A meeting of (Bike)Minded Cyclists...

It's always rather nice when like-minded cyclists come together, and because of that some exciting things are in the pipeline here at Vélo-City-Girl... I'm currently working with Bikeminded on a fabulous new project!

Bikeminded is a fantastic campaign by the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It's a cycling resource for residents and aims to encourage more residents of the Borough to get on two wheels and experience more of the area (a brilliant example of this being their recently launched 'Bike Heros' project).

I cycled to Nude Espresso on Hanbury Street to meet-up with the lovely Kathryn of Bikeminded a couple of weeks ago to discuss ideas for the project, which I'm very excited to say will include some of VCG's favourite things: Cycling, Coffee, Cakes and a touch of fashion. 

I must say, as soon as I saw Kathryn arrive on that amazing Electra Bike I was blown away by how stylish she is... and I'm sure you'll agree!

Over a lovely sweet Pancake Lunch and some delicious flat whites (thanks Nude Espresso!) we were both bouncing ideas off one another and noting everything down! 

(these were amazing...)

The ideas that we came up with have filled me with utter excitement and already things are in motion for later this year. More details will follow in due course so keep your eyes on VCG for more news and of course over on Bikeminded, who can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.

Time For Some Cycle-Chic at the LOOK Magazine Show AW11...

Although still in its early days, it's been an amazing 17 months on Vélo-City-Girl. Since launching my blog back in March 2010, it has passed 18,000 views & has an increasing readership and loyal followers (also via my Twitter account) who I treasure. I've interviewed Victoria Pendleton, written reviews for CycleChic, contributed to This Big City on why London is one of the most fashionable cities for cycle chic and have been featured by London based art-jewellers Tatty Devine. So, to be given the opportunity to report from the front row at the LOOK Magazine AW11 Show at Westfield Stratford City would be an amazing chance for this blogging fashionista on a Pashley...

I believe there is no reason why Fashion & Cycling can't go hand-in-hand and also feel that riding on a regular basis doesn't mean having to sacrifice the latest trends & styles. London is one of the most fashionable cities in the world, and with around half a million journeys made by bicycle here each day, there is a huge captive audience of female cyclists out there seeking inspiration & advice on how to keep it chic on two wheels. With statistics like this, it should come as no surprise that keeping it stylish while cycling is fast becoming a fashion movement in its own right.

To wave the cycling-fashion flag for this slightly underrepresented audience at London Fashion Week would be a huge coupe not only for Vélo-City-Girl, but for LOOK by introducing a whole new audience of style seekers to the Magazine.

As a dedicated and passionate fashion blogger, I believe I should be on the front row of the LOOK AW11 Show in September! I am always on the hunt for the latest trends, as well as doing my own "Bike Wardrobe Remixing" of different styles in order to bring inspiration and advice to other female cyclists out there. It's all about keeping it fresh, individual & eye-catching, something I believe I do well... and something which was recognised when I recently completed a Photo-Shoot with renowned photographer Horst Friedrichs for his latest book which will showcase the best of London's Cycle Fashion!

Being given the chance to showcase London as a growing cycle-fashion hotspot would be an absolute dream. It would also be especially poignant for me as a local girl from Newham: reporting live from the front row for LOOK Magazine from the brand new Westfield at Stratford City... as a budding fashion blogger from the area, this would be a huge achievement.

So, you've read my entry & know what me and my blog are all about... fancy giving me the chance to show you what I can do?

Dunst does it well...

Due to my recurring (read as "annoying") neck issue I've been off the Pashley for a little while - but should be back on it this week thanks to my Physio last weekend. Whilst dreaming of being back on the saddle, I came across this picture of Kirstin Dunst cycling on what looks like a classic Raleigh through New York. She looks fantastic - relaxed, happy and chic on two wheels... always a great thing to see.

I love this outfit: Ray Bans, a simple dress (which I suspect may cost a small fortune), little brown bag and Sandals. Weather permitting, I'm going to recreate this using some Wardrobe Remixing & my Ray Bans and Cambridge Satchel, but here's a version of it that I've put together which doesn't cost the Earth...

Ruch Front Dress by Annie Greenabelle - £59.99 at Topshop

Top-Frame Sunglasses - £16 at Topshop

Leather Cross-Body Bag - £35 at ASOS

Strappy Sandals - £25 at Miss Selfirdge

Thanks Ms Dunst for the inspiration - and please keep on cycling in style! 

Leggy Fashion...

The British Summer appears to be doing that "rainy" thing again... there I am itching to be cycling in Summer garms, yet the weather is not complying with my desire... g'ah.

A small ray of sunshine came my way when this arrived...

It's another Lanvin for H&M t-shirt (apparently you can wear it as a dress). I missed out on getting this in the madness of the launch, but picked up this brand new one on eBay... AND I didn't pay over the odds for it either! I love the idea of cycling in this, so perhaps when the weather sorts itself out I can.

I do wonder of the Tutu frilling at the top will blow back in my face and annoy me. Only one way to find out I guess... :)

Review: Kitsch Kitchen Pannier from Cycle Chic...

As I've finally sorted out a Rear Rack for my Pashley, what would the next logical step be? Adorn it with a new Pannier of course...

I was very lucky (and utterly over the moon!) to receive this Kitsch Kitchen Pannier from CycleChic for a review. Founded by Caz Nicklin, this independent London-based online store offers an array of stylish cycling accessories for women, including Clothing, Helmets and of course Panniers.

 

The Kitsch Kitchen bags come in various patterns - this one is the Florapola, which is pretty lively! I went for the Yellow colourway (it also comes in White and Orange) as the contrast between it and the Pashley was nice and bright...and I reckon it'll go very well with my summer cycling wardrobe too ;)

Other than it being rather beautiful to look at, the Pannier also very practical. The clip-on system it uses is really simple, so attaching it to my Pletscher was smooth...  

Cleverly concealed under a zip-up flap are two metal hooks that attach to the Rack. I found that they clipped onto it firmly and without any problems.

I wanted to test out how secure it was when cycling, so I used it as the main form of storage on my cycle date with The Boy... notice the lack of front Basket on Frankie - she looks so different without it! Although I adore the Basket, it can be quite front-heavy when riding with everything in there. I had plenty of stuff in that bag, (including some bike accessory shopping that The Boy did), but there was no danger of it rattling off the rack while riding - nor did it bang against the wheel or my foot - Huzzah! Weight doesn't appear to be an issue with the Kitsch Kitchen Pannier - it's a very sturdy bag and anyone one with a heavy bike like mine will know that weight distribution is pretty important...

Now, I'm sure you realise with me almost everything forms a part of my Cycle-wardrobe, so I'm pleased to say that the Pannier fits in nicely with this. It certainly became part of my wardrobe for the day:

Sunglasses: Ray-Ban

Earrings: Primark

Top: Warehouse

Brooch: Tatty Devine

Ring: Mawi for ASOS

Jeans: Diesel

Sandals: TopShop

All I needed to do was un-clip it from the Rack, zip up the flap which conceals the hooks and you have a lovely large handbag for the day - just like that :) It makes for a very spacious handbag or shopping bag & with the inner-zip pocket and two roomy outer pockets, you have plenty of storage solutions for your keys, phone and any other small items.

Retailing at £36.99 from CycleChic you certainly get your money's worth with this Kitchen Kitsch Pannier. This bag definitely gets full marks from me and Frankie: it's beautiful, practical & is certainly a very welcome and fashionable addition to my cycle wardrobe... certainly one to check out for sure.

More photos of the Bag in action can be viewed in this set on Flickr. 

Many thanks to The Boy for the photography.

Rack and Rescue...

A year and a bit later, Frankie is getting some upgrades to her frame. Last week I started hunting for a Pletscher Rack for my Pashley. It was time to get the rear sorted so I could get Pannier bags to carry more stuff easily.

As she's a Princess Classic, she didn't come with a Rack as standard. Yes, it was probably a bit slack of me not to have sorted out more storage earlier, but the big Basket was doing a fabulous job of carrying everything... well, up to a point.

Throughout the week, it started to turn into a mission to find the black Pletscher Athlete I was after. I'd found a couple of websites selling them, but delivery would be an issue as I needed to have it by Friday at the latest. Checked in with a few bike shops, but they didn't stock them... and then Velorution stepped in to the rescue :)  I got a message on Thursday from them via Twitter, telling me they had one in stock which was excellent news as I could pick it up Friday evening!

I knew that when I arrived, I wouldn't just walk in, get my Rack and leave: one of the windows has a sign which reads "Not just the sexiest bikes in London..." and this is very true. Not only do they have some of the most beautiful bikes in stock (including a Pedersen that I was so tempted to get on) there are also some fabulous cycling accessories to choose from, and a very helpful & friendly team on hand.

It was lovely to finally meet Andrea, who I had a lovely chat with about my Pashley, blogging & other bike related matters :) In between chatting and admiring the bikes on show, my eye was caught by this fantastic looking front basket:

... details are not yet showing on their Website, but I must get further information about this - would be brilliant to give it a test on my bike in London - a garden on wheels :)

The Rack was perfect & is now pride of place on the back of Frankie:

Massive thanks to Andrea and the team at Velorution for your help in getting the Pletscher sorted out for me. There is a fabulous new Pannier bag which now graces the back of the bike... more on that coming up soon.

Sunshine and Shoots...

Last Sunday the Sun was shining and London was glowing....the weather was finally perfect for the Photo Shoot with Horst Friedrichs to go ahead!

It didn't go quite according to plan on the 1st attempt earlier this month, so you can imagine our joy when the City decided to give us the light, at last. Thanks to The Boy being the brilliant photographer he is, he took some pictures of what was going on behind the scenes for the blog - thank you so much Sir for these!

It was lovely to see Horst again & also meet his assistant Filip, who bought me my favourite flowers (Peonies) to put in my Pashley Basket for the photos :) 

The scene was very different to the Rainy Day that we experienced earlier this month - which also allowed us to do the shoot in two different outfits. The 1st one was quite relaxed and went a little something like this:

Sunglasses: Ray-Ban

Necklace: Tatty Devine

Vest Top / High Waisted Shorts / Sandals: Topshop

Yellow Bangle: Camden Market

Ring: Tatty Devine

... and then for the 2nd outfit, there was a slight change in style:

Sunglasses: Tatty Devine for John Lewis

"LadyVélo" name necklace: Tatty Devine

Dress: LAFrock

Ring: Dorothy Perkins

Mary Jane Shoes: Vivienne Westwood

Spot the unexpected visitor who decided he wanted to be in the photos?

His name was Taco, and I could have easily put him in my basket and taken him home!

For a few more behind the scenes shots of the day taken by The Boy, the set can be viewed here - once again, thank you so much for these Sir :)

I can not wait to see Horst's photos from Sunday, and too see his book come together. It's such a fantastic project & I'm honoured that he asked me to be a part of it.