Wild Rockies Field Institute: Red Ants Pants: Here Begins a Revolution! By Anna Heinen

October 21, 2019: Before we can browse for too long, the shop dog, Nellie, bursts out of the door at the back of the shop and enthusiastically greets us all. Sarah follows, tall, strong, and smiling in a way that seems to welcome you to be yourself. After introductions, she begins to tell us her story. In an ideal world, clothing and equipment would be made for bodies, not genders. Sarah’s line of clothing exemplifies this revolution in the outdoor clothing industry. Although still marketed as “women’s pants,” the way Sarah’s pants are sized is inclusive to all genders. When my classmate, Nick, asked if men ever bought Red Ants Pants, Sarah explained how she’d been wearing her dad’s old pants before Red Ants Pants and had managed to make them work, so she didn’t see why men couldn’t wear them too. Nick proceeded to purchase a pair.