‘Tis the season! No, not that season. Ski season! Or at least, the season of worrying about what you’re going to wear during ski season, and lining up all the things you’re going to have sell, or the number of Pret coffees you have to forgoe, in order to afford it.
Ski wear can seem like some of most inconveniently expensive clothing you wear for the most inconveniently small amount of time, which makes shelling out for nice items even harder. Yes, I want to look great and I want to be warm, but do I really have to buy a £700 ski suit just do that?
Fear not - there is actually affordable ski wear out there, you just need to know where to look. So whether you’re bambi on ice on the baby slopes or jetting down the black routes, you’ll look good doing it - even if you’re going so fast that no one can see you.
Hey, there’s always après ski, right?
Asos
Asos has expanded its A505 sportswear line to include ski wear, and it is blissfully affordable. They might not have the most extensive collection of salopettes and ski boots - it’s more fuzzy, warm clothing to wear beneath your outer layers - but they are affordable, with some items starting at £15. Plus a lot of it’s on sale right now!
As well as their own brand range, Asos also stocks other cheaper ski brands: Burton, Eivy and Missguided.
If you’re looking a little more upmarket, but still on the affordable side, Asos offers items from Prospect and Liquourish skiwear, which come in some funkier styles and more out-there patterns, like these gorg salopettes for £104.
Hurr
Maybe you’re not a regular skier and don’t want to splash out on something you could potentially only be wearing for a weekend, or maybe you just want to look sick in the pics taken at après ski - either way, it sounds like renting ski wear is more your bag.
Hurr offers designer ski wear, including the likes of Moncler and Shoreditch Ski Club, for a fraction of the price. Take this super cute Chanel ski suit, as spotted on Kylie Jenner in 2019 - it retails at £2,500, but you can rent it for £211-£585 from one of their top lenders. Or these stylish Goldbergh salopettes - typically they’d cost you £420, but if you only fancy skiing as a one-off then you can rent them for as low as £101. Bargain!
Plus, Hurr has an impending collaboration with Flannels on the cards, which means tons more designer items will become available.
Blanqo
If you’ve decided that you’re emotionally compatible with renting your clothes, why not try Blanqo as well? A website dedicated entirely to renting ski wear (unlike Hurr, which offers skiwear but specialises in other clothing), Blanqo offers high-end ski brands for significantly discounted prices.
Brands available include Poivre Blanc, Perfect Moment, Erin Snow and Volcom. Poivre Blanc ski suits, which can retail as high as £740, are available to rent for just £75.
By Rotation
Like Hurr, By Rotation is mostly famous as a place to rent a wedding outfit, but they too have added some skiwear to their selection available to loan.
On By Rotation, you can rent pricey Oakley ski goggles for as low as £15, instead of buying them for £100+. Plus, they have some a £1445 Moncler ski jacket on offer for £167 rental price, some fancy Perfect Moment items, and these extremely extra Chloé ski goggles. If you’re gonna rent, you might as well go all out.
Depop and Vinted
If you don’t mind wearing secondhand, its worth checking out the fancier brands on Depop and Vinted. You might not think of them at the first instance for ski wear, but you can find Sweaty Betty’s ski range for a quarter of the price on Vinted, and many items are unworn or still have tags in. For instance, the Sweaty Betty houndstooth base layer (as seen above) is available on Vinted for just £35 - a steal!
You’re better off avoiding brands like North Face and Patagonia when heading to Depop, as the Gen Zs have become so fond of these brands they’re likely to be the same if not higher prices than when buying directly from the suppliers, so look for more obscure or designer brands - like these Erin Snow Jes ski pants, which retail at £478 but are available for £200 on Depop.
