Sport and Style: How the Two Go Hand in Hand
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Sports and fashion have always been an integral part of our culture and are often thought of as completely separate entities; however, as dress changed over time to allow athletes greater ease of play, fashion trends shifted with these changes. Many popular sports have left their mark on the fashion industry, but here are just a few:
Baseball’s most significant contribution to the fashion industry is one well-suited to bad hair days, models off duty, and dads mowing the lawn. I’ll even give you a hint: baseball is in the name. The icon of America’s favorite pastime, the baseball cap, is a style staple for many; add a New York Yankees logo and it’s well known by all.
The interlocking “N-Y” was designed by Tiffany & Co. and eventually adopted by the Yankees in 1909. Over six decades later, baseball caps became more prevalent in the media and migrated off of the ball field and into spectators’ wardrobes. These events laid the foundation for the Yankees cap to become what it is today. Though without Spike Lee, they would be less of a standout fashion statement. The director was pictured in a red cap and matching red jacket at the 1996 World Series and immediately kickstarted a new trend that paved the way for the many colors of baseball cap available today.
Tennis has had a significant influence on fashion throughout the years, especially in regards to the preppy aesthetic. When women were first introduced to the sport, they had to wear impractically long skirts and high collar blouses, but in the 1920s Suzanne Lenglen popularized the pleated skirt look that gradually shifted into the style we are now familiar with. What would the 2010s Tumblr era have been without Lenglen and her groundbreaking tennis style?
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Ballet is perhaps the easiest sport to circle back to fashion. It has always been associated with femininity and fashion is stereotyped to be an interest best suited for women. One of the first collections to give the tutu its off stage debut was Coco Chanel’s 1932 collection of tulle gowns that took inspiration from the Cotillion Ballet production of that same year. Thirty years later, the ballet flat gained traction within popular culture because of its stability and was worn by the likes of Twiggy and Jackie Kennedy. Before that, the idea had been introduced by Claire McCardell, a fashion designer that used ballet slippers as shoes for a fashion presentation of hers by 1942.
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Last Spring, the balletcore aesthetic was introduced on TikTok and has since inspired designers like Miu Miu to display romantic and feminine pieces, style leg warmers, and create shoes that subtly mimic ballet slippers.
I have a feeling that the ultra-feminine trends of today that embody the romance and femininity of ballet are at one side of a pendulum that is about to swing the other way. What do you think is next?
Strike Out,
Katherine Rhodes
Editor: Gianna Rodriguez
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