Skirt Culture

When I first joked about running the Bolder Boulder in a SkirtSports pink Holiday Dress, I didn't realize stepping out the front door would give me such butterflies in my stomach. I'm used to causing a bit of a scene and getting noticed, but it took some serious balls to wear a dress in public.

As I jogged to the starting area with my roommate and a friend, all the nervous energy turned to contagious laughter. The smiles, laughs, pictures, pointing kids put a huge cheeky grin on my face.

With this race being more of a hard workout rather than a race, it was easy to relax and just laugh. How can you take yourself serious when you're cross dressing? Many of my friends took the time to remind me how much of a goober I am, and I loved it!

As the gun went off, I set out at a comfortable pace trying not to push to hard for the first mile. As I cruised along, I was quite surprised how comfortable the dress was. It didn't fly up or bunch at all. It just stayed right in place. As comfortable in my masculinity as I am, I must also say it felt incredibly smooth, soft, and breathable against my freshly shaven legs.

I think one of my favorite parts of the day was the looks on the guys' faces as I began to bring them back. I heard more than one grumble under the breath "oh man..." They seemed a bit disheartened to be passed by a guy in a pink dress with a pink mohawk while running 5:45 miles. I loved it! The more reactions I got, the more I feed off of it. Flashing guys drinking on their front porches, high five'n little kids, blowing kisses to photographers, hooting and hollering at the aid stations volunteers. It kept a huge smile on my face for the entire race.

I crossed the line in 36:30, after being out sprinted by a couple of guys who "weren't gonna be beat by a guy in a pink dress." It didn't matter to me. I ran a decent time, had tons of laughs and was apparently talked about on the radio and tv broadcasts later that day.

All and all it was the most fun Bolder Boulders I have every participated in (by far the silliest). If cross dressing was always this much fun and applauded, I might think of doing it more often, but for now I'll stick to causing a scene because of the funny little stripe of hair down the middle of my head.

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Will Kelsay is a Professional Xterra Triathlete and SkirtSports Shipper

May 4th, 2008 Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon

My First Marathon was a euphoric experience from the get go. I wore the Footloose Running Dress with the new mesh shorties, all pink, of course. I have never ran a marathon so I had no idea what to expect. Sure, I did all my training, but when I got the start line I thought, am I ready for this? I don't even remember running enough except for that random day I ran to the Skirt Office for a long training run, which ended up being a stupid 23 mile jaunt down the Colorado highways. (of course in an all pink ToughGirl, so the color must be good luck).

The gun went off 15 minutes late due to a Fire on the course causing an extended detour. As if I was not nervous enough, waiting only those extra few minutes caused a quick run to the bushes, again, thank god for the dress and the fact runners make pit stops in front of anyone. I certainly looked the cutest, but hidden the least being so bright in the green bushes.

I took off like a bat out of hell thinking if I stay ahead of the pace groups I have room to slack and make a Boston qualifying time. What??? I never cared about Boston before the race started, what I am thinking about! I quickly shook that idea and remember the best running advice given to me the night before from my running idol and secret crush, Bart Yasso, who has watched me race a few times - he said, this course needs your even effort. Even Effort. After mile one I thought, well, looks like I have 25 more miles of this pace so I better keep moving and not change anything. Plus I am looking flipping hot, so I have nothing to lose than a few extra compliments!

At mile 3 and 5 my parents scared the life out of me popping out of no where on the sidelines. Supporters have no idea of their value. I counted over 60 comments on my running outfit. Yes, seriously 60 and they were all Good!

"Look at her Dress, LOVE IT, She is so cute, look at her go IN a dress, I love your pink dress, how is she running a marathon in dress?, GO DRESS CUTIE!" The men were even better to run beside in the Footloose, especially the ones that thought I could not hear them 2 steps in front of, "let's just keep watching the dress, I should have worn pink today to get all the feel- good attention, that looks like a comfortable outfit (I am sure that is what they were really thinking).

Seriously, hearing such positive comments made me smile and completely not focus on the hard times of the race, but on how unbelievably great I felt physically hearing I looked good.

I am still fooled and amazed that feeling good about yourself makes your performance improve and sets you on cloud nine. I must have hit an athletic high not having to worry about my clothing and stayed in cruise control. The Shorties can hold a solid 2 gels in each leg pocket. It looked like I was pulling out secret running ammo when I grabbed my gels from under the dress! My finish felt like I was cheered into winning a Gold medal out kicking 4 men - all in a dress. It will be a long time until my next marathon, but the experience is one to be cherished forever.

The Footloose Dress endured the Marathon Test and earned A+ performance. No discomfort, no chaffing, great support, and made for a good time - in more than one way :)

Always believe in yourself and treat your training with fun, enjoyment, and respect. Your Attitude will Determine the Outcome of every Situation - KellyB

Chip Time: 3:18:35 | Gender Place: 12 out of 2,006 | Division Place: 4 out of 354 | Pace: 7:31

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Kelly Bassett is in charge of Customer Care and is our Warehouse Manager

The last time I blogged about Vegas, I wrote about hate and love. Love and hate. Today, after competing in my first Olympic distance triathlon, the Aflac Iron Girl at Lake Las Vegas, I feel the same way. Except now, despite my blistered and burned covered feet, from a not-so-friendly desert hell trail run after a steep and windy ride, I feel a little more love for the city. I've never seen such inspiring women at one time, all out for the same cause, perhaps for different reasons.

Now, if that weren't enough, my highlight came, when ten minutes before I was supposed to start (sorry Nicole, I should have been warming up!), I realized I didn't know what the hell I was going to do with my hair. For those of you who don't know me, I may have the most unique, wild, dramatic, uncontrollable weave that has ever ponied the earth. In fact, most bike helmets don't fit, and after 17 years of competitive swimming, I still need help with my swim cap. So, what did I do? I didn't panic, I simply turned to my spectator/bike technician/savior/super-fan boyfriend and said, "you wouldn't happen to know how to French braid hair would ya?" He said, "yes, of course I do! I don't know how I know, but I know. Is that weird?"

Without haste, he quickly unzipped my wet suit, pulled off my cap, and said, "now, the key to French braiding is forming three perfect separations of hair, and making sure each is equal." And in an instant, my hair was perfectly braided and out of the way, and I was ready for the cold water just as the "Aflac!" start led us out with a huge smile on my face. Nothing like finding out minutes before your race that your man may be more of an "Iron Girl" than you are!! It made my day, and helped me keep a smile on my face throughout the race.

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Meg Gill is the Marketing Manager for SkirtSports

I had a GirlSkirt sent to me (my sister, Nicole, owns the company :) for my 4 year old. I had the package in my car and was opening it when I picked my daughter up from preschool. She saw the Skirt and was overjoyed that it was for her this time. Usually, the Skirts are for me or my 8 year old and she feels left out that they don't quite fit her yet. Well, we are in Chicago where the temp was below zero right before Christmas. She took her Skirt out of my hand and proceeded to walk to the back of my minivan to buckle in and go home from school. I wondered what was taking so long and turned around to see her taking her pants off and putting on the new GirlSkirt that was just for her! She was so excited to have one of her own that fit! She was beaming from ear to ear that one of Aunt Nic's Skirts finally fit her!

My 8-year old now fits into the RollerGirl for girls (she loves it)! And my baby just missed out on the little baby bodysuit - do you think I could squeeze her 14 month old little body into a 9-12month?? I guess we'll have to wait until she can wear her own GirlSkirt proudly in a few years! As for my boy, he gets the shaft on clothing. I think the guy's SkirtChaser shirt is just a tad too big!

Nic, thank you for all you have done to inspire me to get back into shape after having 4 kids in 7 years! Not that I am all the way there yet, but I am motivated by wearing your awesome clothes and feeling fantastic while doing so. I also thank you for starting young girls in the right direction by making fitness fun and hip in a day and age where childhood obesity is such a problem. By providing the right clothes for me to keep in shape, they see me going to the gym daily because it is so important to be healthy. I am also showing my children that exercise and fitness are important to their health and well being too.

I can't wait to see the 2008 collection and see a SkirtChaser live in Chicago this summer!!

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In addition to being Nic's sister, Michele Green also provides fantastic customer service for SkirtSports.

I cleaned my office this weekend. It took me approximately 56 hours. I took a few breaks to do a little work, do some strides with Nicole and Sarah (Skirt Natl Sales Manager), get our IT guy to change my tire on my bike, sleep a bit, and ALAS, it's clean.

My office has been a running joke around the Skirt office for quite some time, and temporarily, my personal work space moved to the employee lounge, until that too, had been completely trashed. One of Nicole's favorite things to do is to open my office door (with me using the company lounge), stare, point, and then ask everyone to come in for a show and tell of my office. Then, she proceeds to pick up ripped swim caps, invoices from 2005 (don't worry, they're paid), PowerBars from '97, a bridemaid's dress – hey, I was using that as a table cloth!, parking tickets from DIA, unopened books on marketing, cowboy hats, a dog costume, and a recycle bin overflowing with nothing but Peet's coffee cups and Red Bulls. Further, my "inbox" had become my "desktop" three feet high.

I'd like to think that this isn't my nature. That the six months of non-stop Skirt travel had something to do with it. I don't claim to need to be organized to work well. I don't. But I think there is something to be said for getting rid of all the crap in your life. As I was digging through old documents, pictures, and notes, I felt a sense of soul-searching and self-discovery. In fact, I had so many emotional highs and lows while cleaning my office that I actually thought I had begun menopause. With the months of travel and piling of crap, I hadn't made time for some of the greatest things in my life. I have since then reconnected with those loved ones, as well as things I love, and felt a sense of grounding and clarity. I cleaned out my office and vowed to myself two things: I'll never let my life pile so high that I lose touch of what and who is important. A clean office is my new year's resolution.

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Meg Gill is the Marketing Manager for SkirtSports