(Photos by M.Andersen/BikePortland)
Did you ever start to realize that you’ve begun to physically resemble your bicycle?
That was the question of the night in a North Portland bike shop Wednesday as dozens of bike riders coordinated their color choices to pose for free shots from a local fashion photographer.
The event was a promotion for Quick Study Clothing, the label of local bike-friendly dress designer Caitlin McCall, and Gladys Bikes, a mostly-just-for-women bike shop on Williams Avenue. Behind the official camera was Shola Lawson (I decided I was sort of the “making of” documentarian for her shoot) and on the tables were kettle corn, Oreos and champagne. It was a hoot.
“Caitlin and I had wanted to do something together, so we went out for coffee one time and said, what kind of event would be fun where we could talk about bikes and dressing up?” Gladys Bikes owner Leah Benson explained.
Lawson’s official (and much more polished) photos will be available on the Gladys Bikes Facebook page and Quick Study Clothing Facebook page on Friday, but the organizers let us hang out to capture some of the fun. Here’s a selection of the lineup Wednesday:
Benson said a “winner” from the evening will also be chosen and posted to the Gladys Bikes Facebook and Instagram feeds on Friday.
Love love love this idea! Forget about dressing like a couple for Valentine’s Day. Dress like with your other love: your bike!
Thanks for making it out to take photos, Michael. It was such a blast that this surely won’t be the last Dress Like Your Bike event for us…stay tuned for a ride this summer!
Let us know. I would like to attend! 🙂
My wife says I dress like a homeless guy. So when a cheery group of young women approached me as I sat on a park bench during my lunch break, with my bike next to me, and offered me the leftover pizza from their lunch, I assumed that was part of their motivation, especially since they told me they knew they’d find someone who wanted it in the area, which is known as a homeless hangout. “Thanks, that’s a kind gesture, but I brought lunch from home,” I said, dropping a clue that my bike-mechanic attire didn’t reflect my domestic arrangements.
“Oh, we didn’t think you were homeless,” one of them answered, picking up the thread. “Your bike is too cool.”
I would have thought we (my bike and I) were a good match, but apparently I’d have to dress up a bit (or dress my bike down) to show up at a Dress Like Your Bike party. Oh well; at least one of us looks cool.
Those are some pretty breathtaking assumptions made all around.
Oh crap, I ride a Pugsley…
I’m sure you could find something to show off your fat tire :p
Great outfit to bike matches! Less than enthused about some of the photos, the odd angles put me off. I prefer either portrait or landscape formats with subject parallel to either side or top, it’s just easier for me to see the subject that way. FWIW, my battered black carhartts match my battered black Bridgestone CB-1.
Yep, you should check out the posed shots. They’ll be shared online by Gladys Bikes and Quick Study Clothing tomorrow.
So great having you Michael! Thanks for this post and taking awesome behind-the-scenes shots.
Agreed! Shola’s pics are now up on the QS website & Facebook (Gladys’ too!), the whole party crew: http://www.quickstudyclothing.com/dress-like-your-bike