Jaime Berry wears an old snowsuit from the 80s.
Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Jaime Berry
February 14, 2020 - 7:00 AM
Skiers and snowboarders on local ski hills and beyond are throwing it back to the 1980s with the return of the one-piece snowsuit, pastel and neon colours for gear and apparel.
Michael Ballingall, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Big White Ski Resort, said he wouldn’t call it a trend just yet, but he has seen ski and snowboard gear companies that are beginning to use colour pallets that were popular in the 1970s and 1980s.
“If you can find the old retro stuff at a place like Value Village, it stays on the shelf for seconds,” he said. “If you’ve got ski gear from the 80s, it’s cool.”
A vintage snowsuit for sale on Etsy.
Image Credit: Etsy
Michelle Jowing, with sales and marketing at Apex Mountain Resort near Penticton, said she's noticed more skiers and snowboarders seem to be seeking out older and used apparel.
"For the longest time you had to have the coolest gear and most expensive set up," she said. "And now it’s kind of overcorrected itself.”
Michael Monster, manager at Play It Again Sports, a used sports store in Kelowna, said at first the store didn’t take full snowsuits, but then they had people looking for them in recent years.
“Whatever we have in full suits, we usually sell,” he said.
According to Cosmopolitan, full piece snowsuits were all the rage for 2019. The hashtag #snowsuit has more than 70,000 posts on Instagram, with colourfully clad skiers and snowboarders showing off their 80s vibes.
Themed 80s party nights are also popular around resorts, said Carmen Ruiz, with communications at Sun Peaks Ski Resort.
In the last six years, she's seen an increase in the older style.
“What’s old is new again,” she said, adding that it has become popular for skiers and snowboarders to wear their parents ski clothes.
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