Texas Living

Dressing for college football games

By Callie Leahy 9.4.13

There are two things that will always be true about Texans: our love for our state and our passion for all things football. Whether your team colors are scarlet and black, green and gold, burnt orange, or maroon, sporting your school’s shades from head to toe is not something to be taken lightly in Texas.

Jana Mathena, owner of Gameday Cloth in Plano, says that for students and alumni alike, dressing up for college football games is a representation of Texas culture and pride. From designer fans to die-hard fans, Texas college football fanatics run the gamut in game-day wear.

  • Designer crowd. Mathena says she’s noticed more designer fashions at TCU because fans are really into wearing their own shade of purple; no logo necessary. SMU is also a notable school for fashion-forward fans, with bowties and Pennington & Bailes pony attire at the top of the must-have list.
  • Formal wear followers. “Texas Tech really gravitates toward the really girly, sorority-driven dresses for alumni of all ages,” Mathena says. Another popular trend Mathena noticed already revolves around students pairing traditional UT burnt orange with turquoise for a trendier look. With the recent move to the SEC conference, Mathena says Aggies are changing their look from game day shirts to more formal attire.
  • Lucky jersey junkies. Some schools, like Baylor, are more of the T-shirt crowd but are dedicated to their school colors down to their jeans. Mathena says she’s seen a trend in colored and logo jeans like fashion-forward Texas-based denim company OCJ apparel whose company mission is to create a line of denim that is “fashionable enough to wear on all occasions, while still showing college pride.”
  • Full throttle fans. While Texas fans might be the most dressed-up fans in the country, that doesn’t mean there aren’t some die-hards out there willing to bear the burden of frostbite and sunburns to wear head-to-toe body paint or sweltering costumes.

So whether you’re stomping your alma mater to victory in your nicest Noconas or you and your closest friends have “Go Horns!” painted across your bodies, there is no place like Texas for cheering on your favorite team … in style.