Will they be wearing lycra?

Or perhaps something a little more chic?

Or maybe a bit of tweed?

Or something more practical?

There are so many styles to choose from and each cyclist is different. We don’t all have to dress the same!

So which style are you going for in your short film? Do let us know.

And if you are looking for inspiration, why don’t you take a look at the Style The Cyclist entries and even submit your own ideas on Pinterest too? Who knows? You could see your costume in two magazine fashion spreads as well.

This morning we’re introducing you to our second personality to be styled, Sam Galsworthy. 

 
Sam, along with his friend Fairfax Hall, started the boutique Gin distillery Sipsmith. They established the company in a garage in Hammersmith in 2009. It was no mean feat to get started however; their 300 litre copper-pot still, named ‘Prudence’, was the first to be granted a license in 189 years and is only the second currently operational in London. Today we find out a bit more about what makes Sam tick…
 

 

1. What’s different / unique about Sipsmith and your story to success?

Sipsmith is the first copper distillery in London for nearly 200 years and produces hand crafted, small batch London Dry Gin, Barley Vodka, Sloe Gin, Damson Vodka and new Sipsmith Summer Cup. We brought the art of distilling to the capital and Londoners have become tremendously engaged with the provenance of their drinks.
 

2. What’s the most rewarding thing about running Sipsmith Gin?
Consumer recognition that we have created a special brand that has been well thought through. People love local, London produce and often tell me that Sipsmith is a brand they didn’t realise they were looking for until it arrived.
 

3. How would you describe your London lifestyle?
Full, energetic, unplanned, sociable. I have lived here since I turned 30 and love it more and more everyday as a result of exploring the streets by bike when I’m delivering Sipsmith.
 

4. How would you describe you own personal style?
Leftfield of conservative
 

5. What’s your favourite foodie haunt in Kensington & Chelsea?
Dock Kitchen
 

6. Where’s your favourite place to sip a G&T in Kensington & Chelsea?
The Scarsdale Tavern or The Builders Arms
 

7. Which clothes / accessory designers do you admire or would like to wear?
Hentsch Man – it has a hand crafted and bubbly feel about it
 

8. What’s your favourite cocktail?
Negroni and G&T
 

9. Have you been cycling in London, if so where?
Everywhere, there’s nowhere I haven’t been – I’ve delivered to around 300 stockists in London on my bike
 

10. What would persuade you to get on a bike more often in London?
A shower at the end of every journey!
 

11. If you could own any bike what would it be?
Penny Farthing
 

12. If you could share a tandem with anyone who would it be and why?
Boris Johnson, it would be hilarious
 

Ken Loach’s career as a director started in 1964 and he has accomplished 48 credits to his name since then. But did you know that the film which changed his life was The Bicycle Thieves?  He explains that he wasn’t interested in cinema as a child and preferred theatre. But it wasn’t until he watched Vittorio De Sica’s classic film, The Bicycle Thieves, that he realised films can also be about real people.

This is what our Cycle Shorts filmmaking competition is also about: real people. We simply want you to make a film to convince your friends and/or family to try jumping back onto two wheels and giving cycling another go. Or if they haven’t cycled before, to try it just once.

In the meantime, we’re keeping our fingers crossed for Ken Loach and his film at Cannes. Here is the trailer to The Angel’s Share, if you haven’t seen it yet.

Does it make you want to go see the film?

For Ken Loach’s full interview, click here and for our blog post on The Bicycle Thieves, click here.

Carolina Bucci is a jewellery designer who creates some absolutely lust worthy pieces.  Originally from Florence, Carolina studied jewellery design in New York and now resides in London.  Her work is regulalry featured in Vogue, Harpers Bazaar and W magazine.  Carolina has generously agreed to be styled by one of you in our Style the Cyclist competition and we thought you might find it useful to hear a bit more about her lifestyle.  Read on to find out more…

1.    What’s the most rewarding thing about being a jewellery designer?

The most rewarding thing is the moment when two or three unformed and vague ideas resolve themselves and begin to become a collection. I love that moment when inspiration becomes real.

2.   What is currently inspiring you in your designs and where do you get your inspiration from?

At the moment I am working on a collection that references different times of day – just as dusk is different to dawn, so different stones have different personalities and shape different moods. There is no set pattern to inspiration for my collections – the important thing is to be open to ideas, and carry a notebook. The worst place to work on collections is at the drawing board. I have just been on holiday in Mexico with my 2 sons, and watching them pick up shells at the sea’s edge I fixed on the patterns that the waves make when they dump pebbles on the beach. I am playing with those sketches at the moment for a couple of new pieces…

3.   You are from Florence – do lots of people cycle in there and are they stylish on two wheels?

Yes, people cycle in Florence, but it seems less of a statement somehow. In London, I encounter people who cycle to work who like to talk about it a lot. I love cycling but it should be a way to get around rather than a lifestyle. Also, there’ s a strange reverse snobbery in Italy, particularly somewhere like Forte dei Marmi where everybody cycles, where it’s most stylish to have the oldest, scruffiest bike. I haven’t encountered anything like that in London.

4.   How does London compare to Florence in terms of fashion and design?

Florence is a great place to realise how things are and can be made. You are surrounded by great craftmanship. But the outlook is that of a small, insular city. London is so much more vibrant and open to new ideas, and street fashion is much more diverse.

5.   Where is your favourite place in Kensington and Chelsea?

I love the Chelsea Physic Garden for its history and seriousness, as well as its aesthetic qualities. London does these special, eccentric places better than any other city in the world.

6.   How would you describe your London lifestyle?  

Busy.

7.   How would you describe your own personal style?

I like to mix and match designer and fast fashion. I like flexibility and that’s why jewellery and accessories are so important for me. My days are rarely the same, and so I need clothes that can do many jobs. Breakfast with a magazine editor, appointment with a department store buyer and then school pickup, back to the office and then straight out to dinner.

8.   Which fashion and accessory designers do you most admire and like to wear?

I really admire Miuccia Prada because I get a real sense of a person rather than a personality behind the brand. And I love Missoni for the same reasons.

9.   What’s your favourite restaurant or bar in Kensington and Chelsea?

Yashin, a great sushi place.

10.                Have you been cycling in London and if so where?

I often use a Barclays bike to ride to work, and between appointments where possible. On a sunny morning a ride through Hyde Park is the perfect start to a day.

11.                What would persuade you to cycle or to cycle more often in London?

More dedicated cycle lanes and less rain.

But Cannes isn’t just about the big films, it is also about the short films. It is a place where talent is discovered and first time deals can be made. That is the beauty of a film festival: dreams can come true.

If you’ve never been to Cannes but it’s a place where you’re planning to take your film one day, here is a sneak peek at what the Marché Du Film area looks like.

And if you are curious about which films will be in competition at Cannes this year, here is the full list.

Also don’t forget, just because you didn’t make it to Cannes this time round, your short film could still have three London screenings in 2012, including two festivals.

To take a look at the prizes on offer for our Cycle Shorts winners, have a read of our film blog.

Are you interested?

For a bit of escapism this morning we’ve been imagining what we’d spend our prize money on if we won Style the Cyclist.  Our two lucky winners will each receive a £150 Harrods voucher.  All you have to do to win is create a Pinterest board detailing the outfit you’d have our cyclists wear.  Click here for more details.

In the meantime, this is what we’d have our eye on…

The Carvela Kute Sandal… the bright pink is perfect for whenever the summer weather finally arrives!

We’d of course have some change left over so we managed to find this classic Ralph Lauren dress. We’re rather partial to stripes and this dress would be perfect for a spot of weekend cycling. It would also go rather well with the sandals, don’t you think?
 

 
Or perhaps we’d invest in a bit of gold. This rose necklace by Alex Monroe is perfect for the Chelsea Flower Show and would make a great Style the Cyclist memento.
 

 
What would you spend your vouchers on?
 
 

Here is a video that shows you how to make one at home. Want to try?

We also found this video that shows you how to make a helmet mount that allows the camera to shoot the cyclist face on. This helmet is however for a motorcyclist but we are wondering if it would be possible to adapt this structure for a bicycle helmet.

Do you have any thoughts on how we could so this?

There’s a month to go until the Cycle Shorts deadline and we can’t wait to see your entries. We hope you’re all having fun making your short films!

Only a few days left to get yourself onto Pinterest now.  Have you got your account ready?  Let us know, we’d love to see what you’ve been pinning.

 
For today, we bring you part two of our look back over cycling fashion from previous decades. Which is your favourite decade for fashion inspiration?
 
First up is an icon whose style still reverberates around the fashion world today. Audrey Hepburn on a bicycle is style on two wheels. We came across this beautiful image on Sacro Bosco’s look back of cycling fashion through the ages.
 

 
Next we travel to the swinging 60′s, where the tunic dress first surfaced. Perfect for some casual cycling chicness. We came across this photo from London on Bike Ladies Unite. We want her bike!
 

 
And then to the 1970′s when clothes got a bit wider and hair a bit longer. From the Melie Bianco site we bring you this fab looking lady.
 

 
Finally, mention the 1980s and what springs to mind?? Nicole Kidman on a BMX of course! Fashion got a lot louder and brighter in the 1980s- in fact it’s the only picture we feature in colour. From Gordon the Whale, we bring you the BMX Bandits in all their glory.
 

 

If you haven’t or if you’re still trying to decide on how you’re going to film your Cycle Shorts entry, here is a video that shows you how to make your own inexpensive bicycle camera mount.

If you are thinking of shooting the cyclist’s point of view for your short film, this is a great way of getting the footage that you want.

What do you think? Or do you know another way to mount a camera onto a bike?

We thought it would be fun this Friday to look back at some cycling fashion from previous eras.  Hopefully it will help give you some inspiration for the looks you create. We’ll start off with the Victorian era up until the 1940s and then next week will bring you some more recent snaps.

 
For some Victorian cycling inspiration, we came across the fantastic Old Bike website for this image of people cycling in Hyde Park- a slightly different look to what we see there today!
 

Cycling through Hyde Park in 1896