Clothes for specific sports often end up influencing mainstream fashion. Rash guards and board shorts for surfing, thick-soled shoes and baggy shorts for skating, and roomy jackets and pants with bold graphics for snowboarding are spotted far from the ocean, skate park and slope.
“Board sports are definitely driving trends in consumer fashion,” says Courtney Pugh, who in 2006 founded a Denver-based online clothing company specializing in woman-specific gear. With the proliferation of sports apparel options for women, Pugh increased the selection of such fashion-forward brands as Billabong, Roxy, FreePeople and Brixton.
“We decided to rebrand with a new name — Ahlivv,” says Pugh, who was a competitive moguls skier before starting the company. Pronounced like the old-fashioned name, Olive, or “AH-live” the name is meant to work on a couple of levels, according to Pugh. The “ah” is the fun of the shopping experience and “livv” connotes being active in the sports community, she says. The company sponsors amateur and professional female athletes and offers contests and interactive features on its website,
Pugh says her core customer is 25 to 34, but “in all honesty, she is 17 to 60.
“She typically is into board sports, and we’ve realized her style is progressive — she wants to have her own individual style off the hill,” Pugh adds.
Women love the idea of living at the beach or in the mountains — it’s the allure of the lifestyle, says Allyson Rhoads, merchandise manager for Ahlivv and a longtime sales representative for Quiksilver.
“She enjoys her sports like any guy does, but she wants to show her feminine, pretty side when she goes out,” Rhoads says of the customer they’re targeting. “The perfect example is all the girls who work at Ahlivv. We surf, skate and do snow sports, but we love the fashion side of it too.”
Dresses have been strong sellers on the site this spring, says Rhoads. “In this economy, it’s important that the pieces are really versatile. We see them as a cute swim coverup for when you get out of the pool and then to wear out to dinner. I can envision a dress with flip flops over a bathing suit or with heels and jewelry. We’re doing the same thing for next winter — clothes you can wear from the lift to the lounge.”
Other versatile pieces in Ahlivv’s mix for spring and summer are skirts that can be pulled up and worn as a strapless dress, and vests that can be layered over a dress or tops and jeans.
Ahlivv showed these ideas and others at a recent fashion show for customers and friends. “We wanted to bring the brand to life; that’s why we did this event,” Pugh said, noting that some women “still like to feel, touch and try on clothes.” A portion of the proceeds of sales went to UNIFEM, the United Nations fund devoted to advancing women’s rights.
Other trends for the season:
Combine two prints in a single outfit. The key is in making sure the colors and scale of the patterns are harmonious.
Bathing suits in bold stripes, splatter prints, tie-dye or recolored animal prints. Details include button trims and buckles.
Skinny jeans in a range of colors.
Denim miniskirts in white or colors.
