The Ski Style Edit

Doen's Nandita Khanna knows what to pack for sport -- or your next après.

Your fearless leader in today’s letter: Nan!

I’ve been skiing since I was three years old. I remember my mom miraculously getting three kids out the door in pale peach Obermeyer onesies — one is missing a sock, the other lost her glove, and another is asking when it’s time for hot cocoa (me, probably). Whenever I go home, I find myself sifting through old family photos. One of me is on the top of the tram at Snowbird with my dad wearing a ruffled baby blue puffer; in another, I’m sitting in our family’s condo, clad in overalls with pigtail hair.

Fast-forward to my teens, when all the ski clothes for girls were pink and purple, so I opted for a men’s North Face in blue. When I was finally old enough to care about looking stylish on the mountain, I was in my 20s — and that’s where my obsession with finding great ski clothes began. 

I started my career as a magazine editor. For years, I traveled for publications like Departures, Condé Nast Traveler, and Town & Country — often covering mountain towns, writing guides, and putting together fashion edits. (Ideally featuring pieces that checked all the technical boxes, but looked good, too.) Now, I live in LA and work at Dôen, where I head up marketing. But I brought my love for ski clothes with me, and every winter, I still make time for a few trips. 

Here’s a look at a ski trip I took with two of my best friends, Liz and Katie, to Vail and Beaver Creek, where some very good sale shopping (thank you, Gorsuch), hot toddies, ample fresh tracks, and luckily, a handful of bluebird days ensued. You’ll find a breakdown of what we wore (and bought), plus recommendations — including plenty of sweaters.

Shopping for ski clothes is very personal, so that’s the lens I’m going to use throughout this guide. These are the pieces that I love and ski in, the pieces that check the “Is this going to keep me warm?” and “Is it technical?” boxes, and the pieces that fuse fashion and function seamlessly.

If you can plan a ski trip early, the best deals on lift tickets are the multi-mountain passes (Mountain Collective, Ikon, Epic) you buy in the fall — almost every mountain is on them now, including my favorites Sun Valley and Jackson. However, it does require advance commitment. 

If you like traveling with your gear but don’t love schlepping, services like ShipSkis and Black Tie Skis will deliver your skis door-to-door. 

OFF-MOUNTAIN STYLE 

Bottoms

I have a fairly formulaic approach to my off-mountain style — and it works well for me because it’s overwhelmingly simple, while still allowing room to have some fun and experiment in a way that feels authentic to me. First, I break my “no leggings if I’m not at pilates” rule in a ski town because I like the proportion of a skinny leg to a big, cozy sweater. I wore a pair of Dôen leggings on the flight out — made with a hefty pointelle knit that’s super soft and has just the right amount of stretch. On top, I went with a cozy combination of a Uniqlo Heat-Tech Bodysuit (sold out, but this Skims one does the same thing), and a big chunky cardigan, like this handknit one from Dôen. 

Other leggings I wear include these stirrups from Leset, the Elaine from Bogner that recalls Audrey Hepburn in Charade, and these from Live the Process, which come in a few colors — but I stick to black. 

Outerwear

I like to have a warm one for tooling around town, and prefer not to wear my ski jacket. I have an older cropped puffer from Aether, which is very lightweight, so it’s easy to stash in your bag. Even better: It’s actually warm, and there’s no massive logo (a bonus, for me anyway). If I had the extra space in my luggage, this Toteme shearling jacket (on sale in an alt colorway here), this Therma Kota one in navy (it’s reversible!), or Lindsey Thornburg cloak would be fun — particularly in a place like Jackson Hole or Big Sky if you’re looking for something with personality.

Knits

Ski sweaters are so much fun to collect — particularly vintage Polo Ralph Lauren ones. The shawl-collar styles are a saved search, and I’m always looking for a Fair Isle in unexpected colorways. Overall, I tend to go a bit bolder in my ski sweater style than I do in my day-to-day, just because I think that’s part of the novelty. A few that have caught my eye recently include La DoubleJ’s Camden Jumper, this Dôen Fair Isle sweater, a Tory Burch Merino Fair Isle, this Alex Mill Fair Isle, and this Dale of Norway Blomdalen sweater (which we saw in person in Beaver Creek, and it’s even more luxurious and cozy-looking IRL). If bold color pairings aren’t quite your thing, try this Nili Lotan Genevive sweater. And, of course, when in doubt, a solid alpaca knit will do the trick. 

Footwear

I’ve never been a Moon Boot girl, though I’ve considered styles from their Chloé collaboration a few times. I found my first pair of Montellianas on Matches (RIP) years ago, and what I love about them is that they're technical mountain boots that are comfortable, yet stylish without screaming trendy. I have the Sequoia in a perfect shade of olive green, though these and these are similar. I also wanted a pull-on style to wear on the plane and for aprés, so I recently picked up these Montelliana 1965s. Finally, my tried-and-true pair is the Aether Dolomite boot, which is pretty classic. The red laces give them a little edge. 

ON-MOUNTAIN STYLE

Outerwear

Ski jackets are an easy way to make a statement. While on the mountain, we saw a bunch of unexpected color pairings — pastels with pops, like lilac and rust, or burgundy and mint green with Yves Klein Blue. Some of the best brands that play in this space are Helly Hansen, Arc’teryx, and newcomer Halfdays, started by recreational skiers Ariana Ferwerda and Karelle Golda, and Olympic skier Kiley McKinnon. I’ve been on a quest for a silver ski jacket after missing a Cordova one on The RealReal, but this Moncler packs a similar punch.

Liz’s Halfdays suit.

Liz wore a spritz-colored Halfdays suit, and it was a cinch to spot her on the hill — even on days when visibility wasn’t great. While our crew (myself included) typically stuck to black, navy, and ivory, we got inspired to do some shopping at the end of our trip. I ended up getting a Bogner Ellya Jacket in a bright citrus at Gorsuch in Vail (the perils of “research” whilst reporting); Liz bought the off-white version and said it was the warmest jacket she’d worn (she removed the detachable soft shell). I’m looking forward to wearing mine soon in Deer Valley. 

Katie and I coincidentally both had the Bogner Fire + Ice Saelly Jacket — mine was in a high-shine navy blue, and hers in matte black. It has a close fit, but isn’t too tight, so you can still wear a ski sweater and base layer underneath without looking overstuffed. When it comes to the latter, I adhere to a simple formula: A long-sleeved top + pant + ski sweater = your base. This works as long as you wear proper layers, but more on my favorites below.

For color pops, I’m a fan of Cordova — and while they’ve stuck to mostly neutrals this season, the pale pink meringue-esque Mogul jacket caught my eye recently. For older colorways, I like to keep a saved TRR search. Friends of mine in Aspen have been wearing Aztech Mountain, and they have a similar pale pink jacket that’s slightly less oversized than the Cordova and would be cute off-piste, too. 

Bottoms

Ever since I tried Aether’s Bib pant, I’ve been hooked. (These were a recommendation from my friend Sari, who worked on their women’s design and marketing team for many years and is an expert skier.) I love the simplicity of the design, the exposed zipper, and the three-way stretch — they’re really comfortable and elongating, without being too confining. 

Katie swears by the North Face Snoga pants. They’re high-waisted and fitted through the leg. You can put a base layer underneath, but Katie doesn’t wear one, which makes them a great spring skiing pant. Bonus: They come in “long,” which is good if you’re 5’9” and leggy like Katie and Liz. Speaking of: While we were in Beaver Creek, Liz bought the North Face Amry Soft Shell Pant, which she loved because they’re high-waisted (so many of the ski pants we tried on were mid- to low-rise) and flattering. 

Knits

Everyone has a different approach to ski sweaters. I like a relatively thin wool sweater, while both Liz and Katie like thicker sweaters to layer under their jackets. Liz swears by Jenni Kayne (ed note: JESS15 for 15% off) cashmere turtlenecks, while Katie prefers J.Crew men’s sweaters, and picked up this vintage-looking one before the trip. 

A scroll through Instagram would reveal that Perfect Moment tends to dominate the women’s ski sweater game. But I’m partial to Rossignol ski sweaters, too — I can’t resist a rooster intarsia, and it feels a touch unexpected — but it’s a bit harder to find the right styles online, which is why it’s always fun to explore local ski shops. (I’ve uncovered a few of my favorite Rossignol ski sweaters at Peter Lane in Sun Valley.)

I also got this turtleneck from Aztech Mountain in Italian wool this year with plaid elbow patches. The material is so rich that I wore it on the mountain and then later to dinner — it worked for both beautifully. Lastly, before my trip, I ordered a citrus yellow ski sweater from Cordova on The RealReal that ended up matching perfectly with my new Bogner jacket.

NAN’S PACKING LIST

Thermals, socks, gloves, skis