College Football: Game Day Fashions

Update:

Let’s revisit this old favorite of mine. I alternate between loving and loathing the Southern Belle trope, but if there ever was one, I would be one. So while I consider myself to be a progressive Southern Belle, after all Julia Sugarbaker is my “spirit animal”, there are some traditions which I hold dear. That is why I really want to talk to y’all about college football and why we dress up for it. Now, not every fan base does this. Florida is notorious for their cutoff shorts trend, if you can even call it a trend. But head over to Oxford or Athens or Auburn and you are sure to see men in colored pants and the ladies in their skirts to match.

But there really is a reason for all of this. It’s not about the exclusivity of it all. It’s not about spending a ridiculous amount of money on clothing. You may hear it said that this is our Saturday church service and in many regards it’s true. Many of us who are football fans in the South will dress up in our Sunday finest- albeit in school colors.

Whether I am at a game or not I am in school colors on game days. Even my children are dressed in school colors. It’s gotten harder now that my Alma Mater, Mercer University, has brought football back. I have to now alternate between orange and black and red and black. The easiest solution is to make my accessories red or orange and my clothing black (or other neutrals). And then switch out accessories according to whomever is playing in that moment.

The thing is, the heart of it, for those of us who do dress up in reverence for our teams it is simply a matter of respect. It’s just as many of us dress out of respect for church. And we don’t judge those of you who choose not to do the same. Although, if I’m being honest, we might still say a little “bless their hearts” under our breath.

Original Post:

One of the things I love about Southern Style is the way we dress for Game Day. Game Day here is on Saturdays- most of us could give a rip about pro football but college football is king. Hell I even wrote a poem about how it’s basically a religion here in the South (wrote it several years ago- will post here in comments later). And frankly, our clothing reflects that religious reverance of the game.

Just like many of us would not dare step in the Lord’s house without the proper attire (although that is changing with many contemporary churches), we would not DARE be dressed for game day appropriately. When I lived in Athens it was mandatory in that clothing stores to carry red and black year long- even when it wasn’t football season we were always ready for game day fashions. And even now I not only get dressed up in my red and black but I dress my kids the same way.

It’s not just the ladies either! Oh no no no the men get in to it too. In fact this is when many men are at their most dapper. UGA (or other colleges too, I suppose) ties, red chinos with a crisp white shirt, or black pants and a red polo. Oooo or even red or black bow ties. Eeek! I love it.

And of course for the ladies there are SO many choices. White dress with red belt and black shoes and jewelry. Red skirts and black polos. I could seriously go on and on, and of course substitute whatever other college colors of your choice you desire and you get my picture. Really any outfit that has the college colors of your chosen school can be a game day outfit- especially when jazzed up with some kind of cute shoes and matching accessories.

It’s my understanding that outside of the South, people don’t dress up for games. To me, this reflects on the way they care about the game as well as their fashion. We dress for something we take pride in. And here- well like I said, college football is our religion and our Sabbath on Saturday.

Oh and- GO DAWGS SIC EM!!!!!