You Don’t Have to Be a Skier to Dress Like One (From the ’80s)

Once a month during the winter season, Laura McDonald, owner of Rad Max Vintage, hosts a pop-up shop at a bar named Le Chamois, at the base of Palisades Tahoe, a ski resort in Olympic Valley, Calif. The crowd there — a mix of skiers and nonskiers — comes to party, dancing to classic tunes and taking “shotskis.”

Some revelers are harder to miss than others, wearing neon or metallic one-piece snowsuits straight out of, or inspired by, the ’80s. “If I see four people in a friend group, usually three are in regular ski clothes and one is in a onesie,” Ms. McDonald said. (Regular ski clothes, for those who don’t partake, tend to be pants and jackets in neutral colors.)

But after a few drinks, those wearing traditional ski attire opt to swap their neutral clothes for the bright onesies Ms. McDonald sells. “People are like, ‘Should we try them on because they are so fun?’” Ms. McDonald said. “And then they always buy them.” In one day, she can sell as many as 40 vintage snowsuits, most of which costs between $100 to $300 apiece. They always sell out, she said.

“It used to be that people would wear them on the last day of the season” — which tends to be April or May at many resorts — or “at a frat party or bachelorette party,” she said. “Now people wear them all the time.”

Article source: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/24/style/ski-suits-vintage-80s-fashion.html