Cyclists spin into style

 

Spandex and runners are giving way to skirts, heels and suits as Canadians take a cue from Europe

 

By Eva Friede , Canwest News Service

Wear high heels to cycle. That's the advice of Copenhagen designer Susanne Modler and the motto of Copenhagen Cycle Chic, one of the hottest style blogs anywhere.

With Montreal island's 500 kilometres of cycling paths and the new Bixi rental service, it's clear cycling in the city is in style.

But is it stylish?

What to wear to work is an issue for sartorially inclined cyclists. And Montrealers could take a cue from Copenhagen, Amsterdam and even Paris, where cycling in the city is about getting around stylishly. Spandex and runners — no matter how funky and fashionable — just won't do for a day and night on the town in those cities.

In and around the bike paths of Canada, the look is generally casual: jeans, shorts, spandex, windbreakers — nothing that screams style.

In Montreal, cyclist Lisa Pigeon, 47, in hot pink pants and a baby buggy attached to her bike, said she goes everywhere on two wheels.

"I will actually cycle to a date in day clothes and high heels," Pigeon said. "We're getting better," she said of Montreal's cycle style.

Downtown, Sebastian Cote, in grey suit, shirt, striped tie and helmet, notes there are armies of cycling commuters hitting the paths from points like the St. Lambert locks. Businessmen often change at work, he said, but he does appreciate the young women cycling to McGill University. "They're getting really cool — the girls in their short skirts and cowboy boots," said Cote, an associate director at the Fraser Institute.

"I'm always ready,” said Marie-Claude Girard, attired in a black dress, black heels, a white scarf and shades on her way to work at her esthetics clinic. "I don’t like to carry stuff back and forth."

Mark Shortt, a mechanic at Bicycletterie J.R. in Montreal, likes the move to high style on wheels. "You can bike to work. You’re not one of those spandex commuters,” he said, adding, "That's cool, too."

Shortt noted that courier style is hitting the mainstream, with men and women sporting minimalist but functional bikes, rolled-up or lean pants, and over-the-shoulder bags. "It's a gender neutral esthetic," he said.

Shortt said etiquette is part of style, meaning that obeying traffic rules, not putting speed ahead of safety and wearing a helmet are important.

Patrick Howe, communications director for Velo Quebec, points out the difference between fitness cyclists and commuters. Obviously, they will dress differently.

A few years ago we were very much about fitness and leisure cycling. But that's changing, he said. In March, Opus bicycle brand joined the trend, launching the Urbanista collection, which made it into shop windows at Le Cheteau and Lululemon.

The urban bikes are meant for slow, relaxed pedalling — and they are built to protect your clothes, Howe said. And they are very different than hybrid bikes, he added.

Howe suggests wearing comfortable clothes with sturdy shoes for cycling on shorter trips. But the Copenhagen directive is rather different.

"Here in Copenhagen there is no bicycle fashion," Modler wrote in an email. "There is only fashion — on bicycles. Just open your closet!"

She suggests aspiring cyclists start with high heels — your feet won’t even hurt when you cycle, she says.

"Then upgrade your look immediately," she advised, by adding big sunglasses and a scarf are good beginnings.

Then it's time to move on to skirts, wide at first, then moving to narrow. "All of a sudden you realize that you’ve become so used to it that you just pull on the pencil skirt when you feel like it," she said.

On the web: Check out http://www.copenhagencyclechic.com for high style on wheels.

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