outdoor
girl
The Outdoor Girl on Skirt Sports
A review of the Tough Girl line from Skirt Sports
©Outdoor Adventure Canada
I
was just getting into trail running and decided to test the Tough
Girl line, which consisted of the Tough Girl Skirt with built-in,
boot cut pants, as well as the top, vest and the Sweetest Tee.
Not only do I run, I do yoga, and
I hike. This gives me several different perspectives on the performance
of the clothing.
Let's start with when the package
arrived at the office. I was surprised at the weight or should
I say lack of weight to the parcel. When I opened the box I noticed
how small the Sweetest Tee packed up and thought immediately at
how great that would be for backpacking. I carefully examined
each garment and, with a very strong background in sewing, I am
probably more critical than your average gear tester. I was impressed
with the quality of the stitching along with the attention to
detail.
I have to admit, being the plus-sized
outdoor girl; I was a little hesitant about the fit. I'm tall
at just slightly under six feet, I have a fairly slender leg,
a flat butt and I am also chesty. I had also just lost a substantial
amount of weight and because of that, tend to wear things a little
baggy because I am a little self-conscious about fitted clothing.
So I put the Tough Girl ensemble on and the fit was beautiful.
There was ample length for my long legs, the skirt hid the fact
that I don't have a curvy behind, although there was plenty of
room if I did. The Tough Girl top was ever-so-slimming and I looked
like I lost another ten pounds. It looked cute on me and, like
most other women; I am my own worst critic.
Now to test it out. I started with
pilates and yoga. The garments moved nicely as I worked through
the exercises and poses. I loved the long sleeves with the thumb-holes
because they didn't creep up while I was exercising. One of my
biggest complaints with clothing is when it wedgies methe
skirt never rode up. I've worn this on hikes and on warmer winter
days above freezing. It performed as well as the company boasted
and I found that the layering provided by the combination was
just what I needed. The coldest I have worn it in was -6°C.
The seams do not dig in at all. I
love the pockets in the pants for electronic devices and the earphone
ports. My little BlackBerry fits well.
The garments washed up well. I use the "handwash" cycle
on my washing machine and then hang the clothing to dry. The fabric
also dried very quickly. There has not been any visible fading.
I adore the clothing from Skirt Sports
and I've received many compliments. It is cute enough to wear
to the grocery store. In fact, the only downfall I could see is
that the pants would definitely need hemmed if you were not long
in the leg. The only other little thing I noticed was that the
thumb-holes are a tiny bit snug at first but they loosened up
after a few wears.
The Tough Girl line is quite versatile
as it works well for yoga, trail walking or running and it comes
with a high recommendation from OAC's Outdoor "Tough"
Girl.
For more information please visit
www.skirtsports.com.
Mountain Equipment Coop also carries some of the Skirt Sports
offerings.
Update: November 2012. Being a plus-sized
girl running also means weightloss. The Tough Girl clothing was
replaced with smaller sizes of the same because after over a year
and a half I still love the products.
Written by Outdoor
Girl Laurie March