Velib Fashion

While the fashionistas of Paris ramp up for fall Fashion Week, the rest of us ladies have one burning question: how to sport around town by bike and still look chic?

Now that the Vélib bike rental program is such a smashing success, Vélib fashion is next to follow... we hope. There's a little issue of rain in Paris. Intermittent rain, of course, so you never quite know when you'll need protective outerwear. That collapsible umbrella I always carry just doesn't do it while steering my bike through Paris traffic. In the Madame Figaro edition of August 24 I spotted a hint that more vélo-appropriate attire may soon become trendy . The guide featured an elegant poncho, kidskin driving gloves, and sporty little boots, touted as perfect for Vélib outings.

Whether it's by vélo or Velib, having something practical but non-embarrassing to wear while braving the elements would be a welcome relief. I keep returning to the images of Laetita Casta in "Le Grand Appartement". In the movie she pedals furiously around the 7e arrondissement in a disposable plastic poncho (which looked like an expanded version of a rain bonnet). Of course, she'd look gorgeous in anything. The rest of us...naah.

So let's hope our Vélib attire for the Fall/Winter 2007-2008 fashion season doesn't all have to come from Decathlon. Fashion designers: on your mark, get set, pedal!