Bicycles Are the New NYC “It Girl” Fashion Accessory
Actress Chloe Sevigny and her folding bike.
This week's New York Observer story on "the beautiful bicycle girls of New York" may very well be the most e-mailed news item ever forwarded to the Streetsblog inbox. Calm down, people! Gillian Reagan observes what appears to be a new trend in New York City: Exceptionally good looking women are riding bikes. "Eco-conscious and ethereal, they wear flowing frocks and gigantic sunglasses but never helmets. Their hair flutters in the breeze as they leave a trail of swooning male pedestrians in their perfumed wake."
Meet the beautiful bicycle girls of New York, a breed that bears little resemblance to the hard-charging, Spandex-short-wearing species of 20 years ago. Those women were athletes, pumping the pedals, fighting to win. Getting somewhere. Today's girls-and one always thinks of them as girls, even if they're well into their 40's-are more meandering, their long legs flashing along the pot-holed alleys of SoHo and the boutique-lined bike lanes of the West Village.
Local celebrities like the actresses Naomi Watts and Chloë Sevigny and the Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen have all championed living the green life in this most public and only incidentally calorie-burning way. "I go every day to work on my bike," Ms. Bundchen told the Daily News a couple of years ago. "It's faster than a car, and cheaper."
While the Observer is far more interested in the girls' outfits than anything having to do with transportation policy, Alex Marshall at the Regional Plan Association notes that we could be looking at a positive trend if, in fact, "women are feeling comfortable enough to cycle in nice clothes and without helmets." Marshall says, "It almost compares to the way conduct and attitudes in the subway shifted dramatically a decade or so ago. If we can get more people riding bikes in nice clothes and without helmets, it will really help popularize and increase cycling."
Call it the Copenhagenization of NYC.
Photo: UrbanDelicious.com via House and Garden.
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog New York City
Justice Dept., Citing Streetsblog Reporting, Threatens to Sue NYPD Over Cops’ Sidewalk Parking
The city is now facing a major civil rights suit from the Biden Administration if it doesn't eliminate illegal parking by cops and other city workers.
What to Say When Someone Claims ‘No One Bikes or Walks in Bad Weather’
Yes, sustainable modes are more vulnerable to bad weather. But that's why we should invest more in them — not less.
NYC Transit’s New Operations Planning Chief Wants To Fight ‘Ghost Buses’
One-time transit advocate and current MTA Paratransit VP Chris Pangilinan will oversee bus and subway operations for the whole city.
Friday’s Headlines: Gimme Bus Shelter Edition
The days of the Landmarks Preservation Commission reviewing every proposed bus shelter in landmarked districts may be no more. Plus more news.
Deal Reached: Hochul Says ‘Sammy’s Law’ Will Pass
The bill, though imperfect, has been four years in the making.
