34 Timeless Après-Ski Snapshots by Slim Aarons that Capture the Essence of Winter Glamour

No photographer has portrayed the grace of the sport—and lifestyle—of skiing quite like Slim Aarons, the social photographer who documented the wealthy and renowned during the 1960s and 1970s. Aarons, born to Jewish émigrés in a tenement on the Lower East Side, initiated his career as a combat photographer for the United States Military during World War II. After the war, he moved to Los Angeles, where he quickly began focusing his lens on the dazzling personalities of Old Hollywood.

By the 1960s, Aarons, by his own account, was routinely “capturing beautiful individuals engaging in delightful activities in exquisite locations,” for magazines like Life and Holiday. Numerous beautiful individuals partaking in delightful activities in exquisite settings were found in the mountains: The ’60s marked a decade when skiing, particularly in the Americas, gained widespread popularity. He immortalized European princesses in Gstaad and executives in Squaw Valley, chefs crafting mountain feasts in Courchevel and skiers enjoying a fondue picnic in Aspen. Throughout this journey, he gradually assembled an archive that embodies the quintessential Alpine aesthetic.

Below, discover 34 of our favorite skiing images by Slim Aarons—perhaps they will even motivate your own slopeside fashion.