Brighter, Longer Parkas Suit Skiers to a T-Bar

I f they weren’t so puffy, it’d make perfect sense to store outdated parkas and wait for them to come back into fashion.

Alas, avid skiers would rather spend their paychecks on lift tickets than big closets, so they’ll have to tackle the slopes in last year’s drab or ante up for something bright. But no neon.

“Orange, yellow and red--the colors of sunrise--are three happening colors, and they’re back in a big way,” according to Hollis Brooks, fashion editor of Skiing magazine in Steamboat Springs, Colo.

Also, look for a longer length, rather than a jacket cropped at the waist. The newer look can wear it off the slopes, too.

Not a bad idea, considering that it takes a minimum of $750 to keep warm and dry. That includes the basic parka and ski pants or a one-piece suit, a fleece Polartec pullover, polyester socks, gloves or mittens and hat and thermal underwear. Then there are the boots, the bindings, the skis, the lift tickets . . .

“Skiwear generally is expensive because of the raw materials needed to make it windproof, durable, water resistant and insulated,” says Wini Jones, vice president and design director for Roffe skiwear in Seattle. “There’s fashionable skiwear, and there’s high-tech skiwear, but either way there are a lot more elements that go into a ski jacket than your everyday jacket.”

Now, about color. Deep tones such as rust, chocolate and burgundy are out.

“Eddie Bauer and L.L. Bean may make a living from forest green, but skiers are looking for good-time, exuberant colors,” Brooks says. “A buttoned-down banker who wears navy-blue suits all week is looking forward to wearing a flash of orange on the ski slopes. For that couple of weeks a year, people want something beyond the classic, enduring stuff.”

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Crayon brights are a standout against the snow, says Edith Dixon, product manager for Tyrolia Skiwear and Head Sportswear in Columbia, Md.

“The primary colors really look good on the slopes,” she says. “Besides, for skiing you want to wear something fun.”

But ditch those neons.

“They’ve had their day on the beach and the slopes,” Brooks says. “You’ll see occasional flashes of neon on ski equipment as an accent color, but I would put that in the ‘out’ column.”

If your skiwear isn’t totally adrift, try updating it with a hat, perhaps a beret or one of those funky, floppy, fleece hats that take their cue from urban hip-hop.

“If it looks slightly ridiculous like Dr. Suess’ ‘Cat in the Hat,’ you’re on the right track,” Brooks says.

Other updates might include eye-catching straps for your goggles in unusual patterns such as flying fish or skulls and crossbones.

But anything fleece sells well, Dixon says, because it’s a “feel-good fabric that people like to have next to their skin.” Fleece-lined knit headbands from Tyrolia, some with embroidered logos, come in a dozen colors and retail for $15 to $18 each.

While the longer, over-the-hip parkas appeal to that age group known for bigger waistlines and wider hips, the ski suit might appeal to go-get-’em gonzo skiers.

Bogner’s one-piece suits in stretch wool, nylon and Lycra come in about a dozen colors, in solids or color blocking. For those seeking a little flair, there are silk-like novelty Jacquards and 12-color embroideries. They retail for $600 to $1,100.

“More than any other look,” says Don Schwamb of New York, Bogner’s executive vice president, “the one-piece suit says, ‘Let’s go skiing.’ ”