How to look good on the piste

Filed Under Piste Fashion

This article was posted in 2006 on my other site - www.twistedfairy.com but thought it should make an appearance on my new blog! One piece ski suits are a heinous fashion crime in any year. : - )

There’s somewhere on earth that seems to defy all laws of fashion and common sense. It’s a place where neon is still deemed acceptable and unflattering one-piece outfits can be found on every corner. Where is this lawless place where the fashion police dare to tread, I hear you ask? The ski slopes.

If you are considering putting your carefully manicured toes on the powder this Winter – here’s some suggestions that will having you look more like Kate Moss and less like Bridget Jones.

Some guidelines to follow;

Don’t do one pieces.

They make your bum look big, they very rarely come in black and it looks like you are wearing a wetsuit when you walk around with the jacket tied around your waist at lunch. You may only ever break this rule if the one piece is black Prada and your name is Mrs Victoria Beckham or Kate Moss.

Subtlety is the best policy.

Never mind honesty, this simple rule will breeze you through a sea of grungy metallics and neon stripes right into the après-ski bars. Keep extra colours to a minimum by choosing jackets with discrete accent colours, such as lime, orange, red or the candy colours that are popular at the moment.

Most expensive is not always the best.
With high street retailers contributing excellent ranges to the skiing cause – you won’t need to hunt for the expensive specialist ski shops in the far flung corners of your town – try your local TopShop, Marks and Spencer or Asda for a great range of technical jackets and salopettes and an abundance of hats, gloves, scarves and fleeces.

If you are just starting out - ebay is also a great place to pick up cheap seperates or 2nd hand goods. Don’t buys skis, boots or boards as you will want to be fitted for the boots and it’s worth determining your style and trying out a few demo boards/skis before picking the one that is right for you.

Family ensembles

Coordinating mum’s, dad’s and kiddies outfits maybe cool to you. To everyone else you are a source of amusement and people will begin to throng around you wondering if you are about to burst into song.

The moral of the story….

Don’t spend your entire budget on a really cool and sexy ski outfit then find you’ve got no money left to buy your lift pass or food. Or even worse – drink.