Put away the puffy Michelin Man jackets of the '80s, and those one-piece suits that were so chic during the first Bush administration.
Skiwear has evolved, like all fashion, and it doesn't look like your dad's old ski bibs anymore.
“Everything is very brightly patterned,” says Debra Sigmann, buyer for Don Thomas Skihaus in Bloomfield Hills, Mich. “It's fun. For a while, it was boring - we didn't have any style. But skiing is a fun, vivacious sport,” and clothes these days reflect that.
Anyone who hasn't hit the slopes in a few years could pick up a few fashion pointers by checking out photos from last year's Olympics. What was hot there - bright colors, high-performance fabrics, and street influences - is hot everywhere.
Who can forget Daron Rahlves in his silver and red spiderweb-and-stars suit (by Spyder, natch)? Or halfpipe champ Kelly Clark thundering down the hillside in her baggy togs, looking like the airline had lost her luggage and a skateboarder had lent her his clothes? Or the dynamic designs and vibrant colors - red, cobalt, yellow, orange, white, silver - worn by what seemed every skier from Europe?
“I think the biggest influence out of the Olympics was the return of red, white, and blue, and stars and stripes,” Ms. Sigmann says. Her employer, Don Thomas Skihaus, carries everything from traditional ski wear and gear by North Face, Rossignol, and Salomon, to high-fashion ski styles by Prada and Bogner. In recent years, several couture houses have started making skiwear, including Versace, best known for its steamy creations (think J.Lo), Ralph Lauren, keeper of the upper-crust American flame, and Armani, maker of flawless suits for women and men.
For folks wondering what a couturier can bring to athletic wear, Ms. Sigmann says it's the combination of style and substance.
“With Prada, yes, it looks good, but I am also
going to tell you that the majority of fabrics are Gore-tex and they're seam-sealed,” Ms. Sigmann says. “Even though it says Prada, that doesn't mean it's all show and no go.”
Gore-Tex, an insulating fiber, revolutionized cold weather gear nearly two decades ago, and newer fabrics have sent skiwear to new heights of protection,
“Fabrics have changed quite a bit: everything is durable, waterproof, and windproof,” says Andy Wenberg, a salesman at Mountain Man Ski Shop in Toledo.
Garment construction has improved, too. If you skied a couple of decades ago and wiped out, you could count on a stream of snow forcing its way up your back. Modern jackets have barriers, called snow or powder skirts, to prevent that kind of thing, as well as armpit vents to release extra moisture, Mr. Wenberg says.
Good-quality gear is not cheap, of course, although Mr. Wenberg says a jacket can cost as little as $100. Catalog and online retailer Lands' End sells ski jackets for about $150 to $350. Ms. Sigmann says the price range for higher-end jackets starts around $200, with a top-of-the-line Prada jacket going for $1,700.
For plus-sizes, Junonia, also a catalog and Internet merchant, sells jackets and pants, with prices between $100 and $200.
As for what's passe, Ms. Sigmann has a list: camouflage. Monochromatic ensembles. And tan Carhartt work jackets - they may be warm off the slopes, but they're not optimal skiwear.
Mr. Wenberg and she agree on one item that's out of style: one-piece ski suits.
“Those were in 10 to 15 years ago,” Mr. Wenberg says, then tactfully goes silent.
First Published January 19, 2003, 12:18 p.m.
