So you've bought your season pass and your ski gear is ready to go—but your wardrobe needs an update. How should you layer for maximum style and comfort?
Layering is the art of combining different clothes and fabrics to maintain your core body temperature during cold or hot weather. If you get too much of one extreme or the other, then both performance and comfort takes a nosedive. Fortunately, we are a brand full of women who love the great outdoors, especially the ski slopes!
How to layer for the coldest (and best) of seasons—ski season!
Base Layers
This is where it all begins—base layers. The song isn't wrong, it really is all about this most important of layers. A good base layer should be close fitting, slightly compressive, and extremely breathable—it's the first place where your temperate and sweat can breath out, or get trapped. If your base layer isn't breathable enough, you will start to get wet, which increases your chance of chill or even hypothermia in extreme conditions.
Our Aran Cable Seamless Top and Bottom is a great place to start if you're going to be doing some extreme all-day skiing, as it's mildly compressive and very close fitting. They also look great under a skirt or poncho!
Check out all of our best base layer tops and winter leggings here and build up your foundation!
Sweaters
Once you've built your foundation, the first thing to add is some extra warmth on top with a gorgeous ski sweater! Look for a fabric that has a blend of both natural and synthetic fibers, which will be optimized for athletic pursuits while maintaining shape, performance, and comfort. Also, sweaters with some sort of zipper will allow you to regulate your body temperature as your activity level changes throughout the day.
Some our favorites in this layer include the Astrid Full Zip Sweater, the Peak Season Sweater, and the Cascades Pullover. That said, you can shop all of our warm winter sweaters here.
Mid Layer
Once you've established your foundation and chosen the perfect sweater or top, it's time to add your mid layer. Typically, mid layers are pieces that are worn when a large down jacket isn't needed (as on a sunny day on the slopes) that block out the wind and more of the cold without overheating your core.
Vests and light jackets with a wind blocking material around your chest and back are the staples of this collection. The Matterhorn Jacket or the Sela Reversible Quilted Vest are two of our favorites for keeping in the warmth and keeping out the cold.
Accessories
Once you have your body taken care of, you can't forget about your head or your neck/face! Most of your body heat actually escapes via your head, so try to go without a winter beanie, and you won't get very far.
We have a wide variety of warm ski beanies that will keep your head cozy and stylish! Some of our winter beanies have removal poms on top, so they easily fit underneath your ski helmet. They also match our printer base layers for a fun look from top to bottom!
Our winter neck gaiters also prevent wind burn or chapped skin as you move down the mountainside, and are also excellent extra removable layers for regulating your body temperature.
Shop all of our winter accessories here!