirely suited me. But, having seen it on other women, of a taller and more willowy variety, it can look very good indeed, especially when paired with a long skirt, skinny jeans or the waterproof skirt Georgia in Dublin also make.
It's comfortable to wear, offering good levels of protection against the elements, and the fabric is pleasantly breathable, with underarm zippable vents offering some level of extra ventilation to offset the extra heating side effects of the jacket's mesh lining.
The Hustle and Bustle is certainly a jacket better suited to less warm conditions, but still functionally useful for year round wet weather use. The gilet on its own is as useful as you could hope for a gilet to be, a great easy way to keep your core warm and dry, without overheating. It's not the lightest jacket combo, nor is it the most packable out there, but it's a jacket designed for more refined cycling excursions than for dashing about on your road bike, although if you can style it right, it'll do that too. The sizing is a little on the neat side, so if you're borderline, consider going up a size.
Yes, it's expensive, there's no denying that, but it's a designer jacket, with genuine technical features and you're not going to see every other Tamara, Dyllis or Harriet riding about in one. If it suits your style and your shape, and you want to look a little bit different, then it's a good investment.
Georgia in Dublin Hustle and Bustle Jacket €195 - price at top of review current sterling conversion at time of publication.
Verdict
Expensive but exclusive, innovative and practical leisure cycling waterproof.
road.cc test report
Make and model: Georgia In Dublin G and N Jacket
Size tested: Black, Large
Tell us what the product is for, and who it's aimed at. What do the manufacturers say about it? How does that compare to your own feelings about it?
Aimed at the more stylish and chic female rider looking for a practical waterproof jacket.
Tell us some more about the technical aspects of the product?
100% PU coated polyester
Reflective trim
Velcro fastening interior pockets x2
Gilet and jacket can be worn separately
Rate the product for quality of construction:
9/10
Lovingly made from good quality materials
Rate the product for performance:
8/10
As a stylish waterproof jacket for more casual riding it performed very well.
Rate the product for durability:
9/10
Pretty much bombproof construction and materials.
Rate the product for weight, if applicable:
5/10
Not light, but it's not designed to be a lightweight packable waterproof
Rate the product for comfort, if applicable:
8/10
Fabric pleasant to wear, breathes fairly well and vents well. Gives good protection against the elements.
Rate the product for value:
6/10
As a designer item, it's inevitably going to be more expensive. If it suits your style though, it's going to be worn a lot (both as jacket and gilet) so worth the investment.
Tell us how the product performed overall when used for its designed purpose
Performed very well.
Tell us what you particularly liked about the product
Different style, fabric, reflectivity, useful separate gilet design.
Tell us what you particularly disliked about the product
Price & that the style didn't suit me!
Did you enjoy using the product? Yes.
Would you consider buying the product? Probably not, due to the fact that it didn't suit me.
Would you recommend the product to a friend? A particularly stylish one, yes.
Anything further to say about the product in conclusion?
Unusual and innovative, this is a waterproof jacket that will appeal to cycling women with a certain style and panache.
Age: 37 Height: 1.65m Weight: 67kg
I usually ride: My best bike is:
I've been riding for: 10-20 years I ride: Most days I would class myself as: Experienced
I regularly do the following types of riding: commuting, touring, general fitness riding, mtb,
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3 comments
It's a good job that Rapha didn't make this. The bile, vitriol and general opprobrium would stink us out.
I've a strong suspicion I like this, the shoulders are excellent, but it'd be good to get a better sense of the shape of it. If it's still around, could you bear to give us a full figure photo?
The black always seems a shame to me. I'd like to see it in teal I think.
my eyes! my eyes! my beautiful eyes!! aaaargh