16 April 2010

What to Wear to a Spring/Summer Tweed Ride - For the Ladies

Vintage Tweed Bicycle Girls  shared by ridingpretty
(photo credit: diaryofavintagegirl.com)

A few weeks back I began to lament over just what to wear to a Tweed Ride with the temperatures rising daily to summer heat levels. I wasn't alone. This exact discussion popped up in the comments field of The Tweed Report I maintain. Briefly too, I touched upon the topic in the tail end of this recent post where I pondered over the possibilities of a "non Tweed" - Tweed Ride...

At any rate I'd pretty much made up my mind to forget the Tweed, and instead go for a linen ensemble, or possibly a vintage 40's floral dress. I was preparing to write this 'What to Wear to a Spring/Summer Tweed Ride' post last week. So imagine my sheer delight (whilst perusing some recent photos of the London Tweed Run) - I discovered Diary of a Vintage Girl. She chose vintage (but of course-natch!!) a floral dress...

Vintage Tweed Bicycle Girl shared by ridingpretty
(photo credit: diaryofavintagegirl.com)

She also delightfully writes about her London Tweed Run experience;

"I didn't know very many of the participants, and, because the ride was organised by the London Fixed-Gear and Single Speed cycling forums, a lot of the entrants were actual 'proper' cyclists, who have well-maintained equipment and are actually fit. But they don't wear tweed or vintage on a daily basis! So they had one advantage over us, and we had one over them! I think we set ourselves apart by starting with gin, stopping for gin and drinking gin most of the way across London!"
***
So think floral, think vintage. Consider a linen ensemble (I am), or even try a seersucker look. Khaki works wonders too - see middle girl in the top photo. Why not use Tweed accents, as in a pair of Tweed spats, or a Tweed DIY flower for instance to pin on your lapel or wear on your bicycle helmet and/or bonnet, or perhaps in your hair. London Tweed Run participants all wore Tweed arm bands as well, so why not be creative with a DIY Tweed arm band. Let's keep the creative ideas going!
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