April 25, 2014 2:08 p.m. ET
BASEBALL IS NOT STYLISH. Not like basketball, whose stars sit front row at fashion shows and set trends with their personal style. Not like football, whose players become spokesmodels for suits and headphones. No, baseball is the sport that still makes its poor managers wear the same, floppy uniforms as its players.
Yet references to America's pastime have been seeping into menswear as of late. Baseball apparel, usually the domain of Nike and Majestic, has influenced brands from Saint Laurent to Alexander Wang. The spring collections are loaded with infield-inspired looks. Ralph Lauren, Brioni and Salvatore Ferragamo SFER.MI -0.91% Salvatore Ferragamo S.p.A. Italy: Milan €22.89 -0.21 -0.91% April 25, 2014 5:30 pm Volume : 186,445 P/E Ratio 25.60 Market Cap €3.89 Billion Dividend Yield 1.44% Rev. per Employee €334,228 04/25/14 Baseball-Inspired Fashion Is O... 03/14/14 The Best of This Month's Party... 02/07/14 The Pleat Trend Goes Big for S... More quote details and news » are among those selling baseball jackets of nylon, polyester or suede. Sweaters and shirts, from Bespoken and Shipley & Halmos, sport contrasting sleeves, while collarless tunics, like those from Rag & Bone and Christophe Lemaire, can be best described as jersey-like. Pants from Mark McNairy New Amsterdam have striped ribbed cuffs, hinting that their wearer plays for the Yankees. Hat brand Gents has been making sleek ball caps in logo-free pinstripe wool and heather gray cashmere.
Meanwhile, designer Umit Benan devoted his entire fall collection to Jackie Robinson. Similarly, many of spring's looks are inspired by retro uniforms. Bespoken designers Liam and Sam Fayed said they studied '50s-era photos of players in baseball jackets, and used those cues in detailing shirt sleeves and pockets.
So, how did this all happen? Baseball is Cooperstown's game, after all, and not Milan's. "Everything has its cycle," said Dao-Yi Chow, co-designer for the brand Public School. "It's a thing that's happened before. I remember in high school, when baseball jerseys were cool to wear."
Some guys wore them a bit earlier than adolescence. Kent Kilroe, managing director of heritage-focused men's label Freemans Sporting Club, noted that many American men can recall a youth spent wearing dirt-stained jerseys in Little League dugouts. "It isn't quite Rockwellian, but American nostalgia with timeless style," Mr. Kilroe said. "Whenever you can do a modern creation with those ingredients, you come up with something that appeals to a broad segment of the market." Freemans is offering a suede baseball jacket for spring.
Still, there are layers of irony to consider. The clothes are at once baseball-related—and not. On a recent afternoon at Yankee Stadium, it wasn't easy to reconcile these new high-end designer wares with the fashion in the bleachers. "The real baseball fan, you see in a T-shirt or jeans," said Tim Barnes, a 46-year-old Piscataway, N.J., resident. More thematic game attire must be purchased at an official team shop or a sporting-apparel store. Consider his own outfit: a Mariano Rivera replica jersey, Yankees sweatpants and a Yankees baseball jacket, with 27 patches commemorating each of the team's World Series championships.
Would Mr. Barnes wear any baseball-influenced menswear? "Some of this stuff, no way," he said. The players were more sympathetic to the stylish take on their uniforms. Browsing through pictures, Yankees infielder Dean Anna stopped at an Alexander Wang shirt: "This is nice," he said. Still he admitted, "I couldn't see myself going to a store and buying [any of] this." It skewed too form-fitting for his tastes. "I like my clothes a lot looser."
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