Just as we Brits like to offload our junk or bag a bargain at car boot sales, the French are busy emptying their lofts. These ‘Vide Grenier’ in the mountains are a happy hunting ground for any vintage fan, but especially a vintage ski fan. Amongst the abandoned cuddly toys, old record players and assorted chipped crockery, very occasionally there will be a little piece of ski history.

This time it was quite a big piece. Though clearly some way from any definition of antique, I feel it deserves showcasing for it’s daring upcycling of some racy red Dynastars. Someone has gone to a great deal of trouble to fix what amounts to a deckchair to a pair of skis. But is it a sporty piece of garden furniture – or something much more sinister? A sly shove and one minute you’re enjoying your grande biere, the next you’re halfway down the black run about to embrace a large fir. I suspect those eye-bolts affixed to the front of the chair may be the giveaway. Add a couple of reins and a small pony, or big dog, or your pet of choice – and suddenly popping out for your baguette is starting to look like a lot of fun - but possibly not for your pet…          

So this got me thinking about recycling. Sadly, most skis and boards simply get chucked when they  reach the end of their lifespan. It appears to be too difficult - that is, too expensive and not without some environmental cost - to extract, separate and process all the different materials used to make them. Although that isn’t stopping Snowsports Industries America having a go and good luck to them. But skis and boards are still pretty sturdy things and the challenge of creating an alternative use for them seems to have inspired one or two folks. Digging around the interweb turned up some interesting examples.

In a similar vein to the deckchair sledge, I found what appears to be a bath sledge. A cunning plan I reckon – no need for Mum to call the kids in for their  bath – they’re already in it!  It’s my favourite project of many on the fun Built byKids website.

But for true re-purposing, the way to go is furniture and a bench is the obvious choice. If skis sometimes feel like a couple of planks strapped to your feet then that’s the clue to some creative upcycling. This is possibly one of the most comfortable versions around - found on scraphacker.com. 

The most ubiquitous furniture design, however, is the Adirondack and scraphacker obligingly provides a couple of links to tutorials, if you fancy having a crack at making your own.

So, as you’re sipping a beer and soaking up a few rays on your ski lounger, it’s nice to have a bit of privacy. Wooden fencing doesn’t come cheap these days – but retired skis need saving from landfill. Round up enough and you can create your own little corral. Joal posted this great pic on Epicski.

Now this is a sweet idea for old ski sticks - though it’s not going to work too well with the old bamboo versions. No need to get the saw out however, just order them from Forest Furniture in the US. 

They even do a cute binding bottle opener for $20. Perfect for your apres ski beer on the balcony.

And here’s an idea for wine drinkers. There are quite a few of these online from US companies - here are some examples from Uncommon Goods and Ascension Woodcraft - but I failed to find a UK supplier.  Thank goodness then, for Cindy & Eric from Home Wizards who show us how it’s done in ‘Nice Rack!‘

More handy home helps in the form of hangers…. I found these at Orvis.

And not forgetting some super shelves - here’s the venerable New York Times showing us how to do it this time…  
 

But for all these great ideas and many more, I can’t help but love the simple thing of just sticking them up on the wall to admire them. Robert & Cortney Novogratz have nailed it (natch!) with this stunning display featured in their book  Home by Novogratz. I think there may be a few more Vide Grenier on the horizon for this vintage ski fan… 

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This is the world’s most expensive vintage ski poster. In 2008, it sold for a whopping £36,500 in Christie’s annual vintage ski poster sale. (And no, I don’t know what it says either…)  Three years on and the price for this 1950′s Russian ski tournament poster had dropped to a mere £1,625 at the same sale. Such are the vagaries of the vintage market that today, on the Vintage Seekers site,  you would have to pay £8,800.  

However, not all prices on this vintage collectibles site are into four figures. A more modest £220 buys you Colorado. This is skier Jeremy Muth, captured on camera as he hurtles down No Name Gulch in the mid 1960′s. The deep blue sky contrasted with crisp white snow is a ski resort poster classic – but the logo is pure cowboy country.  

The Stowe logo featured below is one of my resort favourites. It’s bold sweep, seemingly kicking up snow at either end, perfectly epitomises the energy and exhilaration of snow sports. I can’t help wondering, though, if the talented illustrator behind this late 60′s poster actually climbed one of the lift supports to get the perspective depicted here. This example will set you back £860. 

The French resort of La Plagne played host to my very first ski holiday in the mid 1980s. However, this rather dull poster from 1971, overly dominated by the bobble hat of the resort logo, really undersells this very popular part of the huge Paradiski ski area. It is on the Vintage Seeker’s site for £1,200.  

In their interesting buyers guide, they suggest that some of the discrepancies in poster prices are down to the popularity of the resort, as well as the more obvious constraints of poster condition and scarcity value. In a European outlet, that may go some way to explaining why this rather plain La Plagne poster is more highly valued than the more vibrant example for Stowe above.  And glamorous resorts, of course, attract a glamorous, well-heeled crowd happy to invest in some fabulous original prints for their chic, slopeside chalets.    

Vintage Seekers also tell us that resorts usually outsell regional or national posters, so one for Cortina is likely to be more valuable than one for the Dolomites or ‘Ski Italy’, for example.  No surprise then that this fabulous image by Mario Puppo from 1938, realised £13,750 at Christie’s earlier this year. 

When it comes to investing in vintage ski posters then, it’s not absolutely necessary to be a Russian Oligarch or Lottery winner,  though it certainly helps, especially if you get carried away with the bidding in a London sale room one January. But ski posters can still look good value when compared to other investments. Many posters that were fetching £3-4,000 in the late 1990s now sell for £12,000 or more - not a bad return. Just don’t hang them in that lovely sunny back room … 

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Quiksilver‘s hard-wearing, cool surf gear has been spotted on all the best bodies, on all the best beaches since the 1970s. So when snowboarding came along, with its simiar youthful ethos of laid back living and thrill-seeking in nature’s wonderland, the boys and girls at Quiksilver weren’t far behind in creating some loud & distinctive kit for this equally cool crowd. That, in turn, influenced what skiers wanted to wear, so very soon the mountain was clad in lots of little blobs of wild fluorescence.  

Thankfully, those over-ripe, retro snow suits are rarely seen these days – although some frankly quite scary and somewhat faded examples have been spotted in and around Serre Che quite recently. Most, however, are reserved for 80′s theme parties, which nonetheless seem to be very popular in an awful lot of US ski resorts.  This eye-popping, thumping and, no doubt, rather warm scene was snapped at The Moose Knuckle Inn at The Local in San Diego. Don’t forget your sunglasses…

In stark contrast, Quiksilver’s 12/13 offering was pretty low key - plain colours, with the occasional simple, bold graphic print. So, it was interesting to see on Poppy Gall’s blog what this iconic company have planned for the 2013/14 season – and it turns out to be vintage ski style!  The pattern is vintage heaven but when paired with the clean, modern cut of the jacket, it just looks fabulous.

I have to admit that I haven’t seen too many pheasant roaming the slopes before. Maybe in game-rich places like Scotland there could be the potential to run into the odd one. It would certainly make for a substantially more satisfying mountain lunch than the typical Alpine cheese-fest fondue. And I can’t imagine that could look quite as good on a ski jacket either…

Thanks to Poppy Gall once again for the inspiration here, as well as Quiksilver and quiksilver-vintage.

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Brash, baudy Barbie is a girl who enjoys the good life and loves a good time - so it was only natural that she joined the ski set. Not only is she really rocking an eye-searingly orangey one piece here but she has also acquired a fluorescently, folksy chalet to match it. Just don’t light that fire Barbie…

Here’s a more demure outfit for colder days featuring some cute ric-rac trimming.

There are some great, go-faster striped skis included in the winter holiday pack for Li’l Lorrie below. But, judging by the size of the anarak hood, looks like her speed down the slopes may be somewhat impeded by quite a substantial beehive.  

Sindy was the favourite of lots of my friends. More reserved than Barbie and with huge blue eyes, she could have been Barbie’s cute, putty-nosed little sister.  

Love this Sindy outfit found on Ebay and featured below - especially the neat Fair Isle detailing and serious pair of skis. Makes me wonder if it was actually meant for ‘boyfriend’ Paul…

 …especially with this being the more usual fare of ’60s Sindyness.  Those rose tinted goggles, however, would prove very useful on days when it’s part cloud and part sun, as they heighten contrast. And that would certainly give Sindy the edge in the race to the bar.  

My own favourite fashion doll was Palitoy’s ‘Action Girl’.  A name which reflected her feministic ’70s fully articulated limbs, almost proportional body dimensions and modern outlook. Her adventures around the house and garden saved the world several times over.  And, thanks to my Mum, she had a great wardrobe to do it in. But for some reason she was never sent on icy Arctic or Alpine missions - so never acquired the quilted, nylon, fur-trimmed anarak which this would have demanded. 

Sporty Dynagirl appears less interested in saving the world as saving seconds on her downhill speeds. I wonder – was the stripey one-piece inspired by Steve McQueen’s jacket in the film ‘Le Mans’ – or was it the other way round…?

My younger sister not only had her own Action Girl, but also Tammy.  Tammy obviously did a bit of recreational skiing – though not in our house. And she may have liked the full white fur trim thing - but she was obviously savvy enough to get some decent bindings too.

Let’s leave the last word to Sindy. She’s doing fur trim too but maxxing it with flame red. And set against the acid yellow of her one-piece, she looks stunning. Don’t forget your gloves and boots though, Sindy. Frostbite would just ruin the effect…

 Thanks again to Ebay and Etsy for images.

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It shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that we Brits can win medals for sledging (thanks Shelley Rudman and Amy Williams). After all it’s the first thing to come out of the shed as soon as the first few flakes appear. However, it may come as something of a surprise to learn that we actually invented the sport.

Challenged by an enterprising hotel owner in St.Moritz in 1870, a small group of well-to-do English gents entertained themselves in, what was then, an out of season spa town.  Wintering at the Kulm Hotel suddenly became very fashionable and inevitably someone saw the potential for fun in adapting one of the local delivery sledges. Races down the narrow, twisting streets became so popular that it became dangerous just to step outside. Casualties began to rise at an alarming rate and the practice was banned. It was at this point that hotel owner, Caspar Badrutt, decided to invest in a purpose-built track for his affluent, hedonistic guests – and thus was born the famous Cresta Run which is still very much in use today.    

Click on the image below to see some entertaining footage of the Cresta Run from 1938, courtesy of British Pathe News. It’s comes satisfyingly complete with Miles Cholmondeley-Warner-esque narration. As he crisply announces “When he gets to the bottom, won’t he have sore feet?” you’re already thinking of quite a different body part that may be suffering…

CRESTA RUN CELEBRATES ITS JUBILEE – ST MORITZ

The Americans built their first bobsleigh track in 1930 at Lake Placid, in readiness for the 1932 Winter Olympics. These stunning posters were actually the result of a US government work creation scheme ’The Federal Art Project’ which provided employment for many artists and illustrators during the Great Depression.    

In case you were wondering why they were named bobsleighs, it was because racers used to bob backwards and forwards inside the sledge to increase their speed. No need to bob nowadays - they can reach speeds of up to 125mph.

And, as I’m originally from Yorkshire, I am going to add that the modern bobsleigh was, in fact, produced by a small group of young engineers in Leeds, prior to the 1980 winter Olympics. The British Bobsleigh website goes on to tell us it had ‘many novel features, one inspired by Concorde’. It was copied the world over and perfected to what it is today. No wonder it’s our most successful winter team sport. Well done lads and lasses!

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And now for a stack of shouty, Seventies-ness - with the odd Eighties orange-y anorak thrown in for good measure. There’s no hiding on the hill with these…

 Ebay & Etsy plundered once again! Thanks too to Vintage Trends.  

The post Scorching Vintage Ski Jackets appeared first on Vintage Ski Style.

Sending love to Etsy, Ebay, Zwani & Poppy Gall for these images.

The post Happy Vintage Ski Valentine appeared first on Vintage Ski Style.

This vintage ski Hollywood hit from the 1940s starred John Payne & Sonja Henie. Sonja was, in fact, a Norwegian figure-skating champion who went on to enjoy a very successful acting career. And got to wear some cute woolly gloves along the way.

If you’re reading this via email, am afraid you’ll have to click through to the blog to see this magical film clip. Apparantly, it’s not technically possible to email YouTube videos on WordPress yet – sorry ’bout that! However, if you do,  you’ll be rewarded with more vintage filmic entertainment on the exciting new film archive page! Well, you didn’t have anything better to do for the next 15 minutes, did you?!!

My thanks to Stacy and her Dutch Door Cottage blog where I spotted this delight.

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For most of us skiing doesn’t come naturally and, like learning to drive, being taught by friend, family or foe is not highly recommended. So a certain number of lessons are in order.  

It’s often a good idea to learn the basics of skiing on a dry slope. Thankfully, they’ve come a long way since 1922. This doesn’t look like much fun – and can’t say I would’ve enjoyed being taught by a Hitler Youth leader either. But the same principle could be adopted at home quite easily – just remove your dining table legs, prop one end of the top on a coffee table and away you go.

Things had progressed a little by the early 60s. Here’s Jack McTarnaghan teaching a class in the States the “newest recreation” of indoor skiing on a slope covered with ’Ski-Dek’ which supposedly duplicated the feeling of skiing on a snow-covered slope.  I think a few curtain poles were re-purposed here…

 Then it’s time to get on the real thing and practise that snowplough. And that’s how it’s gone, right from the 1930s…
 

…to the ’40s…

 …and the ’60s onward. 

Is that a grin or a grimace?

And once you have completed ski school, you might be lucky enough to get a badge…

Thanks to Boston.com for some of these lovely images.

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Here’s inspiration for more home sewn ski finery.

First up is a super 70′s, quilt crazy style from Simplicity.  The Brunette, however, doesn’t look too happy about having her foot crunched under the Blondes ski boot and that pole appears to have been honed to quite a point. Don’t be fooled, she’s going to have that ingot pendant whatever it takes.

I’m a huge fan of brown. Being ultra pale, it’s my personal default base colour. Think smooth milk chocolate, dark cocoa, deep bronze, caramel and hazel. I’m not sure how I would describe the particular shade featured below, though. The fabric appears to have been inspired more by the muddy, cow-mucked, ploughed fields of rural England than the sparkle-covered slopes of the Alps.

Simplicity also had some cute kids kit. But is that a matching pompom Boy 1 has carefully crafted, ready to present to his blue-eyed, booted & suited sweetheart? Or a large snowball he’s going to use to wipe the smile off his toothy love rival?  With his ski pole poised, Child 3 is clearly not taking any chances.

This could easily be me with big brother & sister No 1 – except that I don’t remember having any ski poles to go with the home-made skis. Good for balance I’m told.

Butterick were responsible for this gem, rocking the colour blocking trend first time round. The shiny quilted padding fabric was obviously still going strong too. I imagine the lack of friction with these slippy suits could add a good couple of hundred feet to any spectacular post-somersault slide.

Pattern No.6826 from McCalls offers amazing versatility. Go from a life on the ocean wave, to carving through wind-blown crust, with a bit of lumberjacking inbetween. Just accessorize accordingly. 

Some lovely, classic 70s hairstyles featured on our next pattern cover, again courtesy of the unsung illustrators at McCalls.  Ski jacket pattern No. 5893 is described as unlined - one for Spring conditions, I think.
 

But let’s go back to 1957 for more simple, elegant lines and these stylish suits from Vogue finish our collection on a high.  But, hey, here’s someone else with only one ski pole. I bet I know exactly where the other one is, though – right underneath the ski lift, alongside a lemon yellow mitten… 

With thanks to the sellers on Ebay and Etsy for these wonderful images.

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