What to Wear?

As a beginning cyclist, I was faced with the question about what to wear while cycling. There are so many sites dedicated to women's cycling fashion. Many of them show images of beautifully dressed women with NO helmet! Sure, it looks great in the pictures but the possibility of falling off my bike or getting hit by a car and risking head injury makes it so much less appealing! I ALWAYS ride my bike wearing my helmet! No exceptions! As far as clothing is concerned, I ride my bike wearing what I would normally wear. I don't see the need of wearing cycling performance wear for the type of urban biking I do on my beach cruiser. More power to the more serious die hard cyclists out there who dress this way. My rule of thumb is to wear what fits into your lifestyle. I do a lot of commuting around my city to run errands (instead of driving) and also ride just for fun and exercise. I love wearing skirts and dresses normally so this is what I end up usually wearing on my bike. I've read a few articles and blog entries about wearing skirts and dresses while biking and there are many different opinions out there. Some ladies feel they can wear skirts and dresses and ride their bikes with knees pointing in and carefully mounting and dismounting from their bikes. I've heard of other ladies using pins or clips to attach the skirt or dress together. Being rather modest, I prefer to just wear bike-type shorts or opaque leggings under my dress or skirt to play it safe. Right now, I have found my pair of Tom's shoes to be the most comfortable of the shoes I already own for bike riding, although I do also wear my vintage style wedgies and dressy flats depending on my mood and more importantly, where I'm going.