One sunny morning last week, Dappled Grey drove from Portland, Oregon up the “gorge-ous” Columbia River Gorge to the town of Hood River – home of world class wind & kite surfing, Full Sail’s pioneer craft brewery, and Kerrits Equestrian Apparel. It was around 3pm, when we were sitting at Kerrits’ conference table wearing nothing but underwear, that we realized “we LOVE our job!”
More about the underwear later, but first a little background. Kerrits was planted in this picturesque town at the banks of the Columbia River and base of Mt. Hood by athlete/designer/entrepreneur Kerri Kent and has grown into a thriving part of the “fabric” of this close-knit, creative, and free-spirited community.
Twenty Years of Kerrits
Kerrits celebrated its 20 year anniversary in 2010 and one of our favorite parts of the visit with Kerri and Sales and Marketing team member Mary Cobey was a walk down the memory lane of old Kerrits catalogs. We had a blast (and a few laughs) checking out the generations of designs – customers frequently send the company fantastic pictures of vintage items they still wear! – and the horses, friends, and children that have grown up on the pages of the Kerrits catalog.
Originally starting out in swimwear, Kerri has been a pioneer in the fabric, fit, and function of equestrian apparel and continues to inform her designs with practices and materials from cycling and other sports. This is one of the core strengths of Kerrits – creating equestrian apparel that truly performs like athletic wear.
The Equestrian Athlete
Equestrians are an on-the-go, athletic sort, after all, and the question we posed to Kerri & Co. was this: What can we put on when we wake up, do our stretching/yoga practice, maybe take the dog for a run, get the kids to school, head to school/work/ride and NOT have to change 5 times?? (In reality, THIS is the equestrian lifestyle, right?)
And this, you guessed it, is where we return to the undewear! Kerrits’ Spring 2011 line, being introduced at the AETA trade show this week, includes a new capri length underwear and tank bra set designed exclusively by and for multi-tasking athlete riders.
Maybe you saw Kerrits attention-grabbing undergarment postcard/survey at Rolex this year? This and other survey research, as well as countless hours spent by test model Cobey on the company’s iGallop exercise saddle, have now come to life in the ingenious Slender Rider Tank and Capri.
Fast forward to the Kerrits conference table at 3pm and, yes, we sat through the entire meeting in the tank and capri. Yes, with it’s slimming and seamless construction, the pieces are that comfortable, supportive, and cute. Yes, you could put it on in the morning, run through your exercise routine, throw on a sweatshirt to make breakfast, slide your riding or work clothes over the top of it, and go. Meeting or errands after your ride? Put on a tunic or top and skirt over the capris. YES!
