Closest to cycling chic & why I can't get into cycling chic

This is the closest type of business work outfit that I would ever wear on bike to work.

I've only done it twice --when I had to cycle to meeting elsewhere in the city and then get to my office work building.

Still I change into business work shoes from cycling shoes that you see in photo.

**I like my business work shoes too much and they cost me enough I don't want to scuff them up unnecessarily.

I wore a light fleecy jacket underneath a $200.00 lined business work jacket. And black jeans which I wear 50% of the time at work. My jeans costed me $100.00....and it took me ages (2 years!!) to find a pair of jeans that fit me, etc. It has tiny bit of lycra for stretch.

I actually am afraid of ripping the lining of that jacket which is my best board room jacket for meeting with managers, etc. I CANNOT wear that jacket to and from work on bike.

This is one of the reasons I cannot be a Cycling Chic cyclist: I can't afford it given my size, my difficulty of finding good petite business wear to ruin them while I bike. It's far costlier for me to have a wardrobe that is business Cycling Chic wear vs. just cycling clothing, change them at work into workplace clothing.

Shooting Star, there is no reason for you to pay $100.00 for black jeans with bit of stretch in petite sizes. I have 3 very nice pair from the Gap. They start at size 00 and go up to 14 petite. They don't often have these sizes in the stores, so I order on line.
I do agree, though that I would fid it hard to do the "cycle chic" thing. I would have to buy some very expensive cycling chic outer wear, to wear in lieu of my cycling jackets. I think this look is easier to pull off in the summer.

The weather was warm enough to wear that outfit ...but only for a short distance ride...like one would do in Europe under 5-10 km. 1-way...where cities are more compact than sprawly North America.

After hunting for jeans that long, I wasn't going to revisit all the stores all over again..so I landed on what seemed right. At least I wear them so often if I don't wear dress pants at work for large chunk of time.

I always wondered about the tweed wear fun cycling rides..maybe people go to Goodwill to get secondhand or just wear their stuff...and not worry about it much.

Warmer season to pull off cycling chic: Not based on my wardrobe at this time. If ever. I gave up wearing long flowing skirts over 20 yrs. ago. Lovely pleated skirts that I see now (if any would fit me..I did try some and gave up), aren't something I want to cycle around in. To me, the ones I've seen, liked, are too nice for cycling.

Remember, there was a time before synthetic fabrics!

Tweed was originally used for outdoor activities such as hunting. The close weave makes it a sturdy and moisture-resistant fabric.

I've never heard of "cycling chic" and don't know anyone who would even think about such a thing.

Loving the snow in the background of your photo!

When I lived in Belgium we would wear our normal clothes for all cycling. In fact it was odd for me to even think about wearing active clothes for biking. We never got real sweaty riding the way we did, but we were also teenagers. It was leisurely, for transportation, and sometimes I really miss wearing normal clothes on a bike (I don't have a bike fit for normal clothes currently).

I might also add that Bruges was completely and utterly flat. The biggest hills around were the canal bridges! I suspect other cycle chic countries like Denmark and the Netherlands have similar topography.

Copenhagen is quite flat --I was there for 5 days in 2010. Even cycling to the airport from downtown, was only 10 km. one way. A breeze!!

*In photo, it was approx. 45 degrees F., no wind.

I agree Pam, that tweeds are like reliable wools..at least higher quality tweeds.
Comments on cycling chic in a Momentum article: http://momentumplanet.com/articles/b.../comments.html

One of the short rides from 1 workplace to another, I was wearing a creamy white tailored shirt with stand-up collar. All I could think of as I cycled: Don't cycle hard and sweat up that pristine colllar, so that I would have to wash it after only wearing top for 1 day.

I can't enjoy a bike ride fully if I have to think about not sweating up nice clothing PLUS pay attention to traffic. I wish I could and had the income to support a full out wardrobe for work purposes (vs. weekend events) to be cycling to work without changing. Let's see, income to support more frequent dry cleaning of fully lined dress coats and business office jackets.

Has anyone in these forums worn a skirt/dress pants/business suit often for the business work environment on bike without changing? Let's see a pic or 2. :)

I stopped reading Copenhagen Cycle Chic when I realized that it was making me feel bad about myself. Problem solved. On or off the bike, I'm never going to live up to that kind of fashion standard. I care about how I look, but not that much. I always wonder just how much of the cycling population there is fashionable enough to be photographed... surely there are women in Denmark with less-than-perfect hair. Just not on that blog.

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Originally Posted by shootingstar

The weather was warm enough to wear that outfit ...but only for a short distance ride...like one would do in Europe under 5-10 km. 1-way...where cities are more compact than sprawly North America.

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I think that you have hit the nail on the head here. If you aren't going far, or up and down any significant hills, and live in a mild climate, it's easy to look nice en route. The rest of us have to pack carefully and change and/or shower when we get there, and there is NOTHING wrong with that.

Interesting, Shootingstar. Thanks. I was blissfully unaware of this.

I occasionally fail in my "responsibility to contribute visually to a more aesthetically pleasing urban landscape."

Is this what the discussion is about?

I often see people dressed like that on bikes in Manhattan. I just assume they aren't going very far.

I don't view it as something to be concerned about.

When we first moved to Oregon, we were renting an apartment that was 1.5 miles of flat roads from my office. When it wasn't raining, I just biked in my work clothes. I never took any photos, but there were days I was wearing a skirt or a dress with no problems (except a little wind!). Though, even for those distances, I would still sweat in the summer heat.

Rainy days were a bigger issue because there was really no way to avoid getting wet and no gear you could cover up in that wouldn't make you sweat, even for that short of a trip. I would have rather had a longer trip where I could justify putting on bike clothes for those days!

Now my trip is 20+ miles, so wearing work clothes is really not an option from a comfort, safety or fashion point of view. :p

Does the term "cyclingchic" refer to cycling in very chic clothes (like, say a delicate dress or a prom dress) or to just cycling in ordinary everyday clothes that you would wear to work?

If you don't wear everyday clothes when cycling (I'm talking about cycling for transportation, commuting), isn't it strange to run around in cycling clothes all day long? Or do you change everytime? What if you just go for a coffee or to the cinema?
It just doesn't sound very practical to me.

Maybe it just depends on what you do or how far you go? When we use our bikes to get into the city, doing groceries, going out, commuting etc., we always wear ordinary street clothes. But that is in a 10 mile radius most of the time.
For cycling as sport, where it gets really sweaty and the rides are longer, we always wear proper cycling clothes.
If it's something in between (a trip to the shopping mall a bit outside of the city) I sometimes wear a Merino shirt underneath so that I don't end up sweaty and slip it off/change the shirt when I reach the destination.

When I shop certain kind of street clothes, like winter jackets, I take into consideration if the are suited for cycling, if they are warm enough when it's freezing and if I can move enough etc. I use clips if my trousers are wide enough to get caught in the chain.
When setting up my everyday-bike, I used a mixte frame so that I would be able to wear skirts without hassle, used pedals that won't destroy my shoes etc.
I have to say that it never happened to me that I destroyed any of my clothes while cycling.

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Originally Posted by PamNY

I occasionally fail in my "responsibility to contribute visually to a more aesthetically pleasing urban landscape."

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LOL. I'm pretty sure I fail at thus as well!

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Originally Posted by indysteel

LOL. I'm pretty sure I fail at thus as well!

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That is me when I do the first and last walk of the day with my dog. :p

My commute is over 10 miles. I am not sure I could do that in a skirt and cute top. At least not in the summer weather/humidity we have in Northern VA.

I have two "dream places" I want to live:

1. Downtown where everything is within walking/easy biking distance. (I'd own a very chic bike with beautiful accessories just to run errands... but then I'd probably not look as good as my bike. *sigh*)

2. Out in the country where I can have my 40 acres and a dog.

The first would support cyclechic, the second not at all, I think. Take pride in yourself. You don't look like a slob. And if you can still look professional at work, oh well! Good for you for being active and not contributing to pollution.

OR get one of those panniers that doubles as a garment bag and leave a little early so you have time to change.

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to just cycling in ordinary everyday clothes that you would wear to work?

If you don't wear everyday clothes when cycling (I'm talking about cycling for transportation, commuting), isn't it strange to run around in cycling clothes all day long? Or do you change everytime? What if you just go for a coffee or to the cinema?
It just doesn't sound very practical to me.

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I actually have 2 prs. of business wear pants of which 1 pr. I wear.. if I am not wearing a pr. of black jeans or a black, above knee light thin style black skirt.

That is all, for my bottom part of my business wear. I paid about $80.00 for the black dress pants. A light wool gabardine that is also suitable for summer as well winter. It requires dry cleaning if they get dirty. Honest, here in our city it's dry prairie city with sand used by snow crews during winter and just blowing around. I get smudges just from accidentally brushing my panniers against the pants.

I dunno, it means cleaning my bike too often.

When I go shopping on bike, usually I change into cycleable wear which means cheap (no chamois) tights (they're not cycling, just $25.00 lycra tights), etc.

I'm dressed really in my oldest clothing at home. So I'm not presentable to go to a store.. I have to change anyways to leave home. :rolleyes: