Slice of Lifestyle: The Soft Feel of Fall

by Victor Williams

Fairway & Greene shirts: Classics never go out of style.

Once in a while FG HQ gets a check in the mail meant for Fairway & Greene, the golf clothing company. Don’t worry, we send them back. What we don’t return, however, is the golfwear that comes our way, especially those Mercerized cotton shirts. They don’t shrink. They’ll wrinkle, but not easily; we’ve really got to be lame for that to happen. They hang well even on a frame that’s seen too many steaks and ribs and beer. We love ’em any time of year, including autumn, which is now in full cool-off mode across the West. From the shadowy pine groves of the Pacific Northwest to the bedding-down-for-ski season Sierra to the desert Southwest (where golf is just kicking into high season), there’s something out there on the fall fashion clothing racks to keep everybody playing and looking good doing it. Here’s a rundown of great-looking togs for the rest of 2006 and beyond.

DOCKERS GOLF www.dockers.com

Dockers Golf outfits guys like Tom Lehman and Scott McCarron to a tee, and they’re out to put the rest of hacking America into some killer looking silk golfwear. Montego Mon is a collection of 100 percent virgin silk products, with some made of a blend of silk and pure pique cotton, which lets the fabric breathe and keeps moisture away from the skin. And it won’t wrinkle to extremes unless the wearer is truly absent-minded; just wash, hang up and get ready for the next round. Montego Mon offers basic solid and textured striped shirts; shorts are available in 100 percent silk, solid and printed board shorts and pleated and flat front cargo shorts. A new brand from parent company Newport Sportswear, Inner Beauty, is a ladies sportswear collection of silk clothing with woven camp sirts, blouses, knit tees and polos, sweaters and more.

SUN MOUNTAIN www.sunmountain.com

This Montana outfit is calling its new outerwear line “revolutionary.” Constructed from a knit fabric that is waterproof and breathable, RainFlex is a flexible fabric that stretches with the golfer’s movements and is virtually silent. Then there’s a waterproof membrane applied to the inside of the RainFlex fabric. Says Sun Mountain founder Rick Reimers, “Imagine other waterproof materials as being tape, and the membrane we use on RainFlex as being only the adhesive on the tape.” The result is a lighter, more flexible and extremely breathable waterproof membrane that’s also applied to the seams, effectively eliminating the wide pieces of rigid “tape” on most current rainwear.

ASTRA www.astragolf.com

Astra, recently named the most rapidly growing women’s golf brand in the United States, offers two collections — AstraSport, targeted to the fashion-minded golfer and AstraClassic, aimed at the traditional golfer. New AstraSport is all about detail and multi-function. Designed for women with busy lives who often multitask by heading to work and then to the green, the line is elegantly trendy and still delivers the latest in tech fabrics and performance. Concealed deep pockets that zip closed to prevent golf balls from falling out, back pockets that hold scorecards and tiny pockets for golf tees are common to the collection. The Fall 2006 AstraSport line offers a refreshing mix of clean lines and lots of new branding details such as logo snaps, charms and zipper pulls. The line presents new performance fabrics including bamboo tech fabric, designed to absorb and wick perspiration away from the skin in an instant. Chocolate, tan and essential basics like white, cream and black play an important role. Lipstick, a spicy pink, Caribbean, a bold island green and a true-to-life Papaya are accent colors for fall. Double mercerized 100 percent Egyptian cotton makes an appearance. Celebrity fans include LPGA great Jane Blalock, Melania Trump and Cheryl Ladd.

CHARTER CLUB www.fds.com

Available exclusively at Macy’s throughout the west, Club Room menswear answers the need for comfortable and casual-yet-upscale men’s wear no matter what the season. The fall lineup includes sport coats in solid, checked and houndstooth patterns; polo shorts of solid pima piqué in many colors, patterns and stripes; cashmere, wool or blend sweaters; iron-free, pinpoint dress shirts worn under a denim jacket or corduroy blazer; and 100 percent silk ties.