Schuss! Skiing in the '20s

dressingvintage.com

Recreational skiing really took off in the 1920s, you know. We Midwestern gals have our Scandinavian neighbors to thank for creating early ski hills in snowy Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. The Norwegians, Finns, Swedes, and Danes were, of course, long accustomed to scooting around on skis in the winter, just to get from one place to another, and they brought those skills with them when the immigrated to the U.S.By the late 1800s ski-jumping competitions were being held at places like Ishpeming, Michigan, as well as back east in mountainous Vermont and New Hampshire. The famous resort at Sun Valley, Idaho, won't open until 1937. But the handy rope tow was invented in 1910. And lo and behold, skiing is a sport both daring and graceful, and loads of fun for ladies like me, both on the slopes and off.

housefraserarchive.ac.uk

I love the exhilaration of gliding down the hills, wind in my hair and snowflakes in my eyelashes, but
my very favorite time is"apres-ski" (that's French for "after-ski"), when we gather in huts to warm up over mugs of steaming hot beverages and impress each other with tales of our feats of derring-do (and flirt with attractive men in

Edward, the Prince of Wales, sporting a Fair Isle sweater

thick sweaters. I think I'll knit matching sweaters in a tricky Fair Isle pattern, one for me and one for my beau! Maybe if I start now I can finish them by next Christmas. Or maybe it would be wiser just to check out The Store for Men at Marshall Field's. What do you think?

See you on the slopes!

Marjorie