Have you considered second hand? ebay or craigslist? We have bought many bikes this way and have always had good luck. If you buy a bike and it comes with clipless pedals you should keep those and buy the platforms on top (it may not be that long before you want the clipless pedals and you'll spend more dollars down the track than shellling out for platforms now) and the bike shop won't give you much for them.
Also there may be a cycle club in your area that woud be a good lead for a second hand bike. REI does a version of a women's specific bike and is around $1000 and you have the security of being able to return it if there is a problem with it. Good luck.