Recent Increase in Fashion Accessories in Student Athletics
NATE GARCIA
Sports Editor
WESLEY TSAI
Staff Writer
Wherever one travels in the world, there will always be trends. Phases. A style that’s “in.” However, not only do trends have a presence in the fashion world, but they also happen to run in the sports world, no pun intended.
Over the past few months, a few of the same athletic accessories have been trending in different sports, both to serve a purpose and to make a fashion statement. Some of the most popular include colorful shoes, thin headbands, running sleeves and multifunctional socks.
Colorful shoes in any sport gather the attention of both spectators and opponents. They serve the same functions that plain old solid color shoes do; however, they are a fashion trend which typically catches attention. More high school athletes are seen wearing shoes of more than three colors, even some with neon colors.
Another trend that seems to be picking up in sports are thin headbands. Forget the one-inch wide, old-fashioned headbands with a large embroidered logo; headbands of short width, mostly one centimeter wide, are beginning to spread among different sports such as basketball, volleyball and soccer. This is due to their portability and efficiency; they can be worn around the wrist as bracelets when not in use, and when worn, they keep hair out of athletes’ faces as well as keep sweat away from the eyes.
Why wear a long sleeve shirt under your uniform when you can simply put on compression sleeves? Similar to the sleeves worn by professional basketball players on their shooting arm, compression or “running sleeves” are leaving a mark in the athletic world. They serve several practical purposes: to keep the arms warm, to keep the blood in the arms circulating, and to add compression to sore muscles instead of having to wear an extra layer of a full-length sleeve shirt.
Finally, probably one of the most common athletic fashion statements trending right now is…on your feet. Nike Dri-Fit elite socks have been a new vogue which differ from ordinary socks because of the synthetic material they are consisted of. Although they were primarily intended to be used for basketball and football, athletes in almost all different types of sports wear them. When they were released, they quickly gained popularity as several college and professional athletes began sporting them. Athletes use Nike’s trademarked Dri-Fit technology or Under Armour’s compression technology, which is meant to keep the feet cool during game play. However, they do come at a price, ranging from about $14 per pair and above.
“I wear Elite socks because they keep my feet from overheating and drenched from sweat whether it be from practicing or exercising,” varsity volleyball setter Greg Kurniawan said.
Trends in the sports world will always be changing, whether for a new innovation or simply because another movement is fading. Some of these trends are spreading due to practicality and efficiency they provide, while others spread due to visual appeal. Whatever the reason, fashion trends will always be present in the sports world.