Sartorial
DOWNHILL ALL THE WAY Alf Alderson clips into his skis to check out the different styles of ski wear to be seen on the slopes during the Season
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ou’ve just enjoyed a capital morning on the slopes of your favourite ski resort and, not unreasonably, you decide to take a break from the action with a morning coffee, or perhaps something stronger – and why not? You are en vacances, after all. This is the time to sit back and indulge in a spot of people watching, which with a little luck may throw up individuals attired in pretty much every ski fashion from the last 100 years. Not all of it is pleasing to the eye, and some may even result in involuntary gasps of alarm/ howls of laughter, but here is a brief outline of what you may encounter as you sip the first espresso, bombardino, Jagermeister or genepi (location dependent) of the day.
THE WOOL AND TWEED BRIGADE The pioneers of downhill skiing were, on the whole, well-heeled Victorian and Edwardian Brits, and they would naturally have turned to wool and tweed fabrics as they explored the mountains of the Alps, France and Switzerland in particular. By and large, their clothing was an extension of that worn for country sports, with robust tweed jackets, plus fours, woollen socks and balaclavas, leather gloves and stout leather boots providing insulation and protection from the elements. Such attire may be seen today among the esoteric cliques of telemark skiers that are occasionally encountered in some ski resorts (more commonly in the US and Canadian Rockies than Europe); these ‘free-heelers’ (see below) may also be
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