Golf clothing gains wider acceptance
From business offices to the golf course, dinner and just about everywhere in-between, shirts and shorts designed for the sport are becoming more fashionably appropriate in almost any setting, said companies at this week’s PGA Expo in Las Vegas.
“With the right golf attire, both men and women can be as well-dressed on the course as they are off it,” said Ed Several, senior vice president of Reed Exhibitions, which puts on the annual industry trade show.
Though golf attire has long been acceptable in various settings away from the course, expo designers are working harder than ever to make the clothes even more universal, they said.
On Tuesday, Tricia Covel, wife of country music singer Toby Keith, launched Swingdish – a women’s clothing line designed discreetly for golf, without screaming the look of athletic attire.
The clothing line, set to debut in Spring 2016, features lower cut v-neck tops ($64-94) and “more feminine” bottoms ($52-$120), Covel said.
“I wanted it to be versatile, to have a flair so my friends don’t look at me and say ‘oh, you’ve been to the golf course today,” Covel told the Review-Journal at a Tuesday launch party at the Wynn Country Club. “And I still want to look like a girl.”
A “luxury line,” Swingdish uses imported Italian fabrics instead of traditional polyester blends, Covel said. She hopes the company’s products will sell in high-end pro shops and resort clubs.
“We wanted it to be luxurious, to feel as good as it looks,” Covel said. “You have to feel good in your clothes.”
On the Venetian Hotel and Casino’s exhibition floor, Under Armour, Callaway and Chase54 were among the bigger names in golf showing off their latest threads this week.
Under Armour, who sponsors 2015 Masters and U.S. Open champion Jordan Spieth, said the brand’s Cold Black men’s shirt ($75-80) and Punch Shot shorts ($50-70) were among its hottest sellers over the summer.
Featuring the same elastic waistbands as the brand’s workout shorts, Under Armour’s Punch Shot series also offers a bold all-black camouflage look in addition to traditional blue and gray colorways.
“The camo-plaid is really hot with retailers right now,” said Under Armour Las Vegas representative Chris Alcocer. “It’s not just a golf-bottom anymore.”
In Chase54’s latest line, the California-based clothing brand chose a louder combination of external aesthetics in addition to improved internal technology.
It’s latest men’s polo shirt, the Merci ($70-85), features a breathable neck pattern with holes spelling “Chase54” etched and only visible from the inside of its collar. On the outside, the shirt lines metal snap-on buttons with “54” and a striped ribbon on both the sleeves and outside of a left side shirt pocket.
“We call it transitional, because you can wear it the entire day through all of your different functions,” said Chase54 designer Lulu Faddis, one of the many designers in attendance on Wednesday representing over 300 golf apparel exhibitors. “Wear it to the office, then catch 18 holes after work.”
The Merci comes in four solid colorways: beryl, spiced coral, corn and onyx.
Among up-and-coming brands looking to make a splash in the golf lifestyle fashion market was Dallas, Texas-based Mizzen+Main, founded just three years ago in 2012.
The brand was featured this week at both the PGA Expo and the semiannual MAGIC fashion show.
“We’re a lifestyle brand working our way into golf,” said Mizzen+Main representative Jake Thomas. “We feel we’re a great fit in both spaces.”
Though long-sleeve button-ups are traditionally worn more off the course than on it, Mizzen+Main representatives said their American-made non-wrinkle fabric mix of nylon and spandex shirts, with names like Hatteras ($125), Montauk ($125) and McCoy ($125) have drawn customers from numerous different fields of work.
Professionals from small business owners to National Football League players, like New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and Cleveland Browns receiver Brian Hartline, are getting on board with the brand, Thomas said.
The Mizzen+Main representative hopes PGA golfers are next.
“If it’s popular in golf, it can be popular in fashion,” Thomas said. “And vice versa.”
Contact Chris Kudialis at ckudialis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283. Find him on Twitter: @kudialisrj