Sports Fashion: Of LBDs, fashion disasters and more

Sports Fashion: Of LBDs, fashion disasters and more

LBD makes a (clay) court appearance

Maria Sharapova completed a career slam by winning the French Open 2012, in an LBD (aka Little Black Dress).

Maria Sharapova-Sara Errani final

Picture courtesy: Getty Images

With a grey panel for some relief, Maria’s classic style statement was completely off for the European summer. Maybe she could take a leaf from her opponent Sara Errani’s fashion diary- wearing a more upbeat colour (purple mixed with lilac).

The Spanish Olympic outfits are as bad as their economy

The Spanish economy is down in the dumps, to put it mildly. That may be the reason they hired Russian fashion house BoscoSport to design their Olympics 2012 outfits for free. Take a look:

Spain Olympics team

Picture courtesy: El Pais

If the Spanish outfits are so bad, wonder what the Greek uniforms would be like. Hmmmm….

Euro Cup 2012 sees some serious fashion risks

I don’t think I’m the only one who thinks the diagonal stripe across the Russian football team’s uniform is confusing. What say?

Russian football team

Chic OMGs: Venus Williams in lace jumpsuit at Wimbledon, Sephora coming to India?

In yet another tennis fashion disaster of the Venus Williams kind (ahem!), the American player has got fashion critics wagging about her new on-court outfit. Here’s what it looks like:

DV_To_Getty_5044692_0 venus williams jumpsuit back

The outfit is a very low neck sheer lace jumpsuit (or playsuit, as some would say) with a gold zipper in front, crest on the upper left, coordinated innerwear, and cut-out sleeves and back. Accessories are dangling earrings and a superthin belt.

And then the lady says:

“Right now I’m really trending towards simplicity. I’m not sure why. It’s just how I feel right now. Everything is getting more simple.”

Really?

We’re not anti-trends, and while we think a lace jumpsuit is actually quite sporty cool, we don’t like:

a) Its presence on the tennis court (sheer is a look ALL sportspersons should avoid.)

b) Trying to make making it work too hard with too many trends

c) The cut-outs are a bit too glam to be on a tennis court

Not sure how long it will take us to get over this one.

Sephora coming to India?

Ladies, we’re not sure when this will happen, but the corporate grapevine has it that LVMH is in talks with Reliance Brands to bring Sephora (one of our favourite beauty stores) to India. (FYI: LVMH owns Louis Vuitton, Sephora and a gazillion other fashion and beauty brands). They’re even scouting for store locations!

It’s been a while since Reliance Brands jumped on to the retail bandwagon, tying up with foreign brands and retailers interested in paving their path to India. Cases in point: Diesel, Steve Madden and Timberland.

No news yet of how long this will take to materialise (if it does at all), so keep your fingers crossed! Meanwhile, here’s couple of photos of my recent Sephora makeup haul:

Sephora makeup haul

NARS blush from Sephora

Chic OMGs: Venus Williams in lace jumpsuit at Wimbledon, Sephora coming to India?

In yet another tennis fashion disaster of the Venus Williams kind (ahem!), the American player has got fashion critics wagging about her new on-court outfit. Here’s what it looks like:

DV_To_Getty_5044692_0 venus williams jumpsuit back

The outfit is a very low neck sheer lace jumpsuit (or playsuit, as some would say) with a gold zipper in front, crest on the upper left, coordinated innerwear, and cut-out sleeves and back. Accessories are dangling earrings and a superthin belt.

And then the lady says:

“Right now I’m really trending towards simplicity. I’m not sure why. It’s just how I feel right now. Everything is getting more simple.”

Really?

We’re not anti-trends, and while we think a lace jumpsuit is actually quite sporty cool, we don’t like:

a) Its presence on the tennis court (sheer is a look ALL sportspersons should avoid.)

b) Trying to make making it work too hard with too many trends

c) The cut-outs are a bit too glam to be on a tennis court

Not sure how long it will take us to get over this one.

Sephora coming to India?

Ladies, we’re not sure when this will happen, but the corporate grapevine has it that LVMH is in talks with Reliance Brands to bring Sephora (one of our favourite beauty stores) to India. (FYI: LVMH owns Louis Vuitton, Sephora and a gazillion other fashion and beauty brands). They’re even scouting for store locations!

It’s been a while since Reliance Brands jumped on to the retail bandwagon, tying up with foreign brands and retailers interested in paving their path to India. Cases in point: Diesel, Steve Madden and Timberland.

No news yet of how long this will take to materialise (if it does at all), so keep your fingers crossed! Meanwhile, here’s couple of photos of my recent Sephora makeup haul:

Sephora makeup haul

NARS blush from Sephora

Tennis Fashion: Men shine like the sun

Australian Open 2011 has almost come to an end, and the leading fashion trend among men was the abundant use of bright and sunny colours.

Robin Soderling and Tomas Berdych both wore variants of yellow, though Robin’s tennis outfit was carefully mixed with black. We don’t think it’s an ideal combination.

Robin Soderling clothes Australian Open 2011 Tomas Berdych clothes Australian Open 2011

Not to be outdone in the yellow department, but retaining his classic, elegant style, Roger Federer chose a white tshirt with hints of yellow in the right places: collar, shoulder and wrist and headband, and even shoes!

Roger Federer clothes Australian Open 2011

Fashion lesson from Roger Federer:

Classic + Trend = Chic (yet safe)

Our favourite player Rafael Nadal took colour experimentation a step further by pairing his grey shorts with a colour that was neither orange nor red nor fuchsia nor peach. Take a look:

Rafael Nadal

Which player’s outfit impressed you the most?

Related Posts:

Tennis Fashion: Colours and cutouts for women at Australian Open 2011

Tennis Fashion: Colours and cutouts for women at Australian Open 2011

Two things we’ve seen in abundance this Australian Open: predictable match results disappointments and questionable women’s fashion.

Kim Clijsters has gone green for this slam, and we applaud her for it. Meanwhile, Russian player Vera Zvonareva wears some weird muddy-brown-maroon with a cut-out back.

Kim Clijsters green Vera Zvonareva dress

And Zvonareva is not the only one with a personal take on fashion. Caroline Wozniacki is wearing a pleated skirt and layering her tennis dress with slips and shorts in various colours: from pink to orange. (Sheer is a key spring/summer trend). PS: Don’t miss her accessories (earrings, pendant and bracelets) and pop-coloured nails.

Caroline Wozniacki tennis dress

Of course, no tennis grand slam fashion story is complete without a special mention of Ms Venus Williams. This time, she claims to have been inspired by Alice in Wonderland (the movie or the book?), and has worn a different outfit in every match: criss-crossed tops teamed with printed skirts, and a bejewelled black “tennis” dress that we’d rather wear to a cocktail party (if at all). Venus has accessorised with dangling earrings and her shocking flesh-coloured shorts. Pity to see her retire early in the tourney. Who else can serve such sartorial double faults?

Venus Williams dress

Which women tennis player’s outfit did you like at the Australian Open 2011?

Related Posts:

Eeeks: Fashion disasters at US Open

Tennis: Fashion aces & faults at Wimbledon

Painting Flushing Meadows Red!

Eeeks: Fashion disasters at US Open

Earlier this week, we promised you more fashion disasters from US Open 2010, and here they are.

Leading the pack can be none other than Venus Williams, whose outfits everyone loves to hate. Speaking Chic reported earlier this year that her Wimbledon outfit rode up a bit too much. And this tournament it seems to be doing the same, but this time she’s got flesh-coloured umm… undies. Also, she calls the little jewels on her dress the “fireworks”.

“This outfit was supposed to be about New York. It’s like bursts of fireworks.” – Venus Williams

Here’s a glimpse of her pink dress (she’s also got the same in black), with a view from the back.

venus_pink_US_2010 venus_pink_back

Then we have Maria “Shrieky” Sharapova, who loves experimenting with her tennis outfits, and this time trying a bit too hard to get some kind of collar(?) into her tennis dress (below left). Meanwhile, Caroline Wozniacki’s gone too short (below right).

sharapova_US2010 wozniacki_US_2010

Among the men, the Bryan brothers are wearing very bright and colourful tees, best worn in college (below left). And Frenchman Gael Monfils is wearing wear-at-home shorts (below right).

Bryans_US_2010 monfils_US_2010

Who’s the worst of the fashion disasters at the US Open this year?

Bad Fashion: Rafa pulls a flashy one

Oh dear, oh dear. As if there weren’t enough fashion disasters at the US Open this year already, on Sunday morning my favourite tennis player Rafael Nadal took to the court wearing… fluorescent green! Immediate reactions from family and via text messages from concerned friends:

“Horrible! Awful!”

“What’s wrong with him?”

“He needs a stylist, now!”

I couldn’t agree more. Take a look:

Nadal_neon_green

My eyes, my eyes!

Check out an an earlier match in the Grand Slam in which Rafael wore an all-black outfit, with flashes of the same neon green.

Rafael_Nadal_match1  Rafael_Nadal_sneakers

Here’s a close-up of his shoes, perfectly coordinated with both his tees, but way too bright.

Meanwhile, Rafa sent his opponent (cute French monsieur Gilles Simon) packing in straight sets. I wonder how much of Rafael Nadal’s victory was to do with him blinding Simon, and how much due to his on-court prowess. But as a Rafa fangirl, I believe it’s mostly the latter. 🙂

Meanwhile, check out last year’s US Open fashion report.

PS—More US Open fashion disasters to come! Stay tuned.

Tennis: FedEx goes pink!

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It was a bad weekend for fans of Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal as both lost in the Toronto Masters (in the final and semi-final respectively). Despite Federer’s loss to Andy Murray, the Swiss gentleman gets our trophy for the sartorial surprise of the tournament, and that’s because he donned a soft pink tennis tshirt on court (gasp!).

It’s not the first time that pink has turned up on a tennis court (check out Serena Williams’ white-and-pink ensemble in this year’s Wimbledon), nor is it the first time we’ve seen a guy wear pink. But it’s perhaps the first time a man has worn it while playing an international tennis tournament.

Take a look:

roger-federer-toronto

Even while Roger’s backhand remains as elegant as ever, note the two pairs of tuck detailing going down the length of the tshirt. We’re trying to figure out what went through Roger’s mind when he decided to wear this tshirt. Perhaps it was: “I don’t care that the world calls me a ballet dancer on court, I’m man enough to wear pink. Hah!”

Also note Roger’s shorts– they’re olive green. An odd combo on paper (blue would have been the obvious choice here), but he makes it work with the pink tee. Must say that Roger’s suddenly begun taking risks in more ways than one.

Speaking Chic says: Even though only guys comfortable with their masculinity would dare to wear pink in public, we’re still not sure about wearing it on court, with millions of people watching. Meanwhile, most people (read “men”) have been surprisingly quiet about this odd choice for an all-male tennis tourney.

What do you think of Roger Federer’s pink tshirt? Tell us!

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Tennis: Fashion aces & faults at Wimbledon

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Know how tennis players love making fashion statements on court? Well, trust the Williams sisters to go crazy with their fashion choices, then explain them away with unlikely inspirations. So while Venus Williams donned a Tina Turner-inspired dress, younger sis Serena borrowed the strawberries-and-cream colour palette.

Venus’s fringed dress rides up a bit too much while playing, and has a deeply plunging neckline apt for red carpet dresses. And while the dress incorporates a major trend this season—lace—it’s not a dress for the genteel All England Tennis Club. Venus defends her dress, saying:

“Here it is all about white. There is no illusion this time…[It] still has the lace motif. I think it’s just a fun, elegant dress.”

A bit too fun, perhaps?

Meanwhile, Serena’s simple white tennis dress with pink piping is a quick reminder of the quintessential snack at the tournament—strawberries and cream. And the fashion-conscious young lady has perfectly coordinated her look with matching underpants, the Nike swoosh and laces on her shoes, and even her nails!

Our verdict: Serena’s outfit  gets our nod; Venus teeters on the brink of fashion disaster. Serena wins in straight sets.

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Painting Flushing Meadows Red!

While Sharapova made an unglorious exit from the US Open over the weekend, she didn’t fail to surprise with her choice of dress. Known to work closely with the Nike team, her lilac dress was perfect for her long legs and her tall and lean frame. However, I think the neon green bands across her dress are best left to cyclists, not tennis stars.

Despite the loss to a player ranked 30 spots below her, Sharapova’s creative and entrepreneurial streak continues. The Russian player is now designing accessories for Cole Haan, starting with an over-the-knee boot.

Her opponent was Melanie Oudin, who wore the cutest sneakers– a pleasant mix of dark pink and yellow, with three blue stripes, perfect for her young years (this feisty player is only 17!).

Oudin used her sponsor Adidas’s customisation site for the bespoke shoes. Fellow American Sam Querrey did the same with his shoes- a pair of red with a dash of dark blue.

Speaking of red, this fiery colour is ruling the roost seems to be ruling the roost at this hard court event. World No. 1 Roger Federer is wearing an eye-catching yet elegant red, adding an element of fun to his elegant backhand. Jelena Jankovic, who made an early exit, wore a red dress with ruffles at the waist and on the skirt- oh so feminine, but lacking a good fit. And then there’s Kim Clijsters with her red FILA tee and co-ordinated skirt, and a host of East European players like Kateryna Bondarenko and drama queen Vera Zvonareva.

The bright colours of the summer don’t end with the red. There’s the bright pink (donned by the Williams sistas, Elena Dementieva and Nadia Petrova), and the very summery yellow of Rafael Nadal’s t-shirt. While the t-shirt gives women (and men) a cheeky view of his toned biceps, the blue head and wrist bands are in sync with new fashion mantra- Make contrasts work!

While some players stick to the safe choices (like blue), I love the experimentation with colours at the last Grand Slam of the year. But autumn’s round the corner, and the bright colours of the season will soon fade away… Enjoy them while they last!