Article Date:
Monday, February 27, 2017
In 1968, Barbara Alley met her future husband Jerry Simon, and went to work for the consumer ski shows he organized for Harry Leonard's company. Barbara found her niche producing fashion shows, a job that led to stints as fashion editor of Skiing Magazine and later Snow Country Magazine. For eleven years, she made the rounds of TV talk shows, with a troupe of dancer-models.
Over the years she acquired an impressive collection of high fashion skiwear. The Barbara Alley Collection is on permanent display at the Alf Engen Museum in Park City, Utah. Seventy outfits, featuring about 350 separate items, represent the most glamorous, colorful and functional skiwear of the past five decades. Here's a small sample of the collection.
1968 - European red stretch-quilt suit, missing label, possibly a Moncler. This picture was taken on a sunny day in Italy. The suit had very thin insulation, so it was best on warmer days. With the mini-quilting stretch it was definitely form-fitting. I wish I still had the goggles! (This suit will be 50 years old next year.)
1968 - BOGNER navy blue slim jacket and in-the-boot stretch pants. This was the sleek silhouette of the '60's. The actual museum jacket which will be 50 years old next year, is mini-stretch-quilted and belted, but this is the look. Jerry purchased the leather helmet on Valentine's Day,1969 at Val d'Isere where this photo was taken.
1970 - HEAD gold-colored shell - stretch-puckered nylon with Head signature square snaps. I wore this for my wedding day (Christmas Day 1970 on the peak of Jackson Hole), also for a Sun Valley ad that ran in the New York Times Magazine in January 1971.
1971 ANBA OF AUSTRIA red-white checked outfit which was always a kick to wear! This ensemble has a long tapered jacket over a red T-neck sweater and knickers, topped off by a newsboy cap! This photo was taken at Sun Valley's 50th anniversary celebration in 1986. With me, the late Doc Des Roches, retired head of SIA, who always skied with a pipe in his mouth.
1980 COLMAR ensemble. Colmar picked up the 1980 gaiters-over-stretch pants trend and went one further. They made the gaiters higher and added a belt with straps to hold them up. I called them garter belt gaiters! This outfit has eight pieces: hood knit hat, a longer jacket with two zip-off sleeves, a sweater, stretch pants, and the two gaiters.
1986 WHITE STAG one-piece suit with a fox-trimmed hood. It has the surprise of a sparkle of rhinestones across the snowflake and reindeer-patterned shoulders. With Thinsulate insulation, the suit was warm and only about $200, as I recall. Our troupe also performed on the "Today Show" that year.
1988 SPORT OBERMEYER neon coral one-piece suit glows all over in flat light. It is able to have decorative seam lines because of a Gore-Tex Z-liner inside which eliminates the need for taping seams. The late '80's was the pinnacle time of neons and onesies! FYI, the little girl in the picture is Rick Kahl's daughter (Rick was executive editor of Skiing at the time).
1988 Two NILS one-piece stretch pant suits, one in neons, the other iridescent. The blouson tops make these easier to fit as well as provide pocket space. The coral neon has a lime mountain peak design across the back. The iridescent orange/pink top shimmers. This style suit was very flattering and very popular.
1992 BOGNER White Tiger suit a la Siegfried and Roy. Embroidery had become a major element in Bogner skiwear, with varying themes from year to year. The fabric was iridescent, the embroidery exotic, and the tiger provided a follow-me back, for $1098.
1993 SILVY winter white two-piece with embroidered pullover. The embroidery design is reminiscent of an ancient Egyptian motif. This snuggly Silvy has fleece lining the collar and hood. The leather helmet is the same one from 1968.
1995 CRE-ACT man's pullover outfit and 1995 EMMEGI woman's one-piece, photographed with the Matterhorn. The Cre-Act pullover is in a unique American Indian Chief print. The Emmegi was a design award winner in Snow Country Magazine. (Jerry and I are laughing in the photo because, look lower left, a woman just skied by wearing my suit!)