Outdoor Research Women’s Expressa Skort: $60

outdoorresearch.com

The Good: Function, class, and an article of clothing you can use for almost anything you want in warm weather.

The Bad: If you can get the right the sizing, absolutely nothing.

The Ugly: If you don’t like your butt, don’t get this skort.

For the longest time, I always thought us women had to shorts or pants while hiking, running, or doing anything outdoors. If you wore a skirt or a dress, you weren’t really that ‘outdoorsy’. Let me take a moment to bury that opinion 6-feet deep. The Expressa Skort by Outdoor Research has made its way on to my 10 essentials list while proving to be just as useful for a night out.

For you ladies that gravitate towards clothing that work for more than just one activity, check out this Swiss Army knife of a skort. With its breathable and lightweight fabric, you can take this anywhere in any warm weather condition. I wore the Expressa on a couple hikes and runs, all of which were in 80+ degree weather and remained completely comfortable, even while sweating. The inner shorts relieved any potential for chaffing and their stretch allowed total mobility as I scrambled down trails to get to the rivers we hiked along. There’s even a little side pocket along the waist line for a little pick me up during your trek. About the only athletic activity this piece doesn’t have enough mobility for is yoga, which I attempted only once. Though it put up a valiant effort, I think I’ll stick to leggings.

The quick-dry polyester material allows me to get my work out in- whatever the adventure, and then proceed to hit up the brewery in town with just the change of a shirt. While showing off a bit of your assets, the skort is classy and sleek enough to fit in downtown when paired with a good top. I even managed to pull off the Expressa at a wedding! With a variety of neutral colors, pairing and matching with stuff in the closet is a breeze.

My only cautioning with this piece is the fit. I ordered this offline in my normal size and when I got it, well…let’s just say I couldn’t even try it on. Trying on this skort in too small a size is like getting into a wet swimsuit- almost impossible. I suggest to any female who has any junk in her trunk to go a size up from what she would normally wear. And use OR’s sizing chart! I should have done that when first purchasing it. When fitted correctly, this skort hugs the rear and looks fantastic. That being said, if you don’t like showing off anything back there, you might want to consider one of OR’s dresses or the Ferrosi Skort, which is a bit more rugged as well as longer in length.