|
|
|
| Current Issue |
|
|
| Resources |
|
|
|
Fabric: Sport Specific
| Article
# : |
16457 |
|
|
Section : |
LIFE
|
| Issue
Date : |
5 / 1989 |
1,047 Words |
| Author
: |
Wendi Winters
Wendi Winters is the fashion writer for Manhattan's West Side
Spirit as well as a special correspondent for the Antelope
Valley Press. She has written several fashion articles for THE
WORLD & I. |
Fifteen years ago, when you invited a friend to join you for a jog, he probably grabbed a pair of battered shorts, a cotton T-shirt, bulky sweat socks, and a pair of tennis shoes. Today, the same runner is likely to show up in a "runner's system"--a complete high-tech wardrobe engineered specifically for running. These clothes are designed to improve performance while keeping the jogger comfortable and looking chic.
Historically, what men or women wore for play was not much different from what they wore for work. They merely added or subtracted layers of normal day clothes appropriate to the activity at hand. For example, competitive sports uniforms such as those for baseball or football are derivations of men's knickers and undershirts worn at the turn of the century.
Now, as Americans devote more time to improving their health through sporting activities, there is a demand for comfortable, high-performance active wear that enhances a well-toned body and looks fashionable.
Today, sports apparel is extremely important to athletic performance on professional as well as amateur levels. Cyclists wear aerodynamic "skin suits" to reduce wind resistance. Long-distance runners and sprinters wear flyweight shorts and shirts to remain as lightweight as possible. Swimmers don sleek, body-molding suits and caps to eliminate water drag. Tennis players too are very careful about the clothes they wear. Their garments have to allow optimum range of motion so that no shot is out of reach because of restrictive clothing.
A walk through a sporting goods store is equivalent to a lesson in chemistry. Few garments worn by the true sports enthusiast contain 100 percent natural fibers, because all-natural sportswear can't deliver the benefits demanded by the modern athletes. The fabric design of many of today's "sport-specific" garments began in a test tube.
Multiple hangtags in a profusion of Day-Glo and metallic colors sprout from every garment, boasting of various chemically created benefits. Many hangtags contain official-looking graphs and flow charts documenting the performance advantages of each synthetic fiber used in the construction of the garment. Some tags are written in German, Spanish, and French, in addition to English, to underscore the growing international popularity of the fitness craze. Fabric trade names like Dryline Fabric, Goretex, Lycra, Zefsport, Coolmax, Glacier Fabric, Thin Tech, Thinsulation, Supplex, Thermore,
...
Read Full Article
Look for this article in Ask.com
|
|
