WEARBuzz: sportwear in sports and daily wear

Most sports and physical activities are practiced wearing special clothing, for practical, comfort or safety reasons. Common sportswear garments include short pants, T-shirts, tennis shirts, tracksuits, and trainers. Specialized garments include wet suits (for swimming, diving or surfing), salopettes (for skiing) and leotards (for gymnastics). Also, spandex materials are often used as base layers to soak up sweat. Spandex is also preferable for active sports that require form fitting garments, such as wrestling, track & field, dance, gymnastics and swimming.

Sportswear in Daily Fashion

The widespread adoption of sportswear in modern fashion is due in large part by expensive, branded goods and the aggressive marketing of sportswear by firms like Nike, Adidas and Tommy Hilfiger.  Black, urban streetstyle, which has remained largely sportswear led since the early 1980s, has also been influential on the menswear market as a whole.

Contemporary sportswear is an important area in which male fashionable display and experimentation takes place. This translates literally into the fact that the market for men's sportswear is an important mass market which is very receptive to new textile products. The pure fashion aspects of these fabrics are masked behind sales rhetoric, whereby they are known in the industry as 'High Performance' fabrics. In spite of the substantial male consumer interest in a profusion of colourful and sometimes flamboyant sporting attire,  successful marketing strategies are still based around selling these textiles, as if they were a sports car.

While the 2010 Australian Open fashion probably isn't on the radars of most fashionistas, it's a tennis event worth noting if you're into sportswear. The vibrant outfits worn by both male and female tennis players could (hopefully) influence upcoming sportswear trends; bold colors, especially neon shades, are a welcome addition to an industry where blacks and greys have reigned for too long

The younger generation is increasingly incorporating sporty elements like parkas, sneakers, trekking shoes, and backpacks in everyday clothing. New designs and colours, multi-purpose uses, and recent offerings tailored to the needs and preferences of people have lent both a functional and fashionable appeal hard to resist. Being practical, they are likely to equip most wardrobes too.
Links to men's sportswear styles.

BUZZfashionWEAR PHOTO GALLERIES: SPORTS
 

BUZZ HUMOUR

Employee Sport Preferences
After a two year long study, the National Science Foundation announced the following results on corporate America's recreation preferences.
1. The sport of choice for unemployed or incarcerated people is: Basketball.
2. The sport of choice for maintenance level employees is: Bowling.
3. The sport of choice for front line workers is: Football.
4. The sport of choice for supervisors is: Baseball.
5. The sport of choice for middle management is: Tennis.
6. The sport of choice for corporate officers is: Golf.
Conclusion: The higher you are in the corporate structure, the smaller the balls are.

The Sport of Football (American version)

The objective of the game is to score more points than the opponent  during the allotted time. Points are scored as long as one of the teams  controls the ball. The team with the ball (the offense) has 4 tries (downs) to advance at least 10 yards, and can score points once they reach or near the opposite end of the field, called the end zone. If the offense does not advance at least 10 yards during their 4 downs, the team without the ball (the defense) regains control of the ball (called turnover on downs).

On offense, points are scored by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone for a touchdown (worth six points), or by kicking the ball from the playing field through the raised vertical posts (the goal posts) in the back of that end zone for a field goal (worth three points). After scoring a touchdown, the offense is given  one additional play from the 2 yard line (3 yard line in amateur  football) to attempt to score. These attempts are termed point after touchdown (PAT) and are used to score 1 or 2 points as follows:

• The offense may attempt a field goal kick which is worth 1 point.
• The offense may attempt to re-advance the ball into the opponent's end zone for a two-point conversion worth 2 points.

While the opposing team has possession, the defense attempts to prevent  the offense from advancing the ball and scoring. If an offensive player  loses the ball during play (a fumble) or the ball is caught by a defensive player while still in the air (an interception), the defense may attempt to run into the offense's end zone for a  touchdown. The defense may also score points by tackling the ball  carrier in the offense's own end zone, called a safety ( which is worth two points).

BUZZfashionWEAR SPORTS: FOOTBALL

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