Fashion is usually a matter of personal taste. But at the Solheim Cup, each golfer’s personal preference takes a back seat to the “team uniform.”
Team USA selected Antigua, a well-known and established golf designer. Antigua designed the outfits for the 2013 and 2015 USA Solheim Teams. Juli Inkster was Captain of the 2015 Team USA Solheim Cup, so she knew and liked the product.
Team Europe selected Cutter & Buck, a very well known designer of women’s golf clothes and designer of the Team Europe 2015 outfits. Cutter & Buck also produces a special line and brand designed by Annika. Annika designs are among my favorites!
With all the press about the new LPGA Dress Code Guidelines – see my article on 2017 fashions here, I was curious whether I would see any styles that pushed the boundaries. I didn’t! There were no shorts or skorts that showed “bottoms” when players bent over. There were no outfits that looked like they belonged in the fitness center. Both teams earned an A+ for “New Dress Code Guidelines.”
My first stop when I arrived at the Des Moines Golf and Country Club – one day before the practice round -was the Concessions Tent where all the clothing and souvenirs are sold (I bought my usual golf-bag towels and lots of key rings for friends.)
Here are my observations: The line from Antigua designed for Team USA is beautiful. To be honest, I wasn’t that impressed when I saw the first photos online. But now standing next to the actual clothing, I can say that the fabrics are thin, soft and comfortable. The little red star and dot designs will look good on all golfers – in both skorts and shorts and coordinated shirts. Yes, that’s the matching all-in-one look that is popular this season.
And Team USA navy-blue shirts are also very flattering. In fact, the outfit worn by Team USA on the final round was a dark blue shirt with plaid shoulder trim that matched the plaid skort or skirt. (I like dark tops, they look much better in photos.) Team USA wore their “winner” outfits for the final round. But Team Europe wore their beautiful solid color royal blue shirts for the final matches.
Team Europe’s Cutter & Buck fashions were very different from Team USA. There were no prints or plaids. The color theme was bright yellow and royal blue and white skorts and skirts. The outfits looked great on the players, particularly when the yellow was on the sleeve and the royal blue on the body of the shirt. There were many shirts at the Concessions booth that used more white with just touches of yellow and blue.
Annika designs a special line for Cutter & Buck. The Annika line was also displayed in the Concessions tent. I loved a soft new print skort with a beautiful blue shirt (great colors for anyone). If I didn’t have to get back to the media room, I would have tried that on and probably bought it!
And the color Purple is in! (I told you it would be!) Look at the new designs from Addidas and Cutter & Buck.
If ever there was a season to learn to play golf – or to play more golf, this is it. It gets better. Waiting for me when I returned to Florida was a box of fashions catalogs from the PGA Merchandise Show in Las Vegas (at the same time as the Solheim Cup). I am happy to report that the women’s golf fashions for the “winter” season are even better. And there are a few more golf dresses that look great!
So “Who Won” the Solheim Cup fashion trophy? My answer: A slight edge to Team USA but fashion-taste is so personal that I hesitate to declare a winner. We are all winners when we just play more golf. My message on my website for years remains: Be Happy, Be Healthy, Live Longer, Play Golf.”
