TWO SKIRTS’ FASHION FRIDAY: POC IT TO ME

05 Apr TWO SKIRTS’ FASHION FRIDAY: POC IT TO ME

Don’t believe everything you read. Fashion editors may tell you bright clothes came back into vogue on the Spring runways in Paris and Milan, but I credit POC sports with jump-starting the trend.

POC is a Swedish company whose mission is “to do everything [they] can to develop protective gear that can save lives and reduce the severity of injuries.” Good as far as it goes. Better if they accomplish their goal in high style.

Three years ago, POC came out with with helmets and goggles in cerise, neon yellow, grass green, bright blue, pink, and turquoise to name a few colors that broadcast total confidence. They even made a two-tone helmet. Talk about getting ahead of another trend we’ve discussed in this column: color blocking.

I spotted POC in a Gorsuch 2009 winter catalog. I loved the look of the oversized, iridescent lenses and asked for a pair for Christmas. That request started a trend in our family. Like Carrie Bradshaw and shoes, my husband had to have everything POC: goggles, helmets, sunglasses, gloves. The obsession spread and I, too, had to have a POC helmet. Kevin got our kids hooked as well, and I’ll credit our offspring with starting the neon orange trend last year among their peers with their “POCito” helmets and matching goggles in “safety orange.” Not only do they look cool on the slopes, but I can always find them, which brings no small measure of comfort with a three-year old speedster and a five-year-old who likes to ski the trees. And we moms know how kids tend to fuss about having to wear their safety gear. Not mine. They love their POC paraphernalia.

And I like wearing mine too. It’s cool to feel cool in a helmet and goggles, rather than like a bubble head. The streamlined look flatters everyone. It’s also fun to mix a brightly colored helmet with a neon goggle. Telluride POC rep Jesse McTigue wears POC first and foremost for the safety and comfort, but raves that the accessories are – and these are her words – ” lightweight, streamlined, cute, and cool.”

Cute and cool with high performance built into the design. That’s a win-win in my book. Our book: most of the ladies in my Friday girls ski group wear POC. Wendy Hampton calls us all a bunch of skittles in our blue, pink, green, and purple head-to-toe colorful ensembles. Personally I think we look like a bunch of colored eggs, a better description only because this closing weekend happens to be Easter.

Let’s rip.