Hot pants for Cool days.
Holy moly-first off I wanted to thank each of you for your support. Kellyn and I have been dreaming and building TOGs for a while now and it was overwhelming how quickly you all signed up. We are both so excited to build this small world with all of you and can’t wait to see what comes out of it. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
It was hard to decide where to start. But as I said in our first post, getting dressed for me is all about emotions and how we can use clothes to express an emotion or even overcome one. So I’m starting with element of the outfit I put on when I want to ski well-well being playful, joyful, and fast af. The outfit that makes me feel like I’m skiing in a video game, especially on days I feel like I’m moving through mud.
I’ve been an athlete for the North Face for the past 12 years, and I have kept this one long white sample jacket (that is sadly not very white anymore and sadly never got put into production) and a rotating cast of red, blue or black Snogas for at least 9 of those 12 years. No matter what new samples I get, this outfit remains my power outfit. The one I grab when I want to go rage on the mountain. It just makes me feel cool. All of a sudden I’m skiing more powerfully. Grabbing my skis in the air. Dropping my hips to the ground. There’s just something magic about it-and I think the magic is in the PANTS.
The Snoga Pant is a tight, if yoga pants were ski pants, style. It’s shape and cut are really similar to the type of jeans that work best with my body type-a bit cropped, a bit flared, and a bit fitted. I think a lot of people think this pant belongs only in Aspen, and only at après. But boy do I fully disagree.
When I get dressed, one thing I think about is proportion. This is probably because I’m pretty short- if i’m not careful, I can quickly look like a five year old dressing up in Shrek’s closet. I’m 5’2, maybe 5’3 after lots of pilates, with a small waist and quads meant for skiing down mountains. I find a lot of outdoor clothes are made for tall, slim, endurance bodies-I’ve got more of a Kardashian vibe going. For all the shade you could throw at them, I do appreciate that for once in my life time, an hourglass shape has social currency.
The Snoga is comfortable, has great range of motion, and with the fleece lining, is warmer than you think. I would probably skip it for those arctic ski days, or a day when it’s on the dripping wet side, but otherwise I’ve worn mine in most conditions sans problems including ski touring, riding lifts, and even playing broomball.
Aside from comfort, what I like about this pant is how it makes me feel feminine. And when I feel feminine I feel good. And when I feel good, I ski good. I’ve never quite understood why “ski bunnies” get such a bad rap…why the industry equates looking technical with skill or importance on the slopes. I could really rant on about this…but let’s get to the styling shall we…
Option 1: Gateway drug
This would be the gateway style if you were hesitant about embracing the tighter pant or a less technical-forward style. I’ve worn it with a shell (Verbier Jacket) that hits mid-quad on me. Below is a photo of this jacket styled with the looser bib pants for contrast.
These pants feels messy to me-not just because of the croissant crumbs I have littered all over the snow. But the look is too slouchy. Too much excess fabric. I’ve always been a bit self conscious of my legs, and ironically I think the baggier pant makes me look bigger where the tighter pant gives my frame more of a shape.
Option 2: Insulated Parka
To recreate the look of my beloved white jacket and have something warmer than a shell you could also do either a long insulated non-skiing parka or a longer down jacket. The key is if the length is long, to look that the jacket has some sort of slits in the skirting so you have full range of motion for those spread eagles.
Arctic Parka and some red Snogas could be pretty amazing, I’d personally pull the fur lining off.
Option 3: Fast Snow Bunny
The other way I sport my tight pants is with a cropped puffy-especially for those fall/spring resort riding days. Paired with a ski sweater like this vintage TNF extreme sweater from the 80’s that I found in my mom’s closet…you’re ready to go from carving to any sort of post skiing activity of your dreams (mine usually is reading a book, but my snogas have been known to make an appearance or two at the Stageoach bar dance floor)
Style with the Hydrenalite cropped down that is a year round staple. The key is something that hits right at or slightly below the waistband.
Notes on fit:
-I order 2 sizes up, looking at some reviews, people even went three sizes up to put a thicker base layer underneath.
-Unless you’re extremely tall, go with a petit cut. Because boots are taller in the forefront than a normal shoe, a petit cut lets your ski pants sit at a cleaner level. This tip came from fellow substacker
and it’s genius.The pant rant ends here. Kellyn is up next Monday. And then I’ll see you all back here on Monday the 29th for my favorite winter pants for the streets!
-Hadley