Bicycle style: Cycle Chic in each European country

Since a few years a phenomenon changing and unifying two different worlds, fashion and means of transport, has been spreading in the largest European capital cities. That is Cycle Chic: the cycling practiced not as a sport, but as an alternative solution to the mobility giving a touch of personal style involving the latest trends of the fashion’s world.

In this way, bicycle vintage models and any other model variation, form the Dutch bike to the famous and well-known ‘Graziella’ bike model with accessories and complements, such as baskets, denotes the style of the cyclist and can complete the look of the bicycle.

Cycle Chic topic was born again in 2006 thanks to the innovative touch of the Canadian Mikael Colville-Andersen, who creates a blog about Fashion Street Style where he posts photos of all the cyclists that he meets along the street with strange outfits and clothes, wearing traditional clothes or urban dresses while cycling and, not only everyday clothing, but also outfits usually suitable for aperitif time. This blog is a fundamental source of information for the lovers of city cycling, regularly updated with latest news about regulation and law in force in the various European capital cities.

In the cities of northern-Europe as Copenhagen, where the bicycles are the symbol element of the traditional urban landscape, everywhere there are cycling lane, the cyclists are respected and considered as important citizens along the streets, in these countries and cities folding bicycle are the best friends of  backpacks and bags in particular regarding university students. Therefore, the northern European countries are the natural habitat of cycle chic, here but also in Italy and all over the world thanks to the support of actresses and top-models such as Jessica Alba and Agyness Deyn who travel regularly by bike in their cities, cycle chic has spread largely.

Although Italy doesn’t offer all the necessary infrastructures to enjoy bicycles rides, it has many requisites that make its landscapes a suitable place for cycle chic: a sunny weather, plain territory and the high number of university students. All the students know what we are talking about:  the most of them move to a city leaving their car at home also because, as usual, the economic situation of university students is not really good; the hybrid or traditional bicycles are the most suitable and cheapest alternative to the car.

Many cities as Padua has gathered hundreds of young people from Europe in general going to school or to university or going out in the evening by bike; in the morning they go lessons in the historic city centre and in the night they run through the streets with its bicycle to reach the favourite pub or disco. Always with a particular style that characterized every bike and its cyclist: that is cycle chic cult.