Girly is another common basket criticism. Girly and geeky don't make me slower, and they make the bike a lot more useful to me. And (thankfully) a basket holds up well to hard use.

As far as small vs large... I can and do manage a lot of grocery shopping with just my basket. The tight weight limit and small size help keep me from over buying. And for just running around town, odds are the basket is enough space. But I've got panniers, and they're very helpful if I plan to carry more for some reason. I don't need them *every* day tho.