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Sexy & sassy on the slopes

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Created on Monday, 07 February 2011 23:12

Written by Dena Rosenberry

I haven't seen CK Bradley and her Apres skiwear Airstream up at the mountains this season, but she's around and so, apparently, are her fashions.

The Vail Daily says:

Clad in brightly-colored, form-fitting ski outfits worthy of any Bond girl and armed with plenty of pep and sex appeal, Camilla Bradley's new skiwear company, Apres, has hit Vail.

You won't miss them.

Bradley, an East-Coast clothing designer, is on a tour of the country's major ski towns to publicize Apres retro ski clothing for women.   Her plan: Travel the country with an Airstream trailer, her business partner and two dogs, hire a crew of local girls to wear the clothing in each town, ski the slopes and hit up the local bars and restaurants for apres.

It's a real attention getter.

Check out this Apres skiwear video on YouTube.

Bradley said in some towns, they're practically mobbed on the slopes with people demanding to know where they got their outfits.

"We just get a lot of smiles from shyer people, and more confident people will come up and ask where we got it.  Everyone assumes it's retro, something we bought at a second-hand store," she said.  "When they find out it's new, they want it.  Younger people love the retro look, and older people will tell you it looks just like the suit they had in 1976."

I've been thinking a lot about ski fashion this year - the patterns, the ultra-baggy pants on young boarders, the puffy, the drab vs. fab.

Here's more about Bradley's Apres line:

In fact, Apres was inspired by a particular suit from the '70s.  Bradley, who has been designing playful women's dresses and belts for almost 10 years, was inspired after finding her mother's old vintage ski suit in the attic.  She said it fit perfectly, and when she wore it skiing, people accosted her asking where she got it.

CK Bradley's Ski Boogie jacket

With some encouragement from a friend at Powder magazine, she closed the dress business and concentrated on a new retro-inspired ski line for women that combines the performance of modern ski wear with the style of the '60s and '70s.

"Ski wear has gotten so technical. You see these girls on the slopes, and you don't even know they're girls until they take off their helmet," she said.  "Don't get me wrong.  I backcountry, I skin, I'll do a lot for good powder and fresh tracks, and I wear this stuff.  I wanted women to feel sexy and sassy on the slopes, and not feel like a dude."

Apres is serious about the clothing's functionality and credibility, too.  Everything from the waist-emphasizing Ski Boogie jacket to the Hot Dog ski bibs are made from Primaloft insulation, Nylon rip stop shells and solid waterproof materials (tested by Bradley in a tub of water in her kitchen).

The company also sponsors freestyle skier Hillary Procknow.

Even so, it doesn't take itself too seriously, especially with sizes such as "first base, second base, third base" instead of "small, medium and large."  Apres also makes risque, ski themed T-shirts (form-fitting, of course) and hats.

(That T-shirt at the top of the blog post has these words printed on it: "Hard Bumps Ahead.")

The entire line has been so well received that Bradley is considering doing a men's line as well.

"From guys, of course we get some wolf whistles," Bradley laughed.  "But a lot of guys ask us, 'When are you going to make that in my size?'"