THE CFS GUIDE TO LOOKING GOOD ON A BIKE

Lately I’ve been getting mega into cycling – thanks to my lovely boyfriend building me a custom bike! Code For Something orange with pink trims. It’s not finished but I adore it anyway.

My steed! It doesn't have a name yet, any suggestions?

Last Friday night I accompanied the boy to an Alleycat, organised by the good folk at AKFIXED. It was a great event, and stretched me physically but what I really loved seeing was the other people’s fashion and bike style.

You can see me & my wee bike at the center-left. Photo by Frank.

What I wore was pretty standard Amber-wear: a Huffer shirt, cardigan, my Moochi raincoat, black skinny jeans and vintage boots. Though the crowd was mostly boys, they were definitely a sartorially interesting bunch! I saw some sweet Lycra, lots of plaid and some great tattoos.

It inspired me to investigate what’s happening out there in the wider world of velo-couture! From my reading and musing, I declare there’s only 3 simple parts to looking fabulous on a bicycle:

1. THE RIDE

What kind of shape do you like? A curvy woman of a bike or super angled like a Transformer? My bike is an old Peugeot girl’s bike, which make it easy for me to wear skirts if I so choose. In case you ever wondered, skirt and frock wearing is a the reason for the gender/toptube differentiation… yep, it’s so we have more fashion choices! Another reason for the slope is to make it easy to get on/off regularly, so they are often called delivery/city bikes because of this.

An aquacycle! Delivery bike spotted in Kyoto.

If you want to make life easy and buy something off the rack, but still awesome, Coolhunting has a wicked round up of swish looking bikes for girls (& boys!). Keen for a harder, more industrial look? G-Star have collaborated with American cycle manufacturers Cannondale to create a bike for urban warriors.
Next up is the gear debate – fixed, single speed or multi-gear? It doesn’t matter too much to me, but fixie-faces will protest otherwise… Right, next subject!

Once you’ve got your bike, make it yours. Bright colours are always a good choice! Shocking blue? Electric green? I dare you to channel the 80’s!

All blue, baby. Even down to the chain!

As far as accessories go, spokie-dokies are rather fancy, while streamers are fantastic (I’ve heard that someone out there makes adult leather streamers!).

Yes, awwwww.

Loads of people have discovered that baskets are both styling and practical! I’m looking to perhaps add a quaint wicker basket to my bike this summer and look forward to riding home from the market with my shopping neatly piled inside it (I have a feeling that our house cat, Sparticus, will not be partial to being toted around).

2. THE HELMET

So it crumples your hair, but it’s much better than having a crumpled head, right? They are for the most part pretty naff, but a solution could be wearing a helmet intended for another purpose… how about a sleek equestrian helmet? Or perhaps a matte black snowboarding helmet?

Currently I use a shiny mirror like BMX helmet, but what I really want is a Yakkay. They’re so cute and flexible, with each model named after classic cycling cities. Change your look to suit your mood or your location!

3. THE CLOTHES

There are really no limits on what you can or can’t wear… loads of people make it work while toting their lives around; it seems that cycling is a way of life everywhere bar the English-speaking world! So recognising that, go nuts! Here are 5 sources of inspiration for hot cycling wear…

One of the best references for polished bicycle style is the Scandinavian blogs of course! Copenhagen Street Style delivers loads of fresh faces in a world of sweet rides.
A well known dedicated site is Copenhagen Style Chic, where most of the photographs come literally from on the road. They also have international guest postings.
Try searching through velo related groups on Flickr. I plugged in a search for the term “bike” at wardrobe remix and the results were amazing. The same trick works at The Sartorialist – he has posts tagged bicycle.
Read this article on Tokyo Bike Fashion at the International Herald Tribune. It makes me want to go deck myself out in a pristine unbleached cotton outfit!

The Claksa Hotel, Tokyo, provides free electric bikes to guests.

WHY NOT?

I completely believe cycling is where the world should be heading in terms of personal transportation, so why not get a head start on the pack? Be kind to the earth and get some exercise… plus you get to look cool.

It’s win/win/win with only 3 simple parts to the cycle style equation. Easy! Of course the sky’s the limit when it comes to your creativity and how much you want to invest. Over the next week or so I’ll be posting some inspiring bicycle tid-bits and of course, a rad cycle outfit or two! These posts are also linked to below.