Photo : Escada ski wear
Shocking pink and green, camouflage prints and bold floral patterns are what you will see in the ski shop windows this year. However, you’ve surely noticed that not everyone dresses in the latest fashion. My father still skis and until recently sported tight navy blue racing ski pants that Italian ski instructors were wearing some 30 years ago. These tight-fitting ski trousers and jackets and all-in-one ski suits with padded shoulders are now so outdated that they are almost back in fashion again. A company called retro-rentals even rents out 80s ski gear for those who can’t find any in the attic or jumble sales!
Simply knowing the latest techniques and using the most high-tech skis or snowboards is no longer enough to make you stand out on the slopes. With youngsters sticking mohawk wigs or fluorescent hair accessories on their ski helmets and groups of skiers dressed up in various outrageous costumes, the slopes turn into a glorified carnival that you either love or hate. Personally, I admit to a bit of dressing up but it has to be for a special occasion!
The functionality of the clothing is, for me, still at the top of the list. It’s important that your ski clothes keep you warm and dry in heavy snow, and that they breathe well. There’s no point in looking good, if you’re freezing cold or sweating like a boxer! I admit I generally don’t like to draw attention to myself on or off the slopes and that is a good excuse for still wearing my black ski trousers and black ski jacket – both of which I have had for a few years now! I think the trousers may have even worked a season with me as a chalet girl in Val d'Isère all those years ago! However, maybe this season I will let myself be tempted by the wonderful choice of ski wear.
How often do you buy a new winter outfit? Do you go along with the latest fashions or are you still comfy in the same ski trousers you’ve been wearing for the last 10 years? Some skiers are determined to wear the latest fashions and all the big name brands on and off the slopes! Nowadays, with the après-ski often getting going up on the slopes, if you are a fashion-conscious skier, you’ll want to look your best while sipping a mulled wine and tapping your ski boot along to the latest dance tunes! In any case, each to their own I say – wouldn’t it be boring if everyone dressed the same up on the slopes!
Photo : Retro Rentals
Bright colors may be back in fashion but are somehow nothing like those we gaily sported back in the 80s and 90s! However, looking at the way high street fashion goes around and comes around, I have a funny feeling that I might soon be wearing a yellow all-in-one ski suit with brightly coloured triangles all over it and shoulder pads. Or maybe I could just fish my old one out of the attic!
Leave a comment and tell us what you used to wear on the slopes – or are still wearing!
Photo : Escada ski wear
Shocking pink and green, camouflage prints and bold floral patterns are what you will see in the ski shop windows this year. However, you’ve surely noticed that not everyone dresses in the latest fashion. My father still skis and until recently sported tight navy blue racing ski pants that Italian ski instructors were wearing some 30 years ago. These tight-fitting ski trousers and jackets and all-in-one ski suits with padded shoulders are now so outdated that they are almost back in fashion again. A company called retro-rentals even rents out 80s ski gear for those who can’t find any in the attic or jumble sales!
Simply knowing the latest techniques and using the most high-tech skis or snowboards is no longer enough to make you stand out on the slopes. With youngsters sticking mohawk wigs or fluorescent hair accessories on their ski helmets and groups of skiers dressed up in various outrageous costumes, the slopes turn into a glorified carnival that you either love or hate. Personally, I admit to a bit of dressing up but it has to be for a special occasion!
The functionality of the clothing is, for me, still at the top of the list. It’s important that your ski clothes keep you warm and dry in heavy snow, and that they breathe well. There’s no point in looking good, if you’re freezing cold or sweating like a boxer! I admit I generally don’t like to draw attention to myself on or off the slopes and that is a good excuse for still wearing my black ski trousers and black ski jacket – both of which I have had for a few years now! I think the trousers may have even worked a season with me as a chalet girl in Val d'Isère all those years ago! However, maybe this season I will let myself be tempted by the wonderful choice of ski wear.
How often do you buy a new winter outfit? Do you go along with the latest fashions or are you still comfy in the same ski trousers you’ve been wearing for the last 10 years? Some skiers are determined to wear the latest fashions and all the big name brands on and off the slopes! Nowadays, with the après-ski often getting going up on the slopes, if you are a fashion-conscious skier, you’ll want to look your best while sipping a mulled wine and tapping your ski boot along to the latest dance tunes! In any case, each to their own I say – wouldn’t it be boring if everyone dressed the same up on the slopes!
Photo : Retro Rentals
Bright colors may be back in fashion but are somehow nothing like those we gaily sported back in the 80s and 90s! However, looking at the way high street fashion goes around and comes around, I have a funny feeling that I might soon be wearing a yellow all-in-one ski suit with brightly coloured triangles all over it and shoulder pads. Or maybe I could just fish my old one out of the attic!
Leave a comment and tell us what you used to wear on the slopes – or are still wearing!
Being lucky enough to have parents who were crazy about skiing, my love for the mountains started when I was 4 years old on our first family ski holiday to Austrian ski resort of Obergurl. One ski holiday a year was never enough and tears rolled down my face as I looked out the back window of the car on the drive down the valley on the way home!
