I hate smug, post-holiday write ups so I promise the premise of this is not to bang on about my recent-ish skiing holiday. In truth, there is not much to show off about: I haven’t skiied for almost a decade and the style of skis that I was once really rather good on in my teenage years are now no longer (it’s all about carver skis these days).

But that wasn’t enough to stop me trying to wear some vaguely good gear that would at least make me look the part. Here’s where it went wrong:

My first mistake was buying a white ski jacket. I haven’t got the right character for white and on Night Two whilst wearing it to pop out for dinner, I spilt a glass of red wine down the front of it in a state of holiday excitement. Not an entirely wholesome look on the slopes at 9am the next morning. Plus the fur trim earned me the nickname ‘White Russian’ amongst our band of friends.

(White coat by Salomon and bought at Ellis Brigham in London)

Next up were my goggles. Or ‘goggs’ as I resolutely refer to them (click here for a partial explanation about my terrible habit of name-shortening). The ones I tried out this trip were terribly snazzy and bought for me by H in place of a Christmas present. Sorry as a Christmas present. It’s just that goggles are not really a great gift for girls (I was rather hoping for a handbag).

To be fair, these goggs are like none other; they can tell you how fast you are going, what your ‘buddy’ is doing (provided he also has a pair) and where he is. They also contain a map of all the runs and tell you the names of the mountains. It would be fair to say they are quite a lot better than the normal anti-fog variety I am used to. One quite major downside is that to contain all this information they look massive once they are on your face (you can see their profile below).  Oh and did I mention that they can also access your playlists and music?

(Oakley Airwave goggles bought from Apple Store in NYC)

The last thing was my salopettes; borrowed  from my sister, they fitted me fine a month before the trip (they were slightly snug, in a tummy-holding-in sort of way) but on the first day as I pulled them on before going for breakfast in the chalet, I couldn’t do them up. Yup, the popper was an inch apart from its mate.

The one thing I did get right was my Heat Tech vests and polonecks from Uniqlo. They were amazingly cosy and a good base layer – as we were skiing in January, when the sun is fairly low in the sky and it can be bitterly cold, I even wore two some mornings (actually, we were lucky and the weather was generally pretty warm). Here’s my daily uniform below that I layered with a Heat Tech T-shirt/vest underneath:

A style note on ski helmets…The image of the glamourous woman with a swathe of fur wrapped around her head has died. In its place she dons a helmet, as does 95% of the skiing population. This was the first time I had seen it with my own eyes, having skiied for eleven years in a bobble hat. This ‘helmet movement’ explains why goggles have had such a resurgence. No longer reserved for foggy days as I remember them being, the new breed are for sunny ones too. Sunglasses with a helmet do just look wrong. 

Oh, and one more thing: please don’t  think it’s ever OK to wear sunglasses and then pop your goggles on the top of your helmet to save you carrying them. Akin to – in my book – wearing glasses and putting your sunglasses on top of your head.