The OP's fear of falling gave me the impression that he's a beginning cyclist just like me, so I thought I would support my fellow beginning cyclist by sharing how I dealt with falling.

Skin tight spandex pants became popular amongst men during the 80's, I think it was all the rock stars that started the trend and popularized the tight spandex look...Now the 80's hairstyles is something I don't even want to think about...

I sweat way too much to wear my work cloths during my commute, especially during summer months. Most days I leave the house in MTB shorts and a short sleeve t-shirt, sometimes with a Pearl Izumi vest. I'd rather be a little cold to keep the sweat down. I also ride on an old brown leather saddle, which would leave a mark on my khakis/pants. I don't have an aversion to lycra, but save the full road kit for longer non-commute rides.

Excellent point. :-)

No way in hell im wearing regular clothes when commuting. Clothes do matter to a degree, and that degree is comfort. I would hate cruising along with my clothes acting as an air-brake slowing me down. Now I don't wear a full road "kit" commuting, just semi loose fitting athletic apparel works great for me. Also going commando helps big time in comfort and staying cool. Also you're underwear doesn't smell like sweaty balls when you get to work. haha

This assumes you HAVE balls...not all commuters do.

Trust me, sweaty lady parts have got to smell just as bad. Not that I am going to go around smelling balls for the comparison...

Sweat is relative for all of us. I have a 5 mile commute over mostly flat ground with one small hill. I work in an office so if I were sweaty and smelly it's likely someone would complain. Some days my back is a little sweaty. I do keep emergency clothes, soap, and shampoo at work so I can shower if needed.

HaHA touche! But as mentioned, lady parts do smell as well... lol

Actually, during my commute, I see most people wear regular clothes: Jeans, T-shirts, etc. Only the hard core guys are in their cycling clothes -- they go fast, usually without any luggage.

So how are you doing now? Still commuting in your office clothes? No complaints from work colleagues about the smell?

I commute in regular clothes. But I take a shower and change to office clothes.
I want to gain some speed and was thinking if clothes would help. But it sounds like they won't really help in terms of speed.

I commute in athletic clothes (shirt & shorts). Including athletic briefs, there is no way I can go commando... Not with my junk hanging down to the side of the seat and the conditions of the roads I bike on. That would be painful... Went home once not changing out of my my boxers, will not happen again...

I bring a change of clothes with me and a small kit to freshen up once I get to the office.

I think for the first time, I have to think about this. We have a dress code at work: shirts must have collars, trousers must be long, no sandals for men. It's not terribly restrictive or repressive, but my route is 13 or 14 miles long, and I don't want to wear long pants in the dead of the heat. The only place I can find to change my outfit is the handicapped stall in the men's room. I guess I'll make do with that. Normally, I don't mind getting hot and sweaty, and I can cool off well enough without a shower. It's the length of the commute that makes it difficult. I've already ridden on a couple of warm days, and it's uncomfortable, and I haven't ridden this route on seriously hot days yet.

Cool. I am also lucky to have showering facilities in our office building.

Seems like whether you ride on sidewalk vs. road, and how many stop lights you have to wait at have greater impact on speed than clothes. You could work on your climbing speed - if you climb faster that should reduce your time a bit - but that's about it - and nobody climbs fast enough to benefit from the wind resistant clothes.

I bike through a popular windsurfing area in san francisco everyday. They winds are crazy some days. Still, not sure how much tight clothes will help in speed.

I used to bike faster than google map estimates, now it's about the same or even slower...

They would only help if you had no stoplights and no hills to climb.

So am I the minority wearing pants and long sleeve shirt? Will I get much faster with the usual cycling clothes?

are you a cyclist or do you ride a bike? Is it a race?

I have been a transportation rider for some years now. Owing to my circumstances, I find it more comfortable to kit up rather than wear street clothes. I don't go any faster, nor do I care to. Bigger concern is that I make the coffee shop on the way in,if possible.
there are days I am a cyclist, kitted up and wanting to rack up miles, work up a sweat,etc.
usually, i am a commuter. I don't have a shower at my work. My dress code is semi professional, so i keep deodorant, wipes, hair goo etc at work.
I switch between a bike with panniers and a bike where I only carry a backpack, depending on cargo needs. I do keep an extra change at work just in case.
If I really feel the need to pour it on, i do it on my way home, cause Im gonna shower when i get home, anyways.
keep at it, you will figure out what works best for you. as much as I want to ask is what do you want your commute to be? I have decided it is my chill time more than anything. and riding full on in a city setting is not always advisable.

You probably were in the summer time.

It ain't summer any more. Commuted wearing tights and long-sleeve base layer under a t-shirt for the first time last week.

You are in the minority in the US, but millions of Europeans bike to work in dress clothes all the time -- slowly.

Will you get faster with athletic clothes? If your street clothes were binding, then probably you will get somewhat faster, as well as be more comfortable. Otherwise, you'll only get faster if you were already riding so hard that your loose clothing made significant aerodynamic drag.

BTW, I have several coworkers who rode into work this summer with long sleeve shirts and long pants, even on the hottest summer days. I could tell though their commute was less than 5 miles - heck probably less than 2 miles.

I wasn't riding fast during the summer (still don't ride that fast) but 10+ miles in the 90+ F heat and humidity will wring buckets of sweat out of your pores, even if you're riding almost as slow as a jogger.

I think I'm going to change my approach. I've been wearing street clothes on my bike commute, but I think I'm going to switch to cycling clothes. It didn't matter what I wore when I went for a short distance, but (1) I go rather far, and (2) I go somewhat fast. I'll try bringing a week's worth of clothes into work when I commute by subway. My commute is 13 miles each way.