The Fashion Leader

There is no doubt in our minds that this is the one and only 'fashion leader' on the golf tour...by miles! Now many may disagree and some may think its not important. However, to anyone involved or interested in golf fashion then Ian Poulter is very, very important indeed. The golf apparel business is in need of some more Ian Poulters rather than players who have no interest in their appearance like Stuart Cink who played in the same event. How he can let Nike make him wear that grey polyester jogging suit or what ever it was I'll never know. I mean a blind man on a charging horse would have seen that this is not a good look.

You may not like Poulters own clothing range but that really doesn't matter, what matters is that he is out there, championing the cause for fashion on the fairways. Poulter is more than just style conscious he loves his clothing, who else would take such a massive risk with their own money and created their own clothing line. This win also proves he hasn't taken his eye of the real ball...the golf ball.

With Poulter his clothes are a fantastic expression of his character and confidence which many other players simply do not have. Having seen lots of young players up close they tend to be very self conscious and go for a black shirt, black trousers...maybe white shoes just to show they are still hopeful of one day becoming a star. Poulter has never taken this road, he has always been confident and this is obvious by his love of golf fashion and his often 'peacock suit' sense styling. Long may he continue to strut his stuff on the golf fashion fairways and we defy anyone to name a more fashionable player on the tour...on any tour for that matter.

The importance of golf fashion is more obvious than ever before and a look at any good golf retailer will show you why. It was only 5 years ago when golf stores were loaded with equipment, sets of irons, wedges, drivers and putters but the only people making money from these are the manufactures. You go into many golf stores now and the percentage of floor space given to equipment has been dramatically cut to somewhere between 30 and 50%. The floor has been take over by apparel and shoes because there is much more margin in these products for the retailers and they are less expensive for the customer to purchase and so they sell through quicker. This provides golf retailers with much improved cash flow. The fact that there are more and more golf apparel stores now going on line, also indicates that golf apparel has become a fashion business in its own right.

Well done Mr Poulter the Pink Panther of the PGA tour.

Jamie Cross & Andy Carroll

PUTTFashion is a FACE in the CROWD production

A is for Abacus Golf

Abacus is one of the most improved brands in golf. Their gear has been around for while now and the quality was always good but they have really moved up a number of gears in terms of design now.

Their latest collection is very modern and it looks very wearable on or off the golf course. This is an important point because now all golf brands have woken up to promoting their range as 'can be worn on and off the course'. Well they can all say it but not many can actually achieve it but Abacus does. They have a good mix between functional fabrics and the natural wonder of cotton which is used in over 60% of their polo shirts such as the Barnham pictured here.

Their technical shirts are great looking pieces with cover seam stitching adding a nice touch and creating a very sporty looking polo as the Millwood pictured. Using cotton polyester dry cool fabrics in a pique structure helps enhance the wearability of these technical shirts and justifies the 'on or off the course' belief we have in this brand. Abacus believe in technical garments but not to the determent of the style and every garment must work on both fronts.

The new collection is made up of four groups, rain, wind, warm and tour and all offer great style and comfort as standard . The level of colour is also very wearable 'on or off the course', which is a mistake some other brands make, who is crazy enough to go to the super market in a lime green trousers? The block and overall fit has a relaxed casual look about it, giving it more variety than most and the shape is not too slim which is good news.

We first remember Abacus as being more a ladies line but they certainly have changed that now and the men's collection is very wearable, as is the ladies. The feel of this brand is essentially very European which is no surprise as it is Swedish but it is one of the most modern of brands currently around.

As Abacus say you can 'count on it' and we totally agree with that. Abacus, a great fashionable golf brand for those looking for something a little bit different and very wearable, count on it!

http://www.abacus-outdoor.com

Jamie Cross & Andy Carroll

PUTTFashion is a FACE in the CROWD production

Royal Albartross Golf Shoes

We at PUTTFashion by definition are interested in things that are cool and fashionable in golf. Therefore we are delighted to introduce some real head turning shoes from a new brand called Royal Albartross. In the words of the late, great God Father of Soul James Brown "get on the good foot" with these seriously cool deluxe golf shoes.

Practicality meets panache in this new luxury golf shoe collection from award winning designer Alex Bartholomew. These shoes are a great combination of cutting edge style and old-fashioned comfort plus a little something different. Its refreshing to see a more square cut toe which has been on every day shoes for a number of years now. The range is characterised by elegant lines and strong structure; and successfully combines the best of British design with fine Italian craftsmanship. They also introduce a first in golf shoe design, the signature Royal Albartross magnetic golf ball marker.

There are three different styles Black Jack, Patchinko and Honest John - each pair is individually named and carries the characteristics of its namesake. The quality and durability of the shoes stems from their traditional construction, with each shoe meticulously handcrafted in Italy. The finest waterproof leathers and breathable linings combine with a fast-cleat changing system that allows the wearer to experience both modern technology and established craftsmanship.

Due to more and more big sports companies coming into the golf market golf shoes started to look more like football boots. Its truly refreshing to see a contemporary golf shoe with real style and thats what Royal Albartross have created, well done!

Jamie Cross & Andy Carroll

PUTTFashion is a FACE in the CROWD production

JL switch to COTTON

We have just seen the new JL shirts for spring 2010 and the great news is they are almost all 100% cotton. Gone is that polyester football shirt fabric that so many brands use because they can't design a good shirt. JL has obviously been listening to the customer and ditched the man made fabrics for the original cool-max fabric cotton. PUTTFashion loves it!

As usual everything is very minimal other than the large JL logo cut into the back of the Lachlan shirt, its a nice little range with several collar & placket options. The main excitement for us is the fact they are all cotton which means they will be much more wearable. As much as brands are all talking about you can wear their range on and of the course...you can't. If its made from so called technical fabrics and 100% polyester it doesn't work, you look like a golfer or even worse you have been playing tennis!

This technical fabric was a solution to a design problem back in the late eighties and early nineties when lots of brands lots their faith in their own ability to design great product. Along came a fabric that can be marketed as being technical and helping the wearer perform the sport they are playing, forgetting they may want to look good at the same time.

Well, a big thank you to the good people at JL as they seem to have realized that they can design shirts and the customer will be much happier in cotton - we say well done JL! Next step is to put more cotton into your trousers and ditch that H2OFF polyester fabric which is like wearing two pairs of trousers at one time and can be heard in the club house it's so noisy. Good people at JL cotton trousers thats the way forward.

Jamie Cross & Andy Carroll

PUTTFashion is a FACE in the CROWD production