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[December 18, 1969] Everyman's Sports (ski outfits of 1969!)

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Science Fiction Theater Episode #15

Tonight (Dec. 19), tune in at 7pm (Pacific) for our special, Christmas-themed episode!


by Gwyn Conaway

What with the frigid temperatures, tornado gusts, and a decidedly worrisome storm brewing in New England (that may just materialize on Christmas day itself), it seems apropos to find a fashionable silver lining… in ski suits!

Photograph of two women skiing. They're on a snowy landscape, wearing two-piece jumpsuits (one woman wearing all blue, the other all orange) and protective helmets. The woman dressed in blue is standing in the background and looking into the distance. The woman dressed in orange is simulating a falling position with spread arms and legs. There is a tall rocky formation covered in snow farther in the background.
An interpretive fall choreographed by Vogue to express the woes that befall us this blustery, frigid holiday season.

Being from sunny Southern California, I don’t often experience the joy of fresh white powder on the mountains except when I glance up at Mt. San Antonio from my mailbox. For many, however, heading to the slopes is a multigenerational tradition that’s been usurped by the chic upper echelons of the sports world. But while the '60s cemented skiing as a resort hobby for the wealthy, it looks to me like the '70s will usher in a fresh take on athletics as a symbol of the middle class.

This trend perfectly suits sports such as skiing and tennis, which both have a rich history that transcends economic class. Modern tennis is rooted in summertime lawn sports such as the humble handball played by medieval French monks, and skiing has been a means of countryside transportation for thousands of years all over the world.

The Dunlop Volley court sneaker worn by Aussie tennis superstars is emblematic of this cross-class shift back towards accessibility and practicality in these sports. The shoe is “a bit of tent canvas glued to some tyre tread,” as one squash hobbyist put it. It’s lightweight, flexible, and has absolutely no bells or whistles. They’re easily affordable too, which has turned them into an icon of middle class Australia.

A photograph of tennis shoes.
The original Dunlop Volleys from the late 1960s with its simple blue lining and distinctive white tread.

A black-and-white photograph of a man playing tennis.
Rod Laver wearing his volleys on the court in the late 60s.

Ski suits seem to be following a similar trend. Skiing in the sixties was typified by its stretch pants and trapeze coats, both of which were agile but severely lacking insulation. The trend continues this year, combined with classic woolen socks and geometric patterns that are taking the slopes by storm.

A photograph of a woman walking up a mountain slope in skis. She's wearing a protective helmet and goggles and leaning on her ski poles to look toward the left of the image. There's a snowy mountain in the background.
Ernst Haas captures the modern elegance of the slopes in this photoshoot for Sports Illustrated, 1969. Geometric, high contrast patterns have become the rage of high ski fashion this year.

You’ll also find a new idea (perhaps one should say a refreshingly old idea) on those white summits, however. A warmer style that isn’t so demure and slim, designed specifically for resorts in Aspen and Telluride. This new look is made by people that eat, breathe, and sleep snow without the immediate access to fireplaces and hot cocoa. It celebrates athleticism rather than postcard moments, and returns skiing to its roots: exploration, adventure, and conquest.

A photograph of a woman skiing. We see her from a low angle. She's wearing an all-black jacket and pants, black sunglasses, a white wool cap, and a white-and-blue striped scarf.
Ernst Engel designed this safari ski suit, styled with an Abercrombie & Fitch mitts and muffler set. This trend will overwhelm the long willowy lines of stretch pants, no question about it.

You can see this shift already in the November 1969 issue of Vogue, where a shiny chocolate vinyl ski suit is photographed with a hardy wool muffler set. It features an insulated safari jacket cut long with four large patch pockets and a set of military-inspired epaulettes. The look is so reminiscent of the intrepid spirit of the turn of the century that Nelly Bly would have killed to wear it when she circumnavigated the world.

C.B. Vaughan, world-renowned speed skier, has had a hand in this transition too, selling skiwear of his own design to fellow Vermonters and resort-goers from the trunk of his car. His so-called “super pants” are bound to make it big in the coming years. The design is focused on performance with heavy-duty zippers and Velcro to keep the cold at bay while simultaneously discarding the refinery of wealthy plankers that never felt authentic to him.

Two photographs. On the left we see a pair of blue denim pants on a clothes hanger, with a white brick wall and a wooden floor on the background. On the right we see a close-up of the pant cuff.
An example of C.B. Vaughan's earliest super pants with zippers on the center back of each pant leg and a smart leather pant on the inside ankle to protect the leg from a skier's boots as they strafe downhill.

I applaud C.B. Vaughan’s perfect timing and dogged determination! The combination of working-class gumption, resort sports, and industrial materials is bound to inspire a generation angling to influence the world from the streets up. Brands like CB Sports and Volley will certainly shape the pedestrian-chic look of sports in the seventies. With the New Year nearly upon us, I can’t wait to see what’s in store…

Even if I do have to squint to see it from my mailbox.

[New to the Journey?  Read this for a brief introduction!]


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