The Look on the Slopes: Early Ski Season 2013-2014

Me Posing at Telluride Ski Resort

Life has been getting pretty colorful around here at the Telluride Ski Resort lately. Most of the mountain is open and we’ve had many classic Colorado bluebird days. The holiday visitors have yet to arrive, however, I’ve been seeing oodles of punches of color throughout our sparsely populated slopes. I’ve been so busy with wrapping things up at my desk and ski school training, that it wasn’t until last weekend that I spent some quality time perusing this year’s fashions at Bootdoctors, one of my favorite outdoor gear and clothing retailers in T-ride. This time, I wanted to chat with the girls in the shop—Sooz and Pam—and get the lowdown on this year’s look on the mountain. And, of course, how could I resist trying on a number of outfits and even modeling my favorite one here for you?

Me Posing Again

It’s all about color—big, vibrant colors. All the primary colors—red, blue, yellow—and some candy-colored variations. Indeed, orange is the new black. I’ve never been much of an orange person but I cracked for this gorgeous jacket from Phenix pictured in this post. I wasn’t familiar with the brand but learned that they’re the official outfitter for the Norwegian ski team and their clothing is both beautiful and very tech-forward. The down jacket pictured here boasts welded baffles instead of stitched, a feature that makes it both alluring and more waterproofed.

If you don’t have a bold-colored jacket or pants, wear a bright hat or helmet. Here, I’m modeling a KJus Sprinkle Beanie, a coarse, hand-knitted hat in multi-colored fancy yarn that works just as well for the guys as the girls.

Now Let’s Go Ski

My Nils Annalise insulated stretch thermo-extreme compact insulation ski pants (now that’s a mouthful) fit me like a glove. Oo-là-là, never have ski pants felt so good and so slimming! I’ve always been a big fan of Nils and I’m actually still wearing a hat I bought from them almost twenty years ago. With pants though, you’re ever so grateful that design and material have improved so much over the years that you can now look killer and remain toasty warm in the right pair of ski pants. Nils is all about womenswear; sorry guys.

Although sometimes difficult to maintain, there’s nothing like a fresh, snow-white pair of mittens. The leather ones I’m wearing here from Hestra are downy soft and oh-so sweet. I recommend mittens over gloves to keep your hands toasty warm. Gloves are more for fair-weather days and spring skiing in my opinion. (That’s coming from someone who’s starting her tenth season ski instructing at Telluride Ski & Snowboard School.) On super cold days, I pop a hand warmer in there and am as happy as a cuddly kitten nestled beneath the Christmas tree.

As you can see here, the trend of white-framed goggles and sunglasses continues. I thought it would be just a fad when it came out a a while back. But no, so I guess now it’s here to stay. It does look sharp, doesn’t it? I love these Oakley goggles—they really brighten up your face. I opted for a more classic look for the sunglasses I’m wearing which are Oakley as well. Best of all, these shades and goggles perform super well, something you need to count on when you’re playing at elevations as high as over 12,000 feet. Don’t mess around with the cheap stuff, since your eyes can get sunburned, too. Yes, that has even stupidly happened to me with a cheap pair of flashy dime store glasses on a March day.

That’s my report for now. I’ll provide some updates as the winter progresses, the crowds arrive and more new looks become revealed to me.

Thank you Bootdoctors for my fun fashion tour and thank you Brian Torp for photographing me in such a gorgeous ski outfit. As I often say to my Ski School students and clients, it’s important that you look good on the slopes, whether you go big or not.