Guest Post by C.M.Bicycles are the latest fashion accessory to go mainstream... the weird thing its not normally what people think of when they think "fashion accessory"... although obviously Paris Hilton seems to think chihuahuas make good fashion accessories.
So ignore the bracelets, the faux scarves, the Fendi bags... watch out when you walk into Club Monaco or any other high end fashion store for women and the biggest accessory in the room is a shiny European-style cruiser bicycle with a price tag of $599 or more.
Blame the explosion of bicycle culture in the mainstream of urban centres around the world, but I am personally going to blame traffic gridlock and Ontario's graduated licenses program (which didn't even put a dent into teenager driver accident fatalities) for making it so much more difficult for young people to get a driver's license.
Whatever the cause, the point is bicycles are now considered kewl and the must-have item for fashionistas who are increasingly environmentally friendly, love yoga, have experimented (and possibly failed) with veganism and seem to have forgotten their boots are made of leather, and so is the nice bicycle seat their sitting on.Online cycling culture and style has been promoted heavily. There is thesartorialist.com which has a cycling chic section with photos from Milan and Paris, but the absolute favourite is copenhagencyclechic.com, which should be enough to make any red blooded Canadian man drool due to the veritable harem of attractive young women on bicycles on that website.
And when you're thinking fashion, don't think spandex. Yuck. Think jeans, skirts, short shorts and an array of clothing that compliments the female body instead of just clinging tightly to it. (I for one believe cyclists who wear spandex are morons with no fashion sense and wannabe racers.)
In Toronto cycling fashion has reached a point where I sometimes stop my bike and just watch the other cyclists go by just so I can admire the females and their bicycles whizzing by. I can appreciate looking at both.If you're interested in cycling chic in Toronto you can also check thecommonelite.org, which illustrates you can pretty much wear whatever you want when cycling... and that spandex wearers are a bunch of socially inept rejects.
Footwear and choice of skirt matters little either. You will frequently see young women wearing miniskirts and platforms (or even barefoot) while cycling.
