Can't a Brother get a Mixte?

Holly's Trek has worked out great so far, but since it lacks fender eyelets, it's not really possible to make it an all-weather bike. Now certainly there are ways around this - you can put P-clamps on the fork and rear stays and attach fenders that way, and it works just fine. And of course there are some absolutely beautiful fenders out there for 650B applications, should I decide to ever put fenders on this bike. But that would preclude getting another bike.

Besides, Holly has been clamoring for a "skirt bike," something she can ride around the Rivertrail on without worrying about a top tube messing up her dress. We happen to currently have an old Schwinn that fits that description, but it's very old, very slow, very heavy, and most importantly it's her mom's bike and she'd like it back some time. So I've been looking for a Mixte style bike lately. For those who don't know, the Mixte is a road-bike style that is french in origin. It's considered a ladies bike here, and it replaces the traditional top tube with one or two smaller diameter tubes that run from the head tube all the way past the seat tube to the rear dropouts. Soma makes the new Buena Vista, which is a good example.

The plan for this bike is to build it into a fixed/free singlespeed machine with a sprung saddle, fenders, and some swept-back city bars for comfort. Maybe a wicker basket or two for loads. Problem is, there seems to be a dearth of these frames locally, and I can't seem to find one for the price I want. I actually already picked one up, but it turned out to have an obsolete french bottom bracket, lots of rust, and Holly doesn't like the purple color, so it's back to the drawing board. I think I'll hit up all the local shops today and see what I can come up with.