Denim Style : Bikes and The City

At Bikes and the City, you enter the world of a woman on her bicycle…taking the streets, drinking coffee and looking fabulous. Riding a bike in the city can be intimidating. All the cars, the hills, what to do with shoes…and dude, will they ever design a cute helmet? I don’t know how it ever came to be that somehow riding a bike wasn’t a girly thing, maybe it was the sporty guys in spandex or… yeah…them. But these days women are taking the streets on their bikes.

So, with all the issues about global warming, gas prices, rising bus fares, recession, obesity, what more perfect reason does one need to start riding a vintage bike? And what can someone wear while pedaling the streets? I had a lovely afternoon with Meli Burgeño who started riding when she was in school, as a way to get around because she didn’t have a car and didn’t have patience for the bus. These days she’s always stylish on her wheels, she gives some suggestions on what to wear on a bike,  ”I love colors and I love patterns, I’m not afraid to wear something wacky or crazy. You don’t want to wear something that’s too tight on your arms, or pants that shows your butt, or something  you don’t want to sweat a little in. I think if you can walk a mile in an outfit you can ride…With shoes, if you can walk in them, if they don’t slip out, you can pedal with them, because you pedal with the balls of your feet… Clothing-wise, whatever you wear, whether it’s pajamas or dresses, just get on the bike and try it.”

Meli wears lots of colors, bright tights, beautiful embroidered dresses on her journeys around town. But one of her favorite pieces is an old denim jacket Meli says, “This jacket is easy, I can fit one of my grandmother’s sweaters underneath it.” Once dark indigo, now pale blue with the kind of distressing people watch tutorials and pay lots of money to achieve, this jacket has so much character to it.

“It’s falling apart, I’ve worn it alot.” Meli revisits the story behind the distressed denim jacket, “I bought it int Lucky Store, and it was random because it started to get windy out. And I was all like, ‘I need to find a jacket’ and I was thinking of a blazer, but when I walked in and saw this jacket, I took it.’ It used to be a very dark blue. This jacket has memories… I bought it seven or eight years ago…I took it with me when I went to go live in the south of Mexico.”

Denim jackets go so well with cuffs. I’m a fan!

Can you believe the bike lock sweater?! 

And for those of you wondering about the sweating on bikes thing… ‘I’m not the type to rush. I don’t run three red lights. I take my time.’ Now that’s a way to be a lady.

Visit Meli at Bikes and the City

Tagged as: bicycle, bloggers, jacket, Lucky Brand, wearing