I do like the Suede. My wife had a Suede; she's short and has short legs, so needs a petite frame. She loved the Suede a lot.
But then one day, we went into the bike store, and they had a womens stepthrough Trek Navigator. (I think 2.0 or 3.0, not sure.) She fell in love immediately. Same upright riding position, but smaller, lighter, a wider range of gears (hers is 21 speed with a megarange granny, while the Suede only had 7) and a bit more nimble. And cute! It might be what you're looking for.