NASCAR Fashion?
Jess
What do you think when you hear the word "NASCAR"? Speed, danger, excitement? The sounds, the smells, the sight of forty-three colorful machines flashing by in the sunlight? Or do you think of...fashion?
What?
I came across this article on NASCAR.com: Who are you wearing? Pits the 'it' place for fashion. I probably shouldn't have looked, but I couldn't resist taking a peek. It's a no-brainer that a lot of drivers are sponsored by various labels so you often see them with their expensive sunglasses or shoes or watches, but what bothered me was the discussion of what the female half of NASCAR - namely the wives/girlfriends - is doing about fashion. I understand that as a female, you don't exactly want to go to a race looking like a complete slob. I can't imagine most girls would like to be seen wearing their puppy-print pajama-bottoms with their favorite baggy KISS concert T-shirt.
I like to look nice and I like to look pretty with clothes that fit me well and compliment my body. But is it really necessary to look more in place walking down a runway on America's Next Top Model than standing on pit road next to a racecar? 
This quote from Sherry Pollex, Martin's girlfriend, really made my jaw drop: "People take my picture and it's really a thing between the girls, you're at a track and how you look matters. Honestly for me, it's a respect thing as well. Like church on Sundays, when I walk out there, I have a sense of pride because I'm a reflection of Martin and what he does."
Maybe I'm just old-fashioned, but shouldn't the reason you're at the track be to support your husband/boyfriend, not look pretty for the cameras?
Can you not be a "reflection" of your significant other while wearing an outfit that costs less than $300 and isn't "high fashion"?
It makes me a little ill in general that many of these NASCAR women take money that they're not even making for granted, like it's a given for standing next to a driver and flicking their bleach-blonde hair around. I've never paid more than $30 for a pair of jeans. I'd never spend more than $50 on a top that cost $5 to make (by child laborers, no doubt!) just because it's a designer label and you might get some oohs and ahs for two minutes on pit road by the girlfriend of the driver that starts in front of your boyfriend. That's so materialistic...so narcissistic.
Then again, maybe it's what a lot of the drivers ask for, especially the younger ones. I joke that the racecars have a template so the girlfriends must have a template too. Sometimes I can't even tell the difference between who I see standing by Driver A one week and Driver B the next. Big chest, big butt, tiny waste. Bleach-blonde hair. High heels. Many have been models or little trophy girls at local tracks. More look interested in the cameraman or photographer than the man about ready to get into his racecar and live his dream.
I guess that's why I like Krissie Newman so much (how funny that I mentioned this in my Daytona 500 post). Go do a search for her. Does she look like a supermodel? No. She's gorgeous, though, because she looks like the girl next door and natural beauty is far more lovely than vain plastic surgery. Does she prance around pit road posing for photographers wearing extra-tight jeans and cleavage-baring blouses? No. She's at Ryan's side, holding his hand, standing close to him during prerace ceremonies. Often wearing T-shirts. Sure, she wears labels like everyone else, but is that her goal on raceday? No. Her focus is Ryan, not the cameras and not what the other girls think of her outfit.
She was wearing a big white hoodie when Ryan won the Daytona 500. Did she care? No.
"I know some people really like to dress up because of the cameras and that's fine," Newman said. "I used to dress up ... white cargo pants and nice shoes but I just ended up getting water spots and grease stains on them. You still have to remember you're at a racetrack. You can look professional and stylish and still be comfortable."
Now that's a girl after my own heart!
Rock on, Krissie.
What?
I came across this article on NASCAR.com: Who are you wearing? Pits the 'it' place for fashion. I probably shouldn't have looked, but I couldn't resist taking a peek. It's a no-brainer that a lot of drivers are sponsored by various labels so you often see them with their expensive sunglasses or shoes or watches, but what bothered me was the discussion of what the female half of NASCAR - namely the wives/girlfriends - is doing about fashion. I understand that as a female, you don't exactly want to go to a race looking like a complete slob. I can't imagine most girls would like to be seen wearing their puppy-print pajama-bottoms with their favorite baggy KISS concert T-shirt.
I like to look nice and I like to look pretty with clothes that fit me well and compliment my body. But is it really necessary to look more in place walking down a runway on America's Next Top Model than standing on pit road next to a racecar? This quote from Sherry Pollex, Martin's girlfriend, really made my jaw drop: "People take my picture and it's really a thing between the girls, you're at a track and how you look matters. Honestly for me, it's a respect thing as well. Like church on Sundays, when I walk out there, I have a sense of pride because I'm a reflection of Martin and what he does."
Maybe I'm just old-fashioned, but shouldn't the reason you're at the track be to support your husband/boyfriend, not look pretty for the cameras?
Can you not be a "reflection" of your significant other while wearing an outfit that costs less than $300 and isn't "high fashion"?It makes me a little ill in general that many of these NASCAR women take money that they're not even making for granted, like it's a given for standing next to a driver and flicking their bleach-blonde hair around. I've never paid more than $30 for a pair of jeans. I'd never spend more than $50 on a top that cost $5 to make (by child laborers, no doubt!) just because it's a designer label and you might get some oohs and ahs for two minutes on pit road by the girlfriend of the driver that starts in front of your boyfriend. That's so materialistic...so narcissistic.
Then again, maybe it's what a lot of the drivers ask for, especially the younger ones. I joke that the racecars have a template so the girlfriends must have a template too. Sometimes I can't even tell the difference between who I see standing by Driver A one week and Driver B the next. Big chest, big butt, tiny waste. Bleach-blonde hair. High heels. Many have been models or little trophy girls at local tracks. More look interested in the cameraman or photographer than the man about ready to get into his racecar and live his dream.
I guess that's why I like Krissie Newman so much (how funny that I mentioned this in my Daytona 500 post). Go do a search for her. Does she look like a supermodel? No. She's gorgeous, though, because she looks like the girl next door and natural beauty is far more lovely than vain plastic surgery. Does she prance around pit road posing for photographers wearing extra-tight jeans and cleavage-baring blouses? No. She's at Ryan's side, holding his hand, standing close to him during prerace ceremonies. Often wearing T-shirts. Sure, she wears labels like everyone else, but is that her goal on raceday? No. Her focus is Ryan, not the cameras and not what the other girls think of her outfit.
She was wearing a big white hoodie when Ryan won the Daytona 500. Did she care? No.
"I know some people really like to dress up because of the cameras and that's fine," Newman said. "I used to dress up ... white cargo pants and nice shoes but I just ended up getting water spots and grease stains on them. You still have to remember you're at a racetrack. You can look professional and stylish and still be comfortable."
Now that's a girl after my own heart!
Rock on, Krissie.
