An updated draft of something I wrote a while back. I want to sent it to a glossy outdoor magazine, but I don't think their advertisers would appreciate it.
After finishing graduate school in 1996, I moved to Big Sky to pursue outdoor adventures while my classmates moved to Boston, Denver, and New York to pursue careers. Each life path had its own sought-after uniform. While my city friends aspired to own Burberry overcoats and Gucci bags, I wished to purchase a North Face ski jacket and GORE-TEX® hiking boots.
As a broke ski bum, I was reluctant to spend money on everyday clothing yet was ready to shell out cash for expensive technical apparel deemed necessary for an active life in the mountains. Once purchased, these items were solely for outdoor recreation and were treated with care. For everyday wear, an old college sweatshirt, music festival t-shirts, and jeans from the thrift store suited me fine.
Over time, something changed as brands once revered for technical gear began to sell comfy t-shirts, conventional pants, and skirts. The outdoor lifestyle had become an idea to be packaged and marketed. You ski, climb and hike, and outdoor companies wanted to give you the chance to show it while you’re in town. The concept of “lifestyle apparel” was born.
Today, lifestyle apparel continues to be big business. In addition to making attire for everyday life, outdoor brands now promote the versatility of their technical clothing. A quick web search reveals an endless collection of softshell jackets useful for backcountry skiing as well as a walk to the yoga studio, sturdy hiking boots comfortable and stylish enough to wear to the brewpub, and sundresses and skirts from brands long-extolled for their high-tech equipment.
SCARPA for instance, now boasts a lifestyle section (https://www.scarpa.com/lifestyle) so the brand can put itself “at the center of your active life” allowing the wearer “to tackle everyday expeditions with confidence.” Outdoor Research sells items such as the Metro shorts that are suitable for mountain exploration yet “look flattering in your summit photo or at the microbrewery on your way home.”
https://www.outdoorresearch.com/us/en/shop-by-activity/shop-by-activity---womens/womens-biking/womens-equinox-metro-shorts/p/2501420001299
Reading this advertising puzzles me. Since when did looking stylish become part of mountain culture? As I go about my daily activities after returning from the crag, why would I do so in the same clothing? Hiking shoes at the pub after a long day in the mountains? No thanks. For true post-activity comfort, I’ll wear sandals and my feet will thank me. A jacket for climbing, the bonfire, and the football game? It’s possible, but the idea of hanging around in a sweaty, smoky jacket is unappealing.
While I poke fun at lifestyle apparel, I confess I own it too. A Patagonia skirt I throw on for work, a Marmot sundress I wear to Art Walks, and a Mammut fleece hoody ideal for lounging are a few pieces of lifestyle apparel hanging in my closet. Given the dearth of affordable clothing retailers in town, this should not be surprising.
Despite Bozeman’s rising popularity, it is not a fashion paradise making outdoor stores a viable option for everyday duds. In addition to availability, apparel from outdoor brands is appealing because it actually fits petite active woman such as me. While my physique serves me well, ordinary clothing seldom accommodates my build. In pants, the size required to fit over my thighs leaves a wide gap at the waist. As for tops, many are snug across my upper back and shoulders. Clothing from outdoor-focused companies is designed with powerful thighs, small waists, and broad shoulders in mind. It fits my body and suits my lifestyle.
Did I just say that? Am I falling into the marketing trap? While I’m sometimes quick to point out phonies and poseurs, and wearers of lifestyle apparel are an easy target, I don it too so what does that say about me? Lifestyle apparel is huge and doesn't seem to be going away any time soon so perhaps it’s best I don’t fight it.
Either way, whether my expeditions are in rugged mountainous terrain or are more of the everyday variety, outdoor brands now have me covered.
Hard Good Makers Go Soft
Black Diamond now has an apparel line boasting items like the Credo Pants, “ideal for long days at the crag that bleed into after-send celebrations.” http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en/mens-pants-shorts/m%27s-credo-pants-APP25N_cfg.html
Ortovox developed the first double frequency transceiver in 1980. Today, they also produce clothing with their Fleece Plus Hoody delivering on “knee-deep powder runs, freeride adventures or leisurely evenings in snow-covered cabins.” https://www.ortovox.com/us/shop/women/merino-fleece-plus/fleece-plus-classic-knit-hoody-w-hot-coral/
Skirts Become Sporty
Dynafit, an innovator in lightweight ski boots and bindings, decided skirts for active pursuits was an idea whose time had come. Their Mezzalama Polartec® Alpha® Ski Running skirt “keeps you a step ahead not only for training, but also will turn heads when you take a walk around town afterward.” https://www.dynafit.com/women/apparel/shorts-skirts/mezzalama-polartec-alpha-skirt-damen?number=08-0000070780_0000000001
Expensive is the New Simple
Patagonia’s sells a t-shirt with a drawing of Spork and the words “Live Simply” emblazoned across the front. Outdoor brands have long sold ordinary tops but what was once a simple cotton affair is now crafted in a “50/50 blend of recycled cotton/postconsumer recycled polyester fabric.”
If $35 seems like a lot for a mere t-shirt, Patagonia claims this shirt “makes the idea of simplifying easier to swallow.”
(http://www.patagonia.com/product/mens-live-simply-spork-cotton-poly-responsibili-tee/39046.html?dwvar_39046_color=FGE&cgid=t-shirts - tile-48=&srule=price-high&sz=72&start=1)
When it Becomes Trendy, Mock It
While other companies want to do it all, the Oboz Switchback boot lives up to the company motto “true to the trail.”
“Too many catalogs describe products that ‘can summit a peak in the morning and shine at the brew pub in the afternoon.’ Forget the brewpub; you'll be lucky to get back to the trailhead before dark.” https://obozfootwear.com/products/mens-switchback-low
~
SCARPA for instance, now boasts a lifestyle section (https://www.scarpa.com/lifestyle) so the brand can put itself “at the center of your active life” allowing the wearer “to tackle everyday expeditions with confidence.” Outdoor Research sells items such as the Metro shorts that are suitable for mountain exploration yet “look flattering in your summit photo or at the microbrewery on your way home.”
https://www.outdoorresearch.com/us/en/shop-by-activity/shop-by-activity---womens/womens-biking/womens-equinox-metro-shorts/p/2501420001299
Reading this advertising puzzles me. Since when did looking stylish become part of mountain culture? As I go about my daily activities after returning from the crag, why would I do so in the same clothing? Hiking shoes at the pub after a long day in the mountains? No thanks. For true post-activity comfort, I’ll wear sandals and my feet will thank me. A jacket for climbing, the bonfire, and the football game? It’s possible, but the idea of hanging around in a sweaty, smoky jacket is unappealing.
While I poke fun at lifestyle apparel, I confess I own it too. A Patagonia skirt I throw on for work, a Marmot sundress I wear to Art Walks, and a Mammut fleece hoody ideal for lounging are a few pieces of lifestyle apparel hanging in my closet. Given the dearth of affordable clothing retailers in town, this should not be surprising.
Despite Bozeman’s rising popularity, it is not a fashion paradise making outdoor stores a viable option for everyday duds. In addition to availability, apparel from outdoor brands is appealing because it actually fits petite active woman such as me. While my physique serves me well, ordinary clothing seldom accommodates my build. In pants, the size required to fit over my thighs leaves a wide gap at the waist. As for tops, many are snug across my upper back and shoulders. Clothing from outdoor-focused companies is designed with powerful thighs, small waists, and broad shoulders in mind. It fits my body and suits my lifestyle.
Did I just say that? Am I falling into the marketing trap? While I’m sometimes quick to point out phonies and poseurs, and wearers of lifestyle apparel are an easy target, I don it too so what does that say about me? Lifestyle apparel is huge and doesn't seem to be going away any time soon so perhaps it’s best I don’t fight it.
Either way, whether my expeditions are in rugged mountainous terrain or are more of the everyday variety, outdoor brands now have me covered.
The Latest in Lifestyle Apparel
Hard Good Makers Go Soft
Black Diamond now has an apparel line boasting items like the Credo Pants, “ideal for long days at the crag that bleed into after-send celebrations.” http://www.blackdiamondequipment.com/en/mens-pants-shorts/m%27s-credo-pants-APP25N_cfg.html
Ortovox developed the first double frequency transceiver in 1980. Today, they also produce clothing with their Fleece Plus Hoody delivering on “knee-deep powder runs, freeride adventures or leisurely evenings in snow-covered cabins.” https://www.ortovox.com/us/shop/women/merino-fleece-plus/fleece-plus-classic-knit-hoody-w-hot-coral/
Skirts Become Sporty
Dynafit, an innovator in lightweight ski boots and bindings, decided skirts for active pursuits was an idea whose time had come. Their Mezzalama Polartec® Alpha® Ski Running skirt “keeps you a step ahead not only for training, but also will turn heads when you take a walk around town afterward.” https://www.dynafit.com/women/apparel/shorts-skirts/mezzalama-polartec-alpha-skirt-damen?number=08-0000070780_0000000001
Expensive is the New Simple
Patagonia’s sells a t-shirt with a drawing of Spork and the words “Live Simply” emblazoned across the front. Outdoor brands have long sold ordinary tops but what was once a simple cotton affair is now crafted in a “50/50 blend of recycled cotton/postconsumer recycled polyester fabric.”
If $35 seems like a lot for a mere t-shirt, Patagonia claims this shirt “makes the idea of simplifying easier to swallow.”
(http://www.patagonia.com/product/mens-live-simply-spork-cotton-poly-responsibili-tee/39046.html?dwvar_39046_color=FGE&cgid=t-shirts - tile-48=&srule=price-high&sz=72&start=1)
When it Becomes Trendy, Mock It
While other companies want to do it all, the Oboz Switchback boot lives up to the company motto “true to the trail.”
“Too many catalogs describe products that ‘can summit a peak in the morning and shine at the brew pub in the afternoon.’ Forget the brewpub; you'll be lucky to get back to the trailhead before dark.” https://obozfootwear.com/products/mens-switchback-low
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