Must Read Links

How's the long weekend treating you? Make the most of your bonus day with these must read links. I've been saving them up for months. It's a good batch. Fashion is heavily influenced by functional apparel. Famously, blue jeans morphed from sturdy, miners' gear to the epitome of LA chic. And this sort of style evolution is happening all the time. Check out how a simple length of tube bandage evolved into a ubiquitous NBA accessory. Via the New Yorker.

“I often use mesh and chain mail in my costume designs,” he said, “and I was fascinated by the opportunity to make something light and fluid out of rigid materials.” A Crystal-Crusted Gown for Dita Von Teese Made with a 3-D Printer

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Of the Famous Artworks That Inspired 15 Films, I think The Blue Boy + Django Unchained is my favorite, because fashion history and Quentin Tarantino. But the rest of the list is pretty darn fascinating.

 

"In a survey of graduating professional students, Linda Babcock, of Carnegie Mellon University, found that only seven per cent of women attempted to negotiate their initial offers, while fifty-seven per cent of the men did so. We see those dire statistics and think that women are, in a sense, self-sabotaging.... But is it really the case that the disadvantage stems from not asking?" Via The New Yorker.

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We all know that the genius of Marilyn Monroe was way underestimated during her lifetime. Fortunately, internet scholars are posting her pearls of wisdom for our own edification: "By nature, I suppose I have a languorous disposition. I hate to do things in a hurried, tense atmosphere, and it is virtually impossible for me to spring out of bed in the morning. On Sunday, which is my one day of total leisure, I sometimes take two hours to wake up, luxuriating in every last moment of drowsiness." 

  

The radness that is Mary Kay Chin, one of the founders of SF Yellow Bike and San Francisco Bike Party. Via the Manic Fixie Dream Girls of Chicago's Tiny Crush Blog.

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A hearty congratulations to Bikie Girl Bloomers on the completion of a successful crowd-funding campaign. That means we can expect more lace-trimmed spandex bloomers in classic colors and fun prints. (I'm a fan of the polka dot pair.)

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A round-up of gorgeous turn-of-the-last-century vintage cycling ads, via Iladora. I want to live inside every single one.

"Do I have some magical skill set that allows me to ferret out...deals? Nope. Are my methods top secret and difficult to employ? No way. Do I troll eBay on a daily basis looking for deals … well, sort of, but we’ll get to that." Sally of Already Pretty breaks it down in the ultimate guide to buying clothes on eBay.

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"The ladies in the photo exude a sense of dignity, which I believe is a protest in and of itself. Their head wraps simply added to that power. Then I remembered how other articles of clothing have been an important symbol for various protests and revolutions—particularly involving Africans and African Americans—throughout the years." Scripts and Sightings explores where fashion history and social justice meet and mingle.

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Bike Pretty's very own Kelly and her hunky French boyfriend Seb are leading a tour of the Tour de France: We will leave South London on Friday 25 July, cycle 70k to New Haven, take the overnight ferry to Dieppe. Then cycle 130k on Saturday 26 July where we will end the day camping. On day 3, we will cycle 80k to Paris, where we hope to catch both the women's and men's Tour de France. And you're invited! Sign up via the London Bike Kitchen newsletter.

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Argh, scarves! How can something so simple (just a freaking length of fabric, yeah right) never fail to frustrate the daylights out of me. I usually just ball them up and throw them in the back of my closet. But there is a better way to make them work: How to Tie a Scarf Like a Parisienne, via Vogue.

"I am sick of hearing that only stupid, shallow people buy into the unrealistic expectations society has of women. Because as much as I try to fight it, I often buy into them. Does that make me shallow and stupid? Is it therefore MY FAULT that I feel inadequate sometimes – because if I was more intelligent and not so vain, these expectations wouldn’t affect me, would they?" I’m Fed Up of Being Told I’m ‘Too Smart’ To Fall for Body Fascism

And finally, watch Renee's mini-teaser for her upcoming eBike documentary!