Beret Baguette: Bike Pretty, French Style

1 comment

Hey guys, when we said ACE* season was finally here, we really meant itBéret Baguette, the Parisian answer to the Tweed Run, goes down this weekend in the French capital.

Beret-et-Baguette-Paris-Retro-Ride-Bike-Pretty

What began as a real fête de saucisse** in 2009 of like 50 dudes and a few chicks in borrowed plus-fours, myself included, has swelled to attract some 1,000+ cyclists on its annual jaunt through Paris, usually in late May or June each year.

Accessorized with bérets.  And baguettes:

Beret-et-Baguette-Paris-2013-Street-Style-Photos-Kelly-Miller-5

Yes, you read that right: 1,000+ cyclists.

If that sounds unmanageable, it's because it is: the 2013 edition was an exercise in start 'n' stopping.

Which was fine with me, because then you can take more photos!

Beret-et-Baguette-Paris-2013-Street-Style-Photos-Kelly-Miller-1

Photos of beloved French bloggers,

Beret-et-Baguette-Paris-2013-Street-Style-Photos-Kelly-Miller-3

rear-rack-mounted, wine-box picnic baskets of the so-charming-it's-obscene variety,

Beret-et-Baguette-Paris-2013-Street-Style-Photos-Kelly-Miller-0

Bike Pretty friend trios,

Beret-et-Baguette-Paris-2013-Street-Style-Photos-Kelly-Miller-9

& anachronistic looks that err on the '30s-'40s side.

The dress code is "Congés 1936" in reference to a law passed in France that year that set the historic precedent for Gallic paid vacations.  So you know: vacation-y, picnic-y looks, circa late '30s.

My above dress is actually '40s, but one of the charms of Béret Baguette is its lack of enforced rules and laissez-faire attitude to numbers, a different experience next to the well-oiled machine that is the Tweed Run.

You can't really compare the two however - even if they both have Penny Farthings,

Beret-et-Baguette-Paris-2013-Street-Style-Photos-Kelly-Miller-7

girls cycling in heels,

Beret-et-Baguette-Paris-2013-Street-Style-Photos-Kelly-Miller-4 (1)

a few Eccentrics (kilt-wearing unicyclist, anyone?)

Beret-et-Baguette-Paris-2013-Street-Style-Photos-Kelly-Miller-3 (1)

fetching couples (Ed. note: they won Best-dressed!),

Beret-et-Baguette-Paris-2013-Street-Style-Photos-Kelly-Miller-9 (1)

pretty pretty Marshalls ; )

Beret-et-Baguette-Paris-2013-Street-Style-Photos-Kelly-Miller-2 (1)

expert modeling of houndstooth,

Beret-et-Baguette-Paris-2013-Street-Style-Photos-Kelly-Miller-5 (1)

and borrowed bikeshare steeds:

Beret-et-Baguette-Paris-2013-Street-Style-Photos-Kelly-Miller-8

Despite those similarities, there is also something quintessentially French about the whole thing.

Like an unerring ability to make the simplest scarf look impeccably chic:

Beret-et-Baguette-Paris-2013-Street-Style-Photos-Kelly-Miller-0 (1)

an unrivaled ease in Breton stripes,

Beret-et-Baguette-Paris-2013-Street-Style-Photos-Kelly-Miller-6

an uncanny ability to accessorize:

Beret-et-Baguette-Paris-2013-Street-Style-Photos-Kelly-Miller-1 (2)

and garçonne looks so on-point it's possible the already-inflated sales of boater hats around Béret Baguette time just jumped tenfold:

Beret-et-Baguette-Paris-2013-Street-Style-Photos-Kelly-Miller-3 (2)

This year, the event looks poised to start at the recently-pedestrianized Place de la République, loop west along the right bank to Place de la Concorde, cross the river and amble through Saint-Germain, and end in that most bucolic of Parisian picnic locales: the Bois de Vincennes.

Because if Béret Baguette is about anything, it's the pique-nique:

Beret-et-Baguette-Paris-2013-Street-Style-Photos-Kelly-Miller-8 (1) Beret-et-Baguette-Paris-2013-Street-Style-Photos-Kelly-Miller-9 (2) Beret-et-Baguette-Paris-2013-Street-Style-Photos-Kelly-Miller-4 (2)

If you're in Paris on Sunday morning at 9:30, head over to République & gawk at what is sure to be a super-successfully-Bike Pretty event.  If you can't make it this year (like me), surf the hashtags on IG - if last year was any indication, the official HT should be #rbb2014.

Can't wait to see what the Paris crew brings to the BP table!

*Anachronistic Cycling Event

**Not in the French sense of "Hey, let's all eat some sausage!  SAUSAGE PAR-TAY!" but more like, sooo many dudes

Affiche at the top - Copyright Benjamin Donadieu, http://www.givetogod.fr

 

Here are some related posts...

1 comment

  • Posted on by Steve Herrmann

    I am interested in buying a penny farthing. Where can I find one?

Leave a comment

All blog comments are checked prior to publishing
We respect your privacy. 😎 Bike Pretty uses cookies for a smooth shopping experience. Please click ACCEPT ALL to continue or PRIVACY POLICY for more info.
Thanks! Copy and enter code:​ ​

10PRETTY4VPT

​ ​in the discount box at checkout​ for 10% off.

Check your email—or your email's spam folder—to make sure your unique code was delivered.
Something went wrong! It's possible your email address was already registered.

Check the spam folder in your email inbox.

Don't see the code? Contact info@bikepretty.com