Cycle Chic Copenhagen - The Original Cycle Chic

Copenhagen Winter Ride and Glide
The thaw is setting in and the snow is slowly melting. But winter ain't over yet.


Welcome to Cycle Chic. This is where it all started.

Cycle Chic began its bloglife back in June 2007 when journalist, film director and photographer Mikael Colville-Andersen decided to put a growing number of his photos about Copenhagen's bicycle culture into one place on the internet.

A series of social documentary photos about Copenhagen started to include a number of shots of life in the World's Cycling Capital, including fashionable Copenhageners on their bicycles. The feedback about these photos was positive and there was clearly a growing interest abroad in seeing how the bicycle was an integral part of life in the Danish capital. Specifically about how Copenhageners have demystified the bicycle and use it without any form of bicycle 'gear'. Just as the bicycle was meant to be ridden when invented.

What happened after Cycle Chic was launched took everyone by surprise. There wasn't any content on the internet relating to "girls on bikes" or combining style and fashion with the humble bicycle. Colville-Andersen coined the phrase "Cycle Chic" to describe the art of riding bicycles in regular, preferably fashionable, clothes and things started to accelerate.

The very first photo has been referred to as The Photo That Launched A Million Bicycles.

This Cycle Chic blog launched a global movement, a fashion trend and the imminent return of the bicycle as transport to the urban landscape.

The blog took on a streetstyle form as it grew in popularity and the readership includes people interested in fashion as well as bicycles and bicycle culture.

Colville-Andersen has teamed up with various co-bloggers to bring different angles and perspectives to the blog and he welcomes the inclusion of guest photos sent in from around the world.

The number of blogs and websites inspired by Cycle Chic has grown explosively. Most adhere to the Cycle Chic concept, others less so. A list of "Copycats and Collaborators" is on the right column of the blog.

The bicycle has served to liberate the working classes and, in particular, women back in the tail-end of the 19th century. In the post-war years, the bicycle was relegated to being merely a toy or piece of sports equipment. Cycle Chic aims to take back the bike culture by showing how the bicycle once again can be an integral, respectable and feasible transport form, free of sports clothes and gear, and how it can play a vital role in increasing the life quality in cities.

On Copenhagenize.com Colville-Andersen highlights how Copenhagen's bicycle culture was established and inspires other cities in their pursuit of bicycle-friendly infrastructure and culture.

On Cycle Chic readers can view daily the rewards of established bicycle culture.
Moi, cycliste


Colville-Andersen also founded The Slow Bicycle Movement.



[Cycle Chic Copenhagen - The Original Cycle Chic]

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