Runway meets running trail with new line of "fashletic" skirts

By: LOUISE ESOLA - Staff Writer | Saturday, May 20, 2006 4:11 PM PDT ∞

Running like a girl isn't such a bad thing.

Especially when sprinting in one of the latest trends in female fitness attire: a skirt.

"Running like a girl is good," said Christy Baker, cofounder and creator of Runningskirts.com, a Cardiff home-based company she created with her twin sister Cindy Lynch, an avid racer and marathoner who typically dashes across the finish line before the novices hobble in.

"It's definitely not a bad thing, especially if you're fast like Cindy."

Lynch, who has been running for eight years and qualified to run in the Boston Marathon in 2004, said she hasn't worn running shorts in months.

The 34-year-old runners created their own line of running skirts in April 2006 after becoming bored with what was available at sporting goods stores and runner specialty shops.

The available gear was "frumpy and unflattering," according to Baker, a mother of two. She has spent the last several years designing clothing for infants after, again, becoming bored with what was available for her daughters Madison, 6, and Avalon, 2.

The twins got their knack for sewing from their mother, who made all their clothes while the girls grew up in Northern California. Baker's Cardiff home has a sewing room, where samples of skirts are draped over tables and shipping boxes are piled several feet high.

While keeping her company ---- www.petitepirouette.com ---- online, Baker has put her energy into fitness clothing for people like Lynch and herself.

"We wanted something fashionable and functional," she said.

The twins' line falls under a new genre of niche athleticwear known as "fashletics," the latest chapter in women's clothing and sports.

In the 1970s, there was virtually no place for women to buy fitness clothing made especially for female figures. That is, until two East Coast runners created Moving Comfort in 1978. That line is still around, sharing market space with big names like Nike and Adidas that now also offer selections for women. In fact, the offerings for female runners are more numerous than those for men.

Two years ago, Adidas hired top-notch designer Stella McCartney to design a line that would marry high fashion and sporty comfort. At about the same time, Nicole DeBoom, a professional triathlete who was tired of dressing like a boy, came up with TRIKS. That line of sporty running skirts is available at www.skirtsports.com. The big-name company New Balance also now offers a few running skirts.

Both Baker and Lynch said the fashletics trend makes sense for women who don't want to sacrifice style for function.

While the concept of running in a skirt is not new ---- Internet blogs such as www.completerunning.com report that trendy skirts have been seen on the courses of recent marathons ---- the twins said they spent nearly a year perfecting their design.

Lynch, who lives in Toronto, Canada, with her husband but frequents Southern California to help market the skirts, is the company's guinea pig.

"It took a long time to get this right," said Lynch, who tested several prototypes, running more than 20 miles at a time to make sure the skirt design didn't sacrifice function for style.

Like the running shorts she was used to, the skirt had to be comfortable, she said, made of a lightweight, breathable fabric and with carefully sewn seams that promised no chafing. Underneath, the skirts are attached to a stretchy brief, similar to what professional marathoners wear in lieu of shorts.

Baker, who is three months pregnant and "runs between pregnancies," said she's more the stylist.

"We wanted to make sure we offered a lot more colors than what was out there," she said, referring to other skirts on the market.

The twins' collection includes a dozen skirts in catchy color combinations such as "pinkymaroon" and "chocqua." The collection also features a selection of matching strappy sports bras.

And, as with any trend, there are a lot of skeptics out there who classify running skirts as a bit too frilly for serious runners, the twins admitted.

Moving Shoes, a popular running apparel chain with four stores in San Diego County, doesn't sell running skirts or anything overly fashionable, said Carlsbad store manager Jim O'Hara.

"I think our clothes buyers are kind of old-school," he said. "They usually don't fall for trends."

But Lynch, who once scoffed at the thought of running in a skirt, became a believer after she tried it. "These are more comfortable than shorts," she said.

As for doubting the seriousness of a runner in a skirt, Lynch told this story:

Recently the twins were in Los Angeles to display their skirts at a 10k running event. As their Web site reveals, the slender, leggy brunettes act as their own models.

"We heard some girls snickering, 'Oh, who's gonna run in a skirt?'," Lynch said. "That's when I put down the Starbucks and the danish and signed up."

She finished in fourth place ---- in a skirt ---- among hundreds of runners.

Contact staff writer Louise Esola at (760) 740-3527 or lesola@nctimes.com. To comment, go to nctimes.com.

On the Web:

Running Skirts

www.runningskirts.com

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