Call them play clothes for grownups. They're the kinds of pieces that are ready for anything that can come your way on a sultry summer day. They let you run and jump and move, but are stylish enough to take you out on the town afterwards.
Unlike sportswear of recent decades, they're never sloppy or messy or impractical. That's because summer's great sporty fashion has a bit of European elan. Sportswear as street wear started as a North American fashion movement back when Europeans were still strictly following proper dress codes or, as the Italians call it, making "la bella figura.
" Now, of course, stylish young Europeans have adopted le sportif as their own fashion. But that doesn't mean they shlep around in baggy sweats or crumpled Ts or giant sneakers -- far from it. Rather, they look cool, sleek and sexy.
It makes sense, really, given that the modern era of functional-but-chic sportswear was ushered in by a Frenchman, the tennis pro Rene Lacoste. Lacoste, who was known as "The Alligator" for his aggressive style on court, introduced his iconic alligator-emblazoned cotton pique tennis shirt (better known these days as a polo shirt) back in 1929. Since then, it's never gone out of fashion among the country- club set, but this summer's style-makers love it for its retro-preppy appeal and its wild range of citrus and oceanic colours.
Colour, after all, is key to Euro style, especially for men. Colour is daring, it's fun, it's flattering and it's sexy. It's also totally modern, especially when it's mixed up in contrasting patterns.
Yes, that means you can pair stripes with plaids, as long as the colours complement each other. Modern Euro style also means a willingness to emphasize the body in soft, flattering fabrics that move when you do. That doesn't mean letting it all hang out in overly revealing tops and too-short shorts; rather, it means wearing pieces that hug the contours and offer a hint of what lies beneath the Lycra.
This is especially important if you're planning to actually move in your clothes. After all, how can you concentrate on your serve or your golf swing if you're worried about things falling out or your clothes riding up? Great fabrics, flattering styles, eye-popping colours -- these make for clothes that look great whether you're catching a frisbee at the park, knocking a ball around the links or relaxing later over a mojito on a patio.
In other words, they are the essential grown-up play clothes for summer. Ads by Google Call them play clothes for grownups.
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