Bright Pants

Like sunlight breaking through a prism, ski pants are splashing color all over white slopes from Austria to Oregon. They were introduced by Kaltenbruner of Davos, who found his skin-tight, custom-tailored black or blue pants were made so well they hardly ever wore out. Now, however, Herr Kaltenbruner's clientele buys as many as five or six pairs—in persimmon, lavender, powder blue, nasturtium. They were first seen in America last spring on such international skiers as Photographer Toni Frissell. The old dictum that ski pants must be black or navy no longer holds. White Stag, the country's largest manufacturer of ski wear, is now making the new, bright pants available to all of America's weekend skiers in seven different colors (including red for women only).

At Mt. Hood Marjorie Mills and Bob Conklin wear White Stag's new ski pants of wool gabardine ($25).

At Stowe, spring skier Patty Gagarin was one of first to introduce colored ski pants, here wears gold pair from Kaltenbruner while adjusting sequin-tipped skis.

At St. Anton, Austrian ski resort, pretty Astrid Allard of Brussels wears red elastic ski pants, red scarf wrapped into a hood and roomy khaki-colored poplin parka trimmed with fur.

Cortina D'Ampezzo, scene of 1956 Winter Olympics, is brilliant showplace of Italian ski fashions. Signorina Uta Red and Signor Alberto Menari, both of Cortina, show colorful clothes in typically slim silhouette. She wears close-fitting red parka over two sweaters and a shirt, tapered red ski pants; he a red overstitched wool sweater and gray ski pants. Both are using ski gloves instead of mittens.

Zermatt is setting for pastel clothes worn by Mrs. Walter Haensli, herself a designer of after-ski clothes. Scarf repeats pastel pink and blue of bulky sweater and Kaltenbruner pants.

FIVE PHOTOS