Frame advice - town/gents/cruising bike

So, I've been hankering after a bike for the days when I'm not head to foot in lyrca or commuting. A relaxed ride position (porteur bars and no bar-saddle drop) and 3-5 speed rear hub is essential.

I want to build from scratch but am uncertain of a couple of things: do I go modern or classic build? I would prefer a newer, modern build as I prefer A-Head stems (not the only reason!) etc. but am unsure which newer frames fit the bill. Obviously the classic options are Path frames from Carlton, Holdsworth etc.

Brief would be something similar to the Raleigh Superbe Roadster although I am keen to keep the weight down as I don't want a Pashley substitute.

All advice / mocking most welcome...

Depends on your spend.

An easy way to do it would be to go for an old '50s racing bike and convert it. It would be fairly cheap too. This was my effort (not quite finished), you could do a much nicer version of this, using a better frame. Anything designed for 27" would be a good idea as you will definately have room for chubby tyres and mudgaurds.

If you want modern you could always go for a 2nd hand steamroller and then have brazeon's added.

Otherwise the singular peregrine is nice if you've got a bit of cash.

Spend isn't reall an isse so cheers for the Singular tip. Definitely what I'm after. One quarm is the disc brakes as I am trying to keep the weight down but overall looks perfect.

Good effort on your conversion, looks like a nice rat cruiser™! Although I would love a Holdsworth path frame, I'm too stuck on having a modern components. Maybe one for the future... Thanks again for the tip.