Sadly, the OG Cool Racerback is being ushered out the door. This is especially bad news for me, as my closet doesn’t have so much of a pile but a ‘collection’ of at least 15 Cool Racerback tanks inside. The top itself was never the jazziest, but that’s why I love it so much. The straight hem and long length made the CRB an excellent layering piece, and it became a staple of my WOD wardrobe over the past few years.
This morning, I had less time to kill before work than I’d have liked. Philadelphia, your parking situation is horrible. With less than 45min on the clock to walk two blocks to the store, shop, try on, choose, pay and walk back to the car I was a woman on a mission. Therefore, I only have a few photos of the CRB2 before making like Jay-Z and moving on to the next one.
The Fitting Room: Cool Racerback II ($52 USD…I think)
The CRB2 definitely feels different. The biggest change in design is the cut in the back, but it’s not the only thing that’s been manipulated.
At first look, the cut around the neck and arms remains the same, but the seams are flatter. Instead of that piped trim, it’s wider and lays flatter, which I do like.
It’s made of light luon, and definitely feels lighter than the old design. This is also a plus.
The overall length of the design has been shortened, which I personally do NOT like. I understand I’m in the taller minority, so for many of you peanuts who have always lamented that the CRB is too long, you will welcome this change.
As for the rear view, it’s a minor source of disappointment. In a perfect world, your tank is always centered and is a perfect chance to ‘show off your bra straps’, which the product description includes as a plus. If you want to show off the fun criss cross of your bra straps, get a Sculpt Tank. Last year’s Var-City Tank is a perfect example of how the bra strap showcase is supposed to work. This tank is meant for function, not pageantry.
The fact of the matter is, we’re not models and don’t have handlers chasing us around trying to make sure everything is perfectly centered. If it’s not perfectly centered, then it’s lopsided like the photo above and it’s juuuust enough to bother me. The nitpick in me also isn’t a fan of how the logo moved down.
Long story short, this is a long tank fallen short for me. Go figure I didn’t wear my usual CRB layer today, so I didn’t have the opportunity to compare them directly. Wasn’t expecting to see one in store today after the USA’s having been passed over on upload this week.
The Verdict: While it felt nice, the shortened length ultimately left me feeling indifferent. Therefore, I left it on the rack. I’m not going to say I’ll never buy one, but I wasn’t in the mood to start a new stockpile today.