Thursday, March 13, 2008

The skort fiasco

Alternate title for the post: running skorts in review.

I am not a shopper. I do not pretend to be. I may be female, but somehow it is just not in my nature to 'shop'. I get bored, but most of all I'm not a shopper because I think entirely too much. I debate and debate...and debate. Buying clothes is a bit of a chore for me. Buying much of anything is a huge chore for me because it becomes somewhat of a mental exercise and it is entirely too exhausting. Sometimes the planets align and miracles of miracles the experience is simple and straight forward and I don't debate til I want to die, but most of the time I debate...debate...debate and sometimes after all of that exhaustive effort I walk away with nothing.

NOW take my inability to efficiently shop and mix that with being exhausted from being sick last week...and well it spells fiasco in my book. So I should clarify... it was a fiasco by the very nature of my inability to make a decision on clothes coupled with the fact I was exhausted from being sick. But at the same time it made me laugh as I attempted to wade through a 'newer' running trend in women's clothing...THE SKORT.

The skort in general is making a comeback in the world of woman's clothing...and I have to say...i LOVE it. I bought my first skorts since I was a kid last summer and I have to say: Truly Amazing. The comfort of shorts with the cute factor of a skirt...I say win-win situation. But I have to admit...I have been skeptical on the whole 'running skort' debate out there. Will I be taken seriously running in a skort? Will I just look plain silly? I wasn't sure, but considering I had heard some rave reviews I thought...sure...i'll at least try some on.

So I went up to Road Runner Sports and grabbed a bunch of running skorts to see what exactly I might think of this whole new trend. For starters...The Nike running skort:


Now Ladies...I have to say...if you are of the ilk to say: "I want a running skort because it is more 'modest' than a pair of running spandex shorts or one of those short shorts that runners run around in...bla, bla, bla" AND then you decide that this particular skort is FOR YOU and you go and purchase one of these babies...all I have to say is.: You must only run around in your underwear.

Because this skort is so short (and I am no tall person either...5'4" and mostly torso). Yes this skort is more modest than running around in a one's underwear, but that is about it. That is my opinion at least. Granted if you can pull this skort off...well then you probably look cute in an oversized race t-shirt and sweatpants that are 5x too big for you, you know ...a size small.

So I moved on from the 'barely more than running in a pair of underwear skort' to the Adidas version. I honestly can't remember any great impression about it. I think it fell under the 'too short for me' category. I then moved on to the Under Armor skort.

I do have to say...Under Armour does it right again. The compression shorts under the skirt actually act like....well... compression shorts. Wow could this really be something that is function AND fashion. I'm intrigued by this particular skort for a second, but then for me it is still on the too short side of things. But the skort was a little longer than the previous two I'd tried, so an improvement.


It was then on to Road Runner's version of the skort. I had read the reviews and most said the compression short underneath wasn't very good...but the price on the skort compared to the others was pretty affordable. Only 25 bucks compared to most everything else which was running 40-50 bucks. Also the RR cut of the skort...A-line.

A-line makes everyone look good. Who is designing these things anyway? ALL should be A-line, I mean if part of the material is going to be flapping around as you are running around well then...we all need the whole picture to just look good. How hard is that?? So...I was slightly hooked and then I tried on the Brooks skort which trumped the RR skort. The Brooks had both function and fashion to it...the compression shorts actually worked AND the skort was a nice length for me. Although the cut was not as flattering as the RR...But here is where fiasco came into play...which one and what size?

So...over the next 30-40 minutes (i swear it took this long) I tried on the RR skort in two sizes and the Brooks skort in 2 sizes....back and forth. The dilemma...what size and which skort. I probably tried on each of the four skorts 5 times, if not more. Combine this with my afore mentioned inability to make decisions while shopping and my exhausted state and you get STUPIDLY long time to make a decision.... hence fiasco.

In the end I got so frustrated with the situation i bought both the RR and the Brooks. The verdict after running, I will cut out the shorts on the RR and just wear with a normal pair of compression shorts...the shorts on those are just plain stupid. The Brooks...shorts are great..skirt is great.

And OVERALL...big thumbs up on the cute factor. I even got hit on while I was at the local farmer's market on sunday before my run. Must have been the skort ;-)

So I have to say the SKORT: cute, fashionable AND functional...just gotta love it.

8 comments:

Melissa said...

This post had me laughing. Glad you got a skort and hit on. :-) Happy running.

Another reason for me to lose weight, cute workout clothes. :-)

Paul said...

I'm so glad I only have to get running shorts to keep it simple.

So is there a date happening from the hit or what?

triguyjt said...

if everyone was a good sport when it comes to a skort....
oh what a time you would have in
this endurance sport.

little doctor suess for ya..i guess...cute post

IronWaddler said...

I love mine but they are a challenge to buy.

Sarah said...

Wow. I didn't know there was anybody who was like me when it came to shopping. I HATE shopping for clothes for the same reasons.

I have to say, though...I remember wearing skorts back when they were in, um, the first time around.

Not really ready to go back. They remind me of mullets in a way, except reversed..."party in the front, business in the back"...perhaps? :)

Just kidding. Clearly it works for you because somebody of the opposite sex also thought you were rockin' it, and for that I applaud you. If I ever decide to go skort shopping, I'll be sure to check out the Brooks first.

Sunshine said...

I think you just saved me a shopping trip!
May your hit ons be interesting.
Take care.

Runner Leana said...

So....not to throw too much confusion out there but these skirts are my absolute favorite:
http://www.runningskirts.com/
They don't have shorts underneath which is probably why I like them so much - just some Body Glide and there are no worries about chaffing and no continuous tugging of shorts underneath the skirt. I probably wouldn't have tried it though if I didn't have a chance to check it out at a race expo though. I have to say I'm a convert over every other brand of skirt I own.

lifeisdelish said...

Skorts are the best. These days I only run in skorts. Cute and comfy. Love it. Nike has this design I like (different from the one in your pic) which is A-line and has flaps on either side (so you get a bit of a "peek-a-boo" effect), a nice-sized pocket behind which can fit 2 energy gels, and built-in tights. They come in black and pink. Very nice. :)