Amelia is one of our RE ambassadors for 2018/19. She is very active in the community and is one of the makers of the maps we all know and love, Cairn Cartography! As a frequent runner of the trails, we asked Amelia to review a skirt from a local company, Kind Apparel. You can follow her adventures on instagram @cairncarto as well as on facebook.
I have to admit when I first heard I was reviewing a running skirt for my first go around I was a little disappointed. I tried a few running skirts four or five years ago when they were really popular and never really found one I liked. They always feel like too much fabric moves around while I’m running. However, as soon as I saw this skirt, that disappointment went away and I got excited. To start with, the fabric is amazing. It’s light and comfortable without ever getting staticy or clingy and the colors are so fun! Plus it’s made from recycled plastic bottles and made by a local Missoula company.
The skirt I received has built in liner shorts that are pink cheetah print which is a fun little secret. The shorts fit like spandex but they don’t ride up or squeeze and any annoying bulges basically disappear and I forget about them unless I’m getting off my bike in a public place and realize I don’t need to worry about showing too much skin. The skirt sits at my hips, right where I like my shorts to sit, and falls to mid-thigh. The skirt feels well made and like it is up for being well-loved for a long time.
If this skirt had a drawstring it would be almost perfect. Truthfully, I only ran in this skirt once and I spent the whole run pulling it up or hoping it wasn’t falling off. I don’t think a smaller size would help but a drawstring would fix everything. However I’ve found myself wearing this skirt for everything except running: hikes with my dog, floating, to the brewery to meet friends and everything in between, and it stays on comfortably for all those activities. It’s comfortable, flattering and easy to wear. My only other tiny 
suggestion would be to add a gusset in the shorts for a little more mobility but that’s a minor complaint. I love the phone-sized pocket on the shorts which easily fits my phone, key and a doggy bag, although the weight of a phone in there does exacerbate the skirt-falling-down problem.
With the addition of a drawstring I could see this skirt being a great option for runs when it’s a little chilly for shorts but not quite cold enough for tights. The double layer of fabric and longer-than-shorts coverage definitely feels like a little too much for this hot weather we have been having, but it would be nice for cooler days. I could also imagine wearing this skirt over tights on super cold days. In the meantime I will keep wearing it for all kinds of summer fun.
