MUSA/Riv clothing quality

[Andy Beichler]

I have been thinking about my accumulation of stuff over the years.  This has happened in multiple areas of my life. One thing I am considering to get a handle on this is changing my approach to clothing.  I am, by no means, a clothes horse but I have collected way more than I need.  I would like to start buying fewer clothes and focus my purchases on high quality clothing that lasts a long time and which are made from natural materials (though I know that including some man materials in fabric can extend it's life time).  

For those of you who have purchased clothing from Rivendell, how would you rate the quality?  What other brands are out there that are high quality and will last a long time?

Thanks,

Andy

[Bill Lindsay]

I'm in a similar boat: wanting to pare down my wardrobe to fewer items that I want to own.  I'm in the process of upgrading my denim, and I've done three experimental purchases with Gustin.  I expect them to be extremely long wearing garments.  I bought a $180 work shirt and two pairs of $150-$190 jeans.  Another phase of my paring down will be to buy 3 or 4 nice dress shirts and get rid of 10.  Buy 2 or 3 very good sweaters and get rid of a dozen.  Those kinds of things.  

I own two pairs of MUSA knickers, and I consider them very long wearing.  They are probably both over 10 years old, and I imagine the sources of fabric can migrate over the years.  I've got two or three MUSA wool shirts, and those hold up nicely as well.  None of my MUSA clothing is tagged for my wardrobe reduction project.  

Bill Lindsay

El Cerrito, CA

[Jim M.]

I've always found MUSA to be very high quality and long lasting but the selection is pretty limited now. I understand the constraints, but I really liked the seersucker, railroad, and Japanese cotton shirts. Seersucker and railroad shirts were worn until they fell apart, but it took at least 10 years of regular wear before that happened. I wear the Japanese cotton shirts to work, so they don't get as much wear. I also have a sturdy work shirt (moleskin?) that will last forever. I still wear the first pair of knickers I bought from them, which must be at least 15 years old. Even the t-shirts last a good long time. The one item I've had short wear with is the wool boxer briefs, which aren't MUSA. It never took much regular riding to wear a hole in them. 

jim

walnut creek

[Cyclofiend Jim]

The MUSA gear has always been solid. 
Off the top of my head, I've had the shorts and knickers, seersucker, original hoodie, and railroad shirt.
The original grey knickers had a lot of hours on them, and were starting to thin a bit at the saddle contact points, but had plenty of miles left (sold to a list member). The shorts may have had some noticeable wear before I moved those along. I've patched and repatched the hoodie (and WISH I could buy a replacement). I caught the corner of the seersucker on a drawer handle and tore it, but have patched that and it continues to be indestructible. 
I keep wearing the railroad shirt out on the boat and working in the yard and it still looks fine. 

Have no qualms with the investment in any one of those items.

J

On Thursday, June 26, 2025 at 9:26:47 AM UTC-7 Andy Beichler wrote:

[Brian McDermott]

I have an old Russian sailor MUSA wool shirt I love, and I have a pair of Ranger green pants from a couple of years ago that are fantastic quality and fit. I mostly wear black pants so when they came back in stock a few months ago, I bought two pair, and I actually have complaints about this round. The green ones are medium and fit perfectly. These two pairs are also medium, and they seem to have taken in the leg opening a bit which I like as it gives them a slimmer shape, but the waist is way tighter than my green ones. Also the material is nowhere near as moisture-wicking in the rain as the green ones.