In 2003 I was frustrated. I couldn't find anything in the fitness apparel market that was both cute and functional. I wanted something to INSPIRE me to put in those long training hours in my quest to be a world class triathlete.
I took that frustration and channeled it into the ultimate symbol of feminine inspiration - a skirt for athletes of all levels. Skirt Sports created a brand new category - running skirts - and launched a revolution in women's running apparel at the same time. You may not know this, but the concept of running skirts has been a very opinionated topic, especially when we launched the first running skirt to hit the market.
It took a lot of time and energy to convince women that a running skirt did not need to be a symbol of their political views. It could, if they wanted to make a statement, but really, the running skirt was a simple idea that created something I think we can all agree is important - a choice. If you choose to run in a skirt, great! If you choose not to run in a skirt, that's fine too.
I run in a skirt for three reasons. It is a very comfortable, high-performance piece of athletic clothing. It is incredibly versatile and carries me through a busy day in my sporty-style. AND it is cute.
When we were working on the Spring 2013 line in 2011 (yes - that's how far in advance we have to plan!), the topic of shorts arose. My gut reaction was, "No - we can't make shorts. We just spent 8 years educating people about the power of the Skirt." Would I be a hypocrite to make shorts? Aren't shorts the reason that I created Skirt Sports for heaven's sake!?
So I thought about it for a while. I do my best thinking when I'm working out, so I swam, hiked and cycled my pregnant body all over town, thinking about shorts. Two factors finally materialized that helped me make the decision.
- Every successful business leader I know shares one very important quality: Flexibility. I realized that in order to evolve, we must be open to change. This was a great time to exercise flexibility.
- By limiting ourselves to Skirts, we were essentially doing the opposite of my original vision. We were excluding the many women out there who wear shorts. This was a great time to create more CHOICES and welcome more women into our Skirt family.
We launched our Redemption Shorts Collection on Monday with a bang. The collection includes: Redemption Run Shorts if you are looking for a classic run short, Redemption Fitness Shorts if you want to show off your beautiful legs, and the Redemption Capri (the longer version of the Fitness Shorts - arriving in early February).
Check out our Pinterest page to see how the new Redemption Run Short fits on a Size 14 - some of you expressed concern that only the small sized ladies could partake. I think we created styles that all size women will love. Of course not everyone will CHOOSE to wear Skirt Shorts! And that's okay - it's about having the option after all.
4 responses so far ↓
1 Amanda - TooTallFritz // Jan 17, 2013 at 2:35 PM
2 Skirt Sports // Jan 18, 2013 at 3:45 PM
3 click here now // Feb 7, 2013 at 11:53 PM
4 athletic shorts women // Apr 3, 2013 at 12:33 PM
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