How Retro Ski Fashion Has Influenced Today's Trends

The Biggest, Baggiest Pants

I’m gonna sound pretty crusty and old when I say this, but the groms and their baggy pants are out of control these days. At first I thought it was me, or just a Mt. Bachelor thing, but I saw teenager after teenager last season with pants so baggy it made me wonder if they had to adjust run-in speed on the inevitably huge jumps they were hitting. But then, folks at other mountains confirmed my suspicions- the youth want more than just a 'freeride fit,' they want full-on parachute pants.

A 16-year-old slid into my DM’s last week and told me my jorts weren’t baggy enough before calling me ‘Unc.’ I now live in fear of being overtaken by a swarm of groms because my pants aren’t baggy enough. The return of not just super baggy ski pants, but super baggy jeans is happening, whether we like it or not.

While today's groms might think they’re the first people to ever adopt this style, I still fondly remember the days of tall-tees, super bright kits, and the novelty of wearing XXL ski gear, even if you didn’t need to.

A flip through some old POWDER Mags reminds me that the early 2000s, up to about 2012, and maybe later, was the peak of this trend. So, I suppose it's fitting it's come back around roughly 10 years later. I’ve already sized up my ski pants for next season, so here's hoping I can hang on long enough for the groms to accept me again. 

One-Piece Ski Suits

I can’t remember where I first heard the term ‘fart-bag’, but ever since, that’s what one-piece ski suits are in my mind. I recognize, however, that in the 80s, outerwear technology wasn’t what it is now, and a full-insulated one-piece ski suit was a way to stay warm and incredibly visible for a day on the slopes.

Princess Diana famously wore a burgundy one and, dare I say, even made it look chic? In more recent years, brightly colored one-pieces have made an ironic comeback and can often be seen on Gaper Day, or any other day you might dress up to go skiing. However, until very recently, the comeback of these cumbersome kits was mostly nostalgic and jesting. 

That is until someone, somewhere, decided they should bring the fart-bag back in a glorified 2025 edition. Despite the fact that many of them don’t look loose enough to even fit a base layer underneath, and will still hold in all the smells of your ski area cafeteria french fry farts, one-pieces are actually fashionable again. 

Call me a hater, but as someone who’s still celebrating the creation of women’s ski bibs with a good relief zipper placement, the last thing I need is a logistical nightmare when I have to pee and am in the hottest place on Earth (ski area bathrooms, ofc). Who knows, maybe I’ll be eating my words in another 10 years, but for now, this is a return I just can’t get behind.

Tiny, Speedy Sunnies

This feels like a response to the early 2000s trend of HUGE, bug-eye sunglasses. Trends are cyclical and sunnies were a little too big for a second, so here we are in 2025, wearing tiny, super speedy shades again like it’s 1995.

There’s no way I’m paying $249 for a pair of anniversary edition Full Metal Jackets, but if I knew they kept my contacts in my football-shaped eyes while biking downhill, maybe my mind would change.

On second thought, I look cool as f*ck in these….