Aug 30, 2016

The Varsity Movement: Just in Time for Football

As athletic wear moves into everyday wear, the varsity style is making its way back into people’s wardrobes. This trend originally started in 1865 at Harvard University. When their baseball team wanted a way to highlight the varsity team’s star players, the idea of sewing the letter “H” onto the team’s uniforms emerged, creating the timeless “letterman jacket”. The letterman jacket fad spread across Harvard’s athletic teams. Soon, even high school varsity teams followed suit.

Over time, stripes were added along the cuff of the jacket for athletes to display their achievements. Athletes would also add felt patches to the jacket to highlight merit. Within a couple years, the name “varsity jacket” was a common term used across colleges and high school campuses. As high profile teams like the New York Knickerbockers (Knicks) and the Oakland Raiders debuted their version of the varsity jacket, it gained even more national notoriety. Fast forward to 2016, and the letterman jacket and varsity movement is as large a part of American culture as football.

Now that the varsity trend has made a comeback and is not just for athletes, what makes something varsity-inspired? Branded patches and pins help personalize the look and continue the theme. You can expect to see sports striping, baseball-style sleeves, baseball caps, and jersey-inspired styles in the coming months.

The Maniac Sport Eco-Fleece Sweatshirt is a perfect sporty and fashionable take on a classic sweatshirt. With its raw neckline and varsity-stripe detailing, this item is the perfect example of the varsity trend.

Another item to show your school or corporate spirit is the Poly-Cotton Cropped ¾ Sleeve Raglan. With its raglan cut and fashion-forward cropped cut, this is the perfect addition to any university or company store—no competition! Other great styles include the District Ladies Game V-neck Tee, Ladies Sport-Wick Varsity Fleece Full-Zip Hooded jacket, and The SportTek PosiCharge Replica Jersey. A great bag to tote with your varsity look is the Beach Comber Bag with a wide stripe pattern.

Contact The Icebox for your company’s varsity-style apparel and accessories, we promise we will hit it out of the park!

Aug 4, 2016

Olympic Swag: How Roots Reimagined Team Apparel

With the 2016 Summer Olympics beginning this weekend, the world’s greatest athletes will strut their stuff in Rio. They are sure to be decked out head to toe in the best quality apparel and accessories while representing their countries.

Roots, a Canadian apparel company, proved to be quite the hit during the 2002 Salt Lake City games, despite a debate around using a Canadian company for team USA apparel. Previously, the U.S. Olympic Committee relied on American designers like Ralph Lauren to design the athlete uniforms. But Roots outfitted the entire 2002 U.S. team in hats, jackets and shirts, the most distinguished of which were the fleece “Roots Team USA Berets”.

The beret, which was the most talked about Olympic apparel item in history, first made its debut at the opening ceremonies. It created a retail boom for Roots, selling more than one million hats and generating over $30 million in revenue. After the 2002 Olympics, the beret craze swept the U.S. by storm. Roots decided to design an updated beret for the 2004 Athens Olympics, calling it the “poor boy cap”. Once again, the hats proved to be a tremendous success and transformed Roots into a go-to brand for sportswear.

Roots is known for quality, comfortable and durable apparel. Roots not only provides top-of-the-line apparel for Olympians, but also offers its line in the retail and wholesale industries. That’s right—you can brand Roots apparel! It has been available in the wholesale corporate market for two years, and many companies are raving over its offerings. This premium quality brand is a huge player in the trending category referred to as Athleisure—a comfortable meets casual style built for the office or gym. Many companies are supporting casual wear every day or, at minimum, on certain days.

Roots headwear like the Unisex Fenelon Roots73 Beanie and the Unisex Smoothrock Roots73 Ballcap are both great athletic or leisure options. The Rapidlake Roots73 SS Polo with a wicking finish is the perfect versatile piece for any occasion.

Interested in Roots for your company? Let one of our Creative Solutions Experts help you find the right product for your employees and customers.

Enjoy the Olympics!