Ski Holiday Packing List for Chic Women

Ho to make a great, chic ski holiday packing list, if you are skiing or simply relaxing in a ski resort?

Today I answer a question from Gabriella, a reader who in a few weeks will go on a skiing holiday with her little girl and her husband and wants to know what to pack for a ski holiday to stay warm and chic.

I was born and raised in the mountains, skiing every winter from the age of 3 years (although I have never been a real fan of this sport and especially I do not like the cold, I confess).

So, over the years, I’ve learned a lot on the subject and learned to create the perfect capsule wardrobe for holidays on the snow.

But let’s go with order.

WHAT TO BRING WITH YOU: SKI HOLIDAY PACKING LIST

Obviously, for skiing or snowboarding you need to have adequate technical equipment, not only with regard to skis, boots & co., but also with regard to the appropriate technical clothing.

That’s why, in my opinion, it’s important to avoid a fundamental mistake, that of wanting to be “fashionable” when skiing, at the expense of practicality, comfort and even the right body temperature.

Skiing, in fact, is a sport that requires a certain technique and that is done in climates that are not exactly mild. These two requirements – practicality and warmth – must therefore be fundamental when it comes to choosing technical clothing.

In addition, elegance also means dressing in a way that is appropriate to the context and situation: skiing with a super tight and sexy down jacket, for example, turns out to be the wrong choice when we find ourselves with our kidneys uncovered at -5°C.

The most “chic” thing to do, therefore, is to choose technical clothing created just for skiing (or snowboarding), trying to find just enough feminine (so no bags, yes to a minimum worn out / shaped).

For the technical part of your ski holiday packing list, for skiing and snowboarding, see these great posts:

• How to dress for skiing
• How to dress for snowboarding

TIPS FOR YOUR SKI HOLIDAY PACKING LIST IF YOU DON’T SKI

Thermal underwear

The first thing to consider when dressing on the snow if you don’t ski is that it’s cold on the snow in winter. It’s colder than you might think when you pack your bags for a skiing holiday – and all the more so if, instead of doing sport, you just stay at the bottom of the slope or simply take a walk on the snow.

For this reason, it is important to start with a first, very warm layer: the underwear. Which, ideally, will consist of thermal garments.

Where to find them?

Even more supplied, however, is Amazon, which often proves to be the most convenient choice.  See for example HERE.

Columbia is certainly perfect for this purpose.

You will see that, once purchased, you will never abandon them again.

Often these garments are so sleek and well made that they can be used in the city as well, perhaps under a light outfit that you absolutely want to show off even in winter.

In addition, in the mountains you will use them very willingly even in the evening, maybe under sweaters otherwise too light when temperatures end below zero. In short, thermal underwear is an excellent investment for your ski holiday.

Picture: @miamiamine via Pinterest

Technical clothing

Even if you go on a ski holiday to relax and do not practice particular sports, it may still be useful to equip yourself with some technical clothes and accessories, which will prove comfortable and valuable to save you from low temperatures … and even from a few slips!

In particular, the following are always very useful:

• padded and waterproof gloves
• boots suitable for snow and after-skiing
• stacks to be superimposed on the thermal underwear
• trousers made of stretch materials and possibly padded

Where to find a good choice of technical garments and footwear?

For a huge choice of after-ski and boots that can keep you warm (and safe from falls) during the day and evening,  check HERE.

For suits, jackets, coats, fleece and sweaters, but also much more, see HERE.

Dress in layers

Dressing in layers is a valuable piece of advice when you’re on the snow for a long time. Although cold temperatures generally prevail, there are many situations in which you should adapt your clothing to the temperature of the moment.

For example during meals and breaks in mountain huts that can be more or less heated.

Or, in the advanced season, when weather conditions may change suddenly, the sun comes out suddenly or a cold breeze begins to blow.

Dressing in layers will be easier if you first wear a layer of thermal underwear and use appropriate technical garments, designed specifically for this use and therefore adherent enough to be easily overlaid.

For some general information on dressing in layers, also read this post.

Yes to scarves and caps

Picture: seewantshop.com.au via Pinterest

For a ski holiday packing list that allows you to always look stylish if you’re not skiing, add a few accessories that not only help protect you from the cold, but also add an extra touch to our winter holiday looks.

In recent years, an accessory that is definitely in fashion and fits all is the classic wool cap, once hated by many girls and women and now become a real fashion accessory.

Personally, I find both the classic “beanie” and the woolen caps with pompoms, perhaps in eco fur or colored, delicious.

Usually, you’ll find cute ones in the best equipped shops in the same ski resorts; alternatively, buy them online and pack at least a couple of them for your ski holiday.

Picture: ASOS

Where to find delicious woolen hats for your ski holiday looks:

See HERE. They’re beautiful, inexpensive and there’s a wider choice than you’ll probably find on the spot.

YOUR PERFECT SKI HOLIDAY PACKING LIST FOR THE EVENING

Of course, whether we go skiing or simply relax in the open air without practicing any particular sport, in addition to healthy outdoor life there is also a whole series of other occasions that in turn fall into the category “dressing for a ski holiday”, ranging from happy hour to dinner at the little, chic mountain hut or in one of the many mountain restaurants.

(For the younger ones I would also add the disco nights, but personally now, after a day on the slopes, I regularly crash around 11 pm, so I don’t know much about the nightlife in the ski resorts!)

Golden rule: simplicity

When it comes to dressing in the evening during your ski holiday, there is an unwritten “dress code” that people used to frequent mountain resorts know and that basically consists of this: in the mountains you go, at least ideally, to live in the open air, in contact with nature.

The evening looks, of course, do not include technical garments or, worse, garments borrowed from your ski wardrobe, but should still maintain a sporty imprint.

Your evening garments should simply be a little more chic and refined, with a lot of wool and cashmere, (eco)fur or sheepskin details, natural fabrics, yarns and materials, in neutral shades, but also with a pop of color.

When my children were little, for a few years we went to a beautiful Kinderhotel in South Tyrol, for our ski holiday; it was an elegant hotel, with a SPA and even a beautiful movie room and a climbing wall inside the hotel, but it was still a “sports” hotel, for skiers, mainly.

Avoid overdressing

Nevertheless, at dinner it was possible to admire an extreme variety of interpretations of “ski holiday outfits”: from the sporty chic looks mentioned above to, incredibly, long evening dresses or cocktail dresses, complete with sequins, a lot of sparkle and 4 inches stiletto heels.

Obviously, these outfits were also a source of hilarity from those most used to skiing holidays – and definitely constituted a diversion at the time of dinner.

Of course, each of us should feel free to dress as we please. Also, the mountain resorts, in terms of elegance, are not all the same. But in any case, in the mountains, elegance takes on a slightly different meaning, more suited to the context, let’s say.

Even if you stay at the hotel, without having to venture into the blizzard to go to dinner.

Foto: @miamiamine via Pinterest

 

Chic and useful garments and accessories to pack for a ski holiday for dressing in the evening 

Every year I spend at least ten days in the snow. For this reason, over the years I have created a sort of “capsule wardrobe” specifically for the mountains in winter.

From time to time, then, I enrich this capsule wardrobe for my ski holidays with some garment or accessory of my usual wardrobe.

For those who, like me, have a little home in the mountains, this is very convenient because you can leave everything directly in your mountain home.

Among the garments and accessories useful and chic to create looks suitable for an evening in some nice place, have proved useful:

• Wool and cashmere sweaters, maybe also with braided patterns etc.
• Cute caps with fur pompoms (see above for a wide selection)
• Skinny jeans and trousers in fabrics such as moleskin, corduroy, etc., because they fit comfortably into the after-ski, making a nice leg
  Choose down jackets, even long ones, which protect from the cold without embossing. See for example HERE.
• Cashmere and wool tights, to wear with a few knitted dresses and a long down jacket: see HERE
• Scarves and stoles, to be kept indoors if necessary
• Moonboots , very cute if worn in contrast with the skinny ones and a slim fit for the rest
• A faux fur scarf or stole that you can layer over sweaters, jackets and cardigans. I have one and I use it a lot. It tranforms a very simple outfit in a moment.

… and some mistakes to avoid

• For dressing in the snow in the evening, avoid all “cold” materials, such as cotton, leather or imitation leather, etc. In the city you may not feel the difference, but they are materials that, with the intense cold of the mountain in winter, struggle to “warm up”. And you can feel the difference!
• Leave home uncomfortable shoes if in the evening you have to go out and do even just a short distance to go to the restaurant (or, worse, for a walk in the ski resort). Rather, focus on a simple, sporty and chic boot, which goes a little bit with everything.
• Or choose a moon boot that’s a bit over the top, maybe with faux fur: it helps to create interesting looks. The important thing is to keep your feet warm and avoid bad falls on the ice and snow!
• Avoid sneakers, they aren’t warm enough and don’t isolate enough, even if there’s only little snow.
• If you don’t use thermal underwear even at home in winter, do it in the mountains, absolutely!
• Don’t forget to keep warm indoors, such as cashmere leggings and oversized jerseys. When you get back from the ski and before you go out, you’ll want to change and make yourself comfortable.

Here you can find warm garments to relax and cocoon at home after skiing:

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