Tennis Togs Part Two & “When Logos Run Amok” Example 46

Hello-Hello!

Last week we ran a little preview of some of the tennis apparel being unveiled at this year’s US Open, including the new looks from Nike for Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Serena Williams.  We also looked at some of the pieces coming from Polo Ralph Lauren, the Open’s official sponsor.

Today we turn our attention to Lacoste’s new looks for Andy Roddick. Mr. Roddick can be seen below, as well as Mr. Federer, Ms. Williams and Maria Sharapova.

PHOTO: Ray Stubblebine/Reuters

He is wearing the Printed Check Super Dry Polo, we offer a better view:

Courtesy Lacoste

The Diamante Drawstring Short is on sale in select colors.Here is a look at the ensemble in navy as worn by Mr. Roddick yesterday.

PHOTO: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty

The Women’s Short Sleeve Super Dry Polo comes in both white and a rich raspberry pink.

Many readers probably saw Mr. Roddick visiting the David Letterman show last week. Unfortunately he was sporting the new polo from Lacoste, with the “Big Croc”.

We clearly have a new addition to the “When Logos Run Amok” category.

Lacoste.com

An interesting note, the Oversized Croc Pique Polos for men run $92, while the Short Sleeve Classic Pique Polos are only $54.99 – $79.50.  A similar theme is evident on the Ladies side of the shop, with the Women’s Oversize Croc Polo at $85 and other versions running $54.99 – $79.50.

One more comment about Mr. Roddick, he is not happy with the Open’s new rules regarding Twitter. The Straight Sets blog from the Times carried a post about the issue:

““I think its lame the U.S. Open is trying to regulate our tweeting,” he wrote Friday night. “I understand the on-court issue but not sure they can tell us if we can’t do it on our own time … we’ll see.”

The rules state that tweeting is not allowed on the court during matches. They also warn players about using Twitter away from the court, saying that sending “certain sensitive information” could be considered passing along inside information to gamblers.”

We are grateful there are no such rules governing TP’s Tweets!

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When covering the Nike togs last week we neglected to show the looks for Ms. Sharapova, always a fashionista on and off the court. First, her day dress:

The Night Dress is a very dark midnight blue with silver piping; there appears to be some sort of unfortunate glittery lamé fabric insert.

It is superior to the dress worn by Ms. Sharapova last week for the Rogers Cup in Toronto. We like the minty-green color, but the full skirt is reminiscent of a prom frock gone bad.

Chris Young/Canadian Press/AP

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A look we liked even less? The not-quite-Ed-Hardyish drawing on the back of the dress worn yesterday by Venus Williams for her first-round win.

PHOTO: Emmanuel Dunand/Getty

The dress isn’t quite as bad from the front.

PHOTO: Emmanuel Dunand

And we do like pink.

But… the color for tennis apparel is white. Granted, we are old. We are boring. Fuddy-duddy is a kind and gentle way to describe our ‘tennis style’ as there is no style whatsoever.

We are quite comfortable in this kind of look:

This comes as no surprise to readers.

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One of the more intriguing debuts this week comes courtesy of US star James Blake, who has moved from Nike to Fila.

Chris Trotman/Getty Images for DirecTV

Fila and Mr. Blake have partnered on an apparel and accessories line, launched at the Lord & Taylor on Fifth Avenue last week.  In honor of the player’s late father the collection is named Thomas Reynolds.  Below, Mr. Blake can be seen with actor Will Ferrell, who was dressed as Blake for the annual Arthur Ashe Kids Day event.

Ray Stubblebine/Reuters

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For those curious about the outcome of Roger Federer’s first match against Devin Britton of the US, Mr. Federer won.

PHOTO: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

However, we may need to pursue a future chat about ‘Monogram Man,’ and the overall issue surrounding Mr. Federer’s logo/crest/monogram.

Below we see Rafa Nadal practicing this morning, his first match is set for Wednesday.

PHOTO: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters

On this smiling face, we say G’bye until next time!

Polo Ralph Lauren’s Next Team USA Olympic Uniforms

Hello-Hello and Happy Holiday Weekend if you are celebrating!

Frequent readers will not be surprised to hear we are careening from crisis to crisis, coping with all things Princess, many things Lilly, and a new thing from Ralph. Seriously.

Remember the Ralph Lauren Team USA Opening Ceremony Uniforms from last summer’s Olympics?

We have an announcement on next year’s uniforms, direct from the Polo Mother Ship.  A hint can be gleaned from the sketches below.

Courtesy Polo Ralph Lauren

Yes, just in time for the patriotic holiday weekend, there is word that Polo Ralph Lauren is an Official Outfitter of the US Olympic and Paralympic Teams for the 2010 and 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.  Below, a Men’s look.

Courtesy Polo Ralph Lauren

In addition to uniforms for Opening and Closing Ceremonies, the company will also create apparel and accessories for Team USA to wear in the Athletes Village and other venues.  As far as the look itself goes, here is a snippet from the news release:

“Celebrating the rich history of the Olympic Games with a nod to the Lake Placid Games of 1932, the clothing will showcase a classic Americana and patriotic palette of red, white and blue.”

Pieces from both teams’ Parade Outfit collections will be available for purchase, along with other styles.  It will be fun to watch both Collections develop!

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As a segueway, we go to a story somewhat related to the uniforms story, we’re talking Wimbledon, where Polo Ralph Lauren is also the Official Apparel Sponsor. Oddly, it doesn’t feel like it is time for the Wimbledon Finals, but here they are: Venus vs. Serena and Roger vs. Andy in the Singles Finals.

It has been awhile since we talked about Mr. Roddick and his apparel sponsor, Lacoste. Well, we did chat up Lacoste no end in our ‘When Logos Attack’ post yesterday, but that was different. Below, Mr. Roddick at an earlier practice this week, sporting the Lacoste Logo tee.

PHOTO: Alastair Grant/AP

Pssst – the tee is now only $34.99, the original price was $50.

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In the spirit of the weekend, we close with this bow tie from one of our favorite gentlemen, Mister Mort, in collaboration with Baron von Fancy. Spotted by the ever-vigilant fashion guys at Men’s Style, it is even Made in the USA.

Courtesy Photo via Men's Style

The patriotic style statement is supposed to be available at Steven Alan, (where we must say, they are having a fabulous sale) and Opening Ceremony.  We did not see the tie, but did stumble onto a pink and green bag we simply had to share!

Courtesy Opening Ceremony

The handbag is from Issey Miyake’s new line, cauliflower, the bag showcases the pleating style this house is known for (think ‘Pleats Please’) and it looks darling. Best of all, the bag is on sale for $57!

Smiles and hopes for a Happy Fourth!

Sneak Peek Lacoste Spring 2009 Collection

Hello-hello again, and welcome to the wackiness that is Fashion Week done long-distance, Princess style!

We start with Saturday’s Lacoste show, one of the first in the whole week-long extravaganza in New York. Front and center was an obviously despondent Andy Roddick, fresh off his loss to Novak Djokovic at the on-again, off-again US Open, accompanied by girlfriend Brooklyn Decker.

Lacoste actually showed three distinctly different looks within the collection, starting off with their Club group, the company’s more upscale line. The pieces were lush and lovely, in natural tones of ecru, eggshell, taupe, brown and light, peachy rose colors.

The pieces seemed so lightweight and sheer, almost floating about the body while also exuding the brand’s timeless appeal.

The men’s pieces also hold an air of understated elegance, of old school friends gathered over lunch at a private club…

… or a friend’s weekend retreat in Palm Beach, all of the help dismissed for the day, the host and hostess handling serving duties with ease.

One can almost channel Jay Gatsby searching for Daisy through a few of the looks, all easy elegance with a hint of that careless, thrown-together appeal achieved only with classic elements such as these.

Contrast this with the Sunset collection that was next on the runway. This is Lacoste’s sportier, more casual line.

Bright and sunny, the sportier group had a more youthful look and feel, with intense shades of yellow and orange that just popped! The group carried an air of whimsy and relaxation, reminiscent of unhurried days at the shore.

And then we had the final group, a new line targeted at a younger, edgier demo, done in bright jewel tones that radiated vibrancy and excitement.

Much of what we saw in this group triggered memories of the swinging 60s, ‘mod’ and ‘groovy’ clothes worn by even hipper people. Indeed.

It could be the women’s hats…

Or the bold, almost blinding patterns on some pieces…

But we started to feel like Mod Squad might start on TV at any minute! This was not a negative, quite the contrary, it brought a fun, retro feel to the last group.

Some of the neon colors could also inflict temporary blindness and these vivid tones were not just for women in the Lacoste vision, the men shone just as brightly as the women.

The classic look of black and white was repeated throughout, a reminder of its timeless appeal.

The accessories were as important as the apparel pieces.

With shoes providing new takes on older looks….

And sandals that surely must glow in the dark seen below!

Creative Director Christopher Lemaire appeared pleased when he came out for his bow at the end of the show. We close with a few photos from backstage.

It seems the preppy brand has an exciting Collection ready to go, and now all devotees of the label have to do is wait. (Hurry springtime…hurry!)

Photo Credits: Reuters/Joshua Lott

Exactly what did Vice-President Cheney Buy at Nordstrom at Tyson’s Corner? Also, Andy Roddick’s Latest Lacoste Look.

Hello-hello and happy Thursday…The Princess is finding herself ever-so-glad it is the Thursday before a holiday weekend.

Let’s start with more news about politicians and their wardrobes, more specifically higher-end suits being chosen by those running for office, and those about to leave office. We have news just in to Intergalactic Headquarters of the Preppy Princess: we have learned that Vice-President Dick Cheney did some shopping at Nordstrom last Tuesday. For suits. He bought them off the rack and he bought American, thank you very much. Upscale, understated elegance by Hickey Freeman.

Hickey Freeman 'Madison' Suit

As it turns out, Mr. Cheney didn’t buy just one suit; he bought five of them, all five of them off the rack, and all by Hickey Freeman. The Vice-President selected the Madison model in gray, shown above; a two-button, single breasted suit in 100% Lora Piana Tasmanian wool, a fabric we are familiar with that is simply TDF. To. Die. For. What a marvelous choice by the Vice President.

Some of you may remember our story from last Saturday with the scoop that Senator Obama was being fitted for a navy Hart Schaffner Marx suit, and we wondered if it might be ‘The Suit’ he would wear for his acceptance speech at the Democratic Convention in Denver.

Hart Schaffner Marx

As it turns out, TP guessed correctly at precisely which model most resembled the suit likely to be picked by Senator Obama, as shown above; as his was bespoke, or custom made, the photo only serves as an approximation. And as we mentioned in Saturday’s post, the Senator was making a wise choice; Hart Schaffner Marx is not only an American company, it is a Chicago-based firm. Both the Senator and his wife Michelle are wearing apparel this week from Chicago-area companies. And as any politician knows, when running for office one does want to be attired in clothing that says “Made in the USA.”

Chicago Tribune photo by Bonnie Trafelet, June 2008

For those not familiar with the two companies, they are actually ‘siblings,’ both owned by ‘parent’ company Hartmarx. So in a sense, Vice President Cheney and Senator Obama have the same taste in business attire! Who’d a thunk?!

Not so fast little Miss Princess.

For openers, the Senator’s navy blue power suit is a much more contemporary look, essentially an Italian cut, hugging the silhouette more closely. Another distinction? Mr. Cheney’s suits are off the rack; Mr. Obama’s suit was custom tailored specifically for him. One similarity? When it comes to cost, they are both about the same price. The Senator’s suit would run approximately $1500 at a store like Nordstrom, according to HartMarx spokesperson Lisa Wells, and the online price we found for the Vice President’s selection is $1395, so they are within $100 of each other.

Photo REUTERS/Mike Segar

There is also some distinction is size. Senator Obama is a 40 Long with a Size 33 waist while Vice President Cheney is a 44 Regular. But here’s the big news: the tailor at the Nordstrom store at Tyson’s told our source that a year ago the Vice President was a Size 48! Evidently dropping from a 48 down to a 40 is roughly a 40 pound loss, so it would seem that someone has been doing *extremely* well on their diet! Perhaps that should have been our headline: Vice President Loses 40 Pounds!

We think not. But it is an excellent selection by both gentlemen. Many a prep has grown up in Hickey; it is the oldest tailored clothing company in the country.

Enough on that topic, don’t you think? (Until we feel the need to address it again, of course.)

Let us contemplate an always interesting topic: the US Open and tennis fashions. For starters we begin with something not designed by one of the big sporting goods companies. It’s actually the creation of what we believe many term a “supermodel,” Heidi Klum. The Heidi Klum US Open Tee Shirt is bright and vibrant, and better yet, it is made of 100% organic cotton and it’s for a good cause. Proceeds from sales of the tee go to the USTA’s (US Tennis Association) efforts to take care of the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, home to the Open.

Let’s talk about this latest Andy Roddick look from Lacoste. Historically whatever Mr. Roddick wears at the Open sells out within days, but TP wonders how popular a zip-front shirt will be to men.

However one likes it or doesn’t, Mr. Roddick has won his matches at the Open, including his first round match against of Fabrice Santoro of France as fiancee Brooklyn Decker watched.

Then we have Roger Federer’s look, truly an interesting style, or more accurately, color.

Photos courtesy Getty Images

To the Princess, it looks like chocolate! But that is probably just wishful thinking. A rather muddy ensemble it seems… what do you think? Perhaps it will look better in the morning.