Author Archives: Jana

Bring on the Chaos

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With all the unrest in the NFL right now, it’s nice to see all the focus shifting to the 2011 NFL Draft for a minute. I was worried there was a time when it might not even happen! But it will happen and everyone involved is geared up and ready. Kiper and McShay have their boards ready. The Twittersphere is lit up about Cam Newton. Will he or won’t he go #1? Will he be the most amazing quarterback or a total bust? Cha-os.

My personal love of the Draft is the chaos. I was fortunate to be in the middle of the 2006 NFL Draft. I grabbed dinner with friends at Rosa Mexicana, among them Sean Salisbury, one of the main broadcasters covering the draft, and then headed to the official party at Marquee. On our way to dinner, the chaos began and the night was fantastic from there. Salsibury could barely keep up with the phone calls and eventually cut out early to head back to hotel headquarters to figure out what was going on the next morning. It all surrounded the potential #1.

Matt Leinert was the man that year. He was going #1 and everyone knew it. But then the swapping and switching began and before we’d had our first bite of dinner, Mario Williams was selected by the Houston Texans as #1. He was followed by Reggie Bush and then Vince Young. If you remember, the 2005 National Championship was USC and Texas at the 2006 Rose Bowl. Leinart famously stood on the sidelines following their loss claiming to still be the better team. It was sheer brilliance to see Young go before him. As news broke of the change from what everyone expected to the completely unexpected, Leinart avoided everyone at the party, hiding out in the VIP section and leaving early. Meanwhile, all other players relished the attention, the champagne and the moment of what was happening around them. Chaos.

I can’t help but share this video from what I still think was the best Championship Game yet.

This year, I believe, is no different. Add to it the court case, judge ruling, subsequent appeals, broken down arbitration and you have a serious NFL circus. Thankfully, the players still get their moment. What happens from there? Who knows? Will they choose loyalty with their new Owners? Scab out right away from the Players? Or choose loyalty with the rest of the Players – and who knows how long they’ll all, new and old, stand as a ‘Band of Brothers.’

I’ll be enjoying this years’ 2011 NFL Draft in my Pro Owner shirt. Where do you think the newly drafter players should side? They were just selected by the Owners to stand side by side with Players. What side are you on? And the biggest question of all – are you ready for the Chaos?

Unconscious Competence

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SMU football is on the rise. Whether you like the Mustangs or not, you should take notice of the energy building around the team. They’re 7-5 in the regular season two years in a row following a 2008, 1-11 record, with a 6-2 in-conference record this past season. They’ve been invited to two bowl games in a row after a 25 year drought. Scout.com ranked the Mustangs incoming class at No.1 among all non-BCS AQ schools. And Rivals.com ranked SMU’s recruiting class no. 50 overall. This is the highest ranked class for SMU in three decades.

Following a Young Alumni breakfast at the Crescent Club last week, I have no doubt the reason behind all this success and excitement is Coach June Jones. To say Coach Jones is humble is an understatement. He lives his life by faith and constantly strives to better the lives of those around him. He acts as mentor and coach to his team, earning their respect through giving it. And over coffee first thing in the morning, he shared with us his principles for his team, and his life.

I didn’t find him the most eloquent speaker, but rather one of the most inspiring. Whether you’re a Mustang fan, a football fan or even a sports fan, I hope you’ll gain as much from his points as I did.

- There is no complaining and no whining. The team knows that they’re there to work hard and that it is, in fact, hard work. But everyone is working hard at something and the ones that make it to the top do so without complaining. Be positive. There will be no lying, no cheating and no stealing – not on his team – which in and of itself is an accomplishment in this day and age of college football players arrests and shenanigans.

- You must be willing to be your best self. Live at the highest level of your values. Live with honor and integrity.

- Help others. You must have a willingness to see the world beyond yourself.

- Every day should be a masterpiece and truly be your best day. You will never get these moments back, so live them magnificently. (This one truly spoke to me. As a small business owner, I can get bogged down in stress and daily details. But how could I dream of letting myself miss these moments? Or not fully live them as the masterpiece that they are?)

- Read. Drink deeply from words, all words. But especially read from the Bible daily.

- Make friendship an art. Become close to a circle of friends. You’ll need those friends more than you know at some point in your life and simultaneously, you’ll be the friend someone needs, even if you never truly realize it. In the valley’s of life, you will need the shelter and protection of friends. When you make friendship an art, it benefits everything: that person and yourself.

- Pray for guidance every day. This may seem simple or less important, but he shared his faith – a strong faith. Through prayer every day he’s thanked God for his blessings and sought guidance in his valley’s.

Coach Jones is a truly spiritual man. He is a truly inspirational man. His players look up to him and he loves them. That relationship has created the success the team has on and off the field, which has in turn created success within the University and spread to the Alumni. SMU is in the 2nd largest turn-around in college football history, with Hawaii under Coach Jones the number one turn-around.

He encouraged us to live by the principles he gives his players. Play the game at the highest level. Be the best you can be. Be consistent in your life. If you repeat these behaviors and daily live by these principles, it will become an unconscious competence. You will be your most successful self unconsciously.

He closed with a quote he recited from memory:

“We must manage our behavior to meet the objective. We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then is not an act it is a habit.” – Aristotle

G Cloth @ The Game

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You love your team. And you love your Gameday clothes. And we love pictures of you at the game in your Gameday attire. So thank you for all that you’ve shared so far and keep sending them!

We just purchased old, metal, middle school style lockers for the store. And true to middle school, we’re decorating it with pictures. And you’re the ones supplying the photos. Here’s some of our trove thus far, so make sure you’re a part of it!

Send your pictures to gcloth@gamedaycloth.com. We may make you famous!

 

 

“Texas-Bred”

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Gameday Cloth is a true Texan!

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“Texas-Bred” Collection now available at Gameday Cloth located at The Shops at Legacy North.
We’ve added Dr Pepper, Lone Star Beer, Pearl Beer and 7-Up to our expansive sports collection.
Great fit, super soft and stylish for men and women. These aren’t your average cotton Tshirts, and they give the non-sports fan something to love about Gameday Cloth.

Stop by the shop or visit online at www.gamedaycloth.com.

http://www.neighborsgo.com/stories/67047

New Face in Town

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We’ve added a new face to our Gameday Collection and we couldn’t be more excited to share her with you. BonBon by Micah Yancey is the newest designer jewelry collection joining the already popular Rory Ashton for Gameday in-store. We can’t keep either of these baubles in stock. They’re perfect for looking glam at the game or just finding a pair you love to wear any day!

Austin Fashion Awards 2010 Best Designer Nominee, Micah Yancey Rust created Micah Yancey Jewelry in 2006, and in 2008, the BonBon line was born. This collection includes “confectionery couture” and “confectionery vintage” earrings, necklaces, and bracelets- each enticing, bright, luscious, and unique. Micah believes that jewelry should be simple, clean, well-made, sophisticated and aligned with current fashion trends. These are the principles on which she based her BonBon jewelry line. She has a deep appreciation for beautiful and unique semi- precious stones and she chooses each stone for her handmade pieces very carefully. Many of the stones in this line look delicious enough to eat, which explains her inspiration for the name, BonBon (‘candy’ in French). She uses 14 karat gold- filled and sterling silver metals, along with unique vintage items for her designs. No two pieces are exactly alike. 

We here at Gameday Cloth have a colored collection individually selected to match team colors. It’s a perfect addition. Come check it out! You can find BonBon at a handful of stores in Austin, Georgetown and Gainesville, but this is her first Dallas location! Happy to be the first – always!

Super Recovery

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The snow has cleared (in time for more, apparently), the visitors have gone home and the city of Dallas appears to have come out the other side of Super Bowl XLV hosting unscathed. Minus a few minor bumps (thank you Christina Aguilera for creative liberties in our National Anthem) and bruises (oops, you bought a seat and it isn’t safe enough to sit in), most claim to have enjoyed DFW hospitality and found enough partying to be done at one of the million events going on around the city.

I heard on the news about a man from Chi-town unhappy with Dallas because it’s unethical. Because the parking spot was $500 at the big game, he believes the entire city was taking advantage of his presence for the biggest football game of the year. I take it this was his first Super Bowl experience. Otherwise, he’d know that prices would be extraordinary in Poughkeepsie if during a massive, nationally televised, best of the best NFL game.

 

Otherwise, I do believe we’ve wiped the egg off our faces as a city from being completely debilitated by weather, and managed to throw a spectacular weekend. We were even in on the spirit at Gameday Cloth with Packers and Steelers merchandise. We have hardly any left after a weekend of stir-crazy tourists ready to explore.

 

 

What was your favorite part of the weekend? Or the game itself? As I posted on our Facebook page, the VW – Dark Side commercial wins 1st place. But with personal connections to both the halftime show and the 90-second Glee-inspired Chevy ad, they are a close 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.

We took full advantage of the extra excitement surrounding the game this year. We rolled a keg into the closet and threw on a pot of chili, rounded up our craziest friends and watched the Packers own the game. I wore my blue, as promised, and shed a pony tear when Emmanuel Sanders was injured out of the game, leaving me little to personally feel attached to in the game. But, similar to the city, we survived – personally and professionally.

On to the next – March Madness anyone? Spring Training? Which one do you find more exciting?

What are your player colors?

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I live in Dallas, Texas, home of the Cowboys. I grew up half Houston Oiler and half Atlanta Falcon, with a minor Phoenix Cardinals stint. I chose the New York Jets over the Giants when I lived in The Big Apple. Now what in the world do I wear to watch the Super Bowl?

What are you wearing?

I don’t like the Green Bay Packers or the Pittsburgh Steelers. I will not cheer for Roethlisberger. I respect Aaron Rodgers. All of my team options are out. Who do I wave my spirit fingers for in a couple weeks?

I have the answer for all of you out there.

I wrote a blog about NFL Gameday Fashion a bit back. I wrote that Tebow fans should support him in FL gear instead of whichever team colors he currently sports – unless of course they’re already fans of said team. It’s the premise Fantasy Leagues exist upon. You cheer on individual players over an entire team – again, unless of course you’re already a fan of said team.

Since my favorite sport is NCAA College Football, this makes it easy. I’ve spent every Fall since high school wearing red and black for the UGA Bulldawgs! I love me some Matthew Stafford. I don’t care about the Detroit Lions whatsoever. But when he’s lobbing passes, I’m cheering. I met Vince Young on Draft Night at Marquee in NYC, as well as cheered the Longhorns all season. (I grew up with a Father in burnt orange every weekend). He’s a gentleman – with a few minor tantrums -  and is a splendid athlete. I’ve cheered for him at Tennessee and may end up cheering for him as a…Viking? Don’t care for either team as a whole.

Think about it. You know you have favorite players that have changed teams over the years. Do you just abandon them? Or do you still kind of follow  them throughout the season, albeit, continuing to cheer on your entire favorite team.

In addition to my boys spread across teams from coast to coast I cheer for the Cowboys. Am I bandwagon? Let’s just say I didn’t grow up loving them, but I’ve enjoyed watching them for 12 years now. But even on the team, I have favorite and not-so-favorite players.

All of this brings me back to my initial question – what do I wear on Sunday February 6th? Well, I’ll tell you.

Red and blue.

What?! Yes, red and blue. Two words: Emmanuel Sanders. Pony Up. I’m not cheering for the Packers or the Steelers. Whoever wins, wins. But my boy and fellow SMU alum will get my full support on Gameday. I will be maintaining my player loyalty. I even had a customer come in admitting her son, a Longhorn fan, is cheering for the Packers because of Jermichael Finley. No other reason.

If you want to jump on and support a team, do it. And look good doing so. You should probably stop in Gameday Cloth to make certain you’re looking your sports fashion best; especially since the pressure is on with all the millions of visiting fans to DFW. But otherwise, pick a player and rock out their college colors. We could probably keep you fashionable for that choice too.

Red and blue. Pony Up.

Time to Party!

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I can’t believe it’s been six months since we opened the doors. I remember the days leading up to that moment – that moment where we unlocked the door and prayed people would walk in. We didn’t have an awning or a sign; we didn’t even have tags on the clothes the first couple of days. But still we had people. But mostly we had friends and family.

We wouldn’t be where we are today without the love and support of family and friends. Our friends have donated time and energy, volunteered to haul, load and clean and shown up at every event, trunk show and tailgate, spreading the word along the way. And our families have been there to listen and advise, to toast and cheer from the sidelines and to challenge us to grow and expand and work harder every day.

So here we are, with a store open seven days a week, great girls that work part-time and are invested as if the store was theirs and a website open 24 hours a day. As someone who has spent years working for other people in the fashion industry, it is a dream come true to own my own store. It literally warms my soul when people tell me how grateful they are that we opened – when they “get it.” And it makes it worth every stressful minute.

It hasn’t always been easy. In fact, a lot of this journey has been very, very hard. I look forward to a time when I can look back on the beginning. But for now I’m strapped into the roller coaster. And thank you for being a part of it. But it’s not all emotional. It’s also fabulous! Which is to say: a party!

Join us tonight in-store for appetizers and beer from Gordon Beirsch and help us celebrate our Half Birthday. Six Months Old! And to celebrate all week, the entire store is 20% off and sale items are 50% off.

We have a lot coming up this year with events for our entire Shops at Legacy North community, partnerships with amazing charities, fantastic products and new teams. But let’s kick off the year with our Half Birthday party.

Wednesday, January 19th 6-8PM

Be there!

Bowl Fashion

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It’s Bowl Season! My favorite Holiday wedged in with Christmas and New Years! Once your team secures its place in a game, the next question after tickets is, what am I going to wear? For men, that usually entails a new T-Shirt and a hat; hopefully, that shirt and hat are super cool, vintage styles from a fantastic place like Gameday Cloth.

For women the process is a little more complicated. There’s no need to look like everyone else shopping at a general sports store for the cutest version of the most generic product that you’ll never wear again. You need something that you can integrate into your actual wardrobe and will make you feel great that day as you scream and yell for the boys to RUN! and GET HIM! and STOP HIM! Who says you can’t still be fashionable just because it’s sports?

Hopefully, I can put my styling and personal shopping skills to work and help you figure out exactly what you want to wear for the big game. And maybe even inspire some new fashion ideas in your every day wardrobe.

The scoopback sweatshirt is a great piece. Sweatshirts can be frumpy, but this is a cute way to show your school spirit. You can layer with a racerback tank or wear as is with a strapless. I personally own two: one size Small and one size Large. I liked having the versatility of two fits, depending on my mood that day. (*Scoopbacks available in Texas, SMU, TCU, Mizzou, LSU, A&M, Tech and OU).

Next is a scoopbottom top. The rounded bottom automatically creates the illusion of a smaller waistline, which when consuming beer at a tailgate is always helpful. I chose a maroon necklace, which can be worn anytime outside of the stands, and tall brown boots. I love brown with A&M maroon. (*Scoopbottoms available in Texas, SMU, Baylor and A&M).

If you prefer to go a more traditional route, a basic longsleeve or sweatshirt is a perfect bet. Be sure it’s fitted for a more flattering look and not sloppy. You won’t look good or feel good. Go the extra step and pick some jewelry or accessories in your team colors. I even threw on Uggs. If you’re standing, sitting, yelling and hiking from your seat to the bathroom, your feet should be cute and comfortable as well. (*Longsleeve/Sweatshirts available in SMU, LSU and OU).

And finally the tunic. This is the most current trend and can be converted to skinny jeans, depending on your personal taste. An extra long tank layered underneath, a pashmina or scarf around the neck, a blazer or jacket – there’s a million ways to personalize this outfit. For both of these looks I chose scarves in school colors and boots and leggings that coordinated for the most pulled together look. As an SMU alum, I practically live in my leggings, boots, baseball shirt and scarf. It’s cute, comfortable, stylish and makes me feel confident. (*Tunics available in Texas, Florida, TCU and OU). (*Baseball shirts available in Ohio State, SMU, Oklahoma State and Texas)

Check the website for more styles and schools and feel free to contact us with any questions or requests. Hopefully this inspires you or at least gives a few ideas. Happy Bowl Season!

Love your team. Love your clothes.

 

ESPN goes Mustang

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I am literally bouncing out of my seat excited right now. My illustrious business partner just sent me the link to the upcoming ESPN 30 for 30 film - “Pony Excess.” To say I am looking forward to seeing this is a drastic understatement. This entire company was founded around the Mustangs! (Well, what to wear to cheer for the Mustangs and still look fashionable and age-appropriate). I try not to play favorites with teams in the store, but people – this is SMU football we’re talking about. Death penalty, no school spirit, elitist and preppy students actually being excited about their team and ESPN giving us some national love. (I can say these things. I’m an SMU Alumn).

In the south, football is life and football season is synonymous with college. We are in this business because people are so passionate about their teams and their schools. I am dying over this publicity for the team, recognition of the Death Penalty and the climb back from obscurity. As the only team to receive such sanctions to date – and probably ever – this is a huge piece of college football history no matter what team colors you choose to wear.

Mustang fan or not, check it out. ESPN 30 for 30 “Pony Excess.” Seriously.

Love your team. Love your clothes.