bikebikebike

Hard hat reflective covers are cheap convenient and effective and easy to come by
Reasonably aesthetic
1+ for reflective vests in HiViz

Clyde1820

Myself, I'm a "Bright Colors" type. DayGlo yellow/green.

Can't say whether it's because eyes, in general, respond better to "bright colors" (ie, DayGlo Yellow/Green) than average/flat color or stripes, but I do know that I can more-easily see somebody on the road if that person's wearing really bright "safety" colors. The bright top can help show the outline of the cyclist within a relatively short distance (say, 150ft); and a proper lighting arrangement can help be seen at much greater distances. Best of all worlds, IMO.

rekmeyata

Day glow, or Hi Viz green is not the best choice if you live in an area with heavy covering of trees or green pastures; in that case you want to use Hi-Viz orange; Hi-Viz green works best in brown landscape areas like deserts, or snow, but also in black or dark gray areas.

Now this video is done under gray skys, in direct sunlight the green or yellow hi vis would almost disappear in that same background.
https://www.alsco.co.nz/2019/06/hi-vis-clothing/

1989Pre 

Giving up breads and rolls is not on the program for me, either, Sport-Tek has jerseys like these.

rekmeyata

One of my jersey's is a soccer shirt, I bought it 25 or so years ago, not only is it holding up extremely well, it is my coolest wearing jersey I have. I bought it when I was living in the high desert of California where in the summer it would reach 100 degrees and then some; I bought it because it had thousands of small holes thinking what the heck I'll try and see of the holes work better for cooling...yes, they did, that jersey worked better than my most expensive one did with all the fancy scientific cooling fibers that cost me $95 at the time, that soccer jersey was only $8! Not only did it cool me better, it outlasted my $95 jersey!

Even the newer jerseys I have bought since then still don't have the cooling performance of that soccer jersey, but I moved from that hot climate to a more moderate climate so it's not as big of a deal anymore. But living in that hot climate showed me something...the expensive jerseys didn't work any better than the cheap ones did! And because of that living experience, I no longer buy expensive jerseys or expensive socks, I save that money to put towards better shorts instead.

I forgot something, the other thing I found out while riding in a very hot climate, loose fitting jerseys cooled better than tight fitting jerseys, sure loose fitting is not very aero, big deal, I wasn't racing, but the loose-fitting ones allowed for air to billow inside and kept my skin cooler, the skin tight fitting ones were noticeably hotter. I guess there is a reason why in very hot countries they wear very loose-fitting clothes.

I wear mostly loose fitting no cycling related jerseys I find at Costco, they cost about $12 to $15 each, and they work as good as my newer $130 one. Why did I buy the $130 one if that's the case you scream? I was visiting my old bike shop in 2016 in California where I bought my first two bikes from, and where I raced out of some 40 plus years ago, so I bought a new team jersey they had, I told them the story just as a conversational thing, I went to pay and the guy unexpectedly rang it up under the team discount!

1989Pre 

I agree with everything you said. Also, form-fitting shirts just feel a little creepy, especially during the last stages of a hot ride when there's probably some sand in there.
Another reason that I like looser styles, is because I wear long-sleeves (for sun protection) most of the time, and if I want to haul on my sleeves to roll them up to the elbows, (again, on a hot ride), I can only do that if the sleeve has some extra fabric. A form-fitting sleeve really won't roll up very well. This goes for running, too.
I just bought a team jersey from Herne Hill Velodrome in England, and paid more than I'd like to admit (with shipping involved), but it has a "relaxed fit" (somewhere in between race and leisure), and it is lined, too, for cooler days, so I broke my teacher's rule.
My Sport-Tek cost me about 13 bucks, and since you reminded me, I'm going to buy two more in some different colors.
The "aero-dynamics" factor, I think, is silly non-sense for even avid riders. Would they be riding with over-sized tubes and disc-brake systems if they were really that concerned with "aero-dynamics"?
Another reason that dedicated cycling jerseys don't give me any benefit is because I wear a "fanny pack", and that covers all of the pockets on the back of the shirt.
Regarding marketing, you know what they say? "The truck backed up.., and everybody got in."

1989Pre 

This mesh jacket actually had tiny, flashing bulbs till they went on the fritz.