Thursday, January 13, 2011

Atama Leticia Ribeiro Limited Edition Gi Review

Butterfly guard
December 2010 saw the much-anticipated release (at least by women's BJJ gi lovers) of the Atama Leticia Ribeiro Limited Edition kimono (here for the US). Why the excitement? I'll tell you why - PURPLE BUTTERFLIES AND STARS! You see, while there are plenty of girls that can pull off the Kyra Gracie-style pink gi, equally there are many of us that want limited or no use of pink in women's cut gi, such as the black and white Fenom Lotus, and I am really pleased that Atama has added a new option to the women's gi world. This is my first Atama and after a few rolls and washes I am very happy with its performance, cut and styling. Atama is in the 'premium' gi range and the Leticia Ribeiro Limited Edition set me back $208/£132.[1]

Atama features

Embroidery at upper left leg
The Leticia Ribeiro Limited Edition is all about the insanely cute, yet understated, detailing. Dark purple and deep pink embroidered butterflies and stars at the shoulders and upper left trouser leg make this gi extra special. Much like the OTM Supa Star kimono, the Leticia Ribeiro Limited Edition uses very considered accenting with bold, feminine colours on a white gi to create a spectacular and unique overall effect.
Embroidery at shoulder
In addition to the embroidery, the Leticia Ribeiro Limited Edition has lovely dark purple Atama-branded piping on the inner cuff and around the outside hem of the jacket. The placement and design of the embroidery and piping gives an impression of great attention to detail. There is, however, one small aberration: while the label inside the jacket names the gi the 'Leticia Ribeiro Limited Edition', the trouser label names the gi as the 'Kyra Gracie Limited Edition'. Now, there *is* a new Kyra gi out, and while the embroidery on her new gi looks beautiful, I'm not quite to the point of wearing that much pink (though I am loosening up on this score). Nevertheless, considering the hard work in design this gi suggests, it is a bit of a shame there was less consideration in the implementation.

Read the full review

[1] I purchased my gi from the US-based website. At the time of writing the Leticia Ribeiro Limited Edition was on sale for $156/£99!

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