I only got a quick look at the new WPS uniforms last night before turning in, so I only shared my first impressions. Today, we get a female perspective.

I asked some female friends for their takes on the kits that each of the seven teams will be wearing this year (unveiled at Fashion Week in New York, which was a nice touch and a coup for the league, I think). All photos © WPS. All the opinions are solely those of the respondents, and do not necessarily reflect the point of view of this blog’s owner.

Brenda: “Ok, the skirt things for Boston SUCK!! This isn’t tennis.”

Catherine: “What’s with the skorts? What is this, Wimbledon? That bit is crap, but the rest are fine unless the women want more tight-fitting clothes, which I would. It seems that there’s a middle ground between beach volleyball outfits and these.”

Jenny: “Surprised we didn’t just fit them with sports bras and minis. Or how about one-sie dresses? Prom-style with taffeta and sequins?”

This just in from WPS: They’re detachable, they won’t be worn on the field, and they’re apparently only a part of the uniform for LA, Boston, FC Gold and Sky Blue FC. They say “They are completely optional and will not be worn in games. The wraps are removable and can be detached from the shorts with easy to remove buttons.” (Ed. Note: Plus, they can hold pens and note pads in there, too, right?)

Marissa says of Leslie Osborne (left), “FYI - she hates it, and thinks she looks like a tool. She is right.*”

Joy: “I REALLY (prefer) the squared neck to the crew neck because 1) they look cuter and 2) as an athlete I hate things against my neck… it makes me hot.” (Ed. Note: And not in a good way.)

Marissa again: “They are laughing at it. Because they look like fools.” (Her faves are Chicago’s and St. Louis’, by the way.)

Robyn: “Some of these really remind me of the uniforms in the movie A League of Their Own. Go Peaches!:)”

Caryn: “The square necklines are better than the round necklines and make it a little more interesting & feminine yet high enough to cover them up.”

Lauren: “I like the long sleeve blue with the white stripe across the chest.”

Jenny: “No bias based on being a native, but the Red Stars have the best uniforms by far. They actually have something to do with their location with the color and stars. I love the blue and that they made that a dominant color and love that the stars run across the front. there is visual interest, it looks classy and strong, and it isn’t cartoony or cheap.”

(As an aside, Chicago Red Stars’ prez Peter Wilt says the uniforms above are mismatched - they’re supposed to go blue shirt/white shorts/blue socks at left, white shirt/blue shorts/white socks at right. Pity. I really love the all-sky-blue.)

Lauren: “I do like that the shirts are a bit more fitting on their bodies, not so baggy and long.”

Lauren: “I’m not a fan of the tennis ’skort’ on soccer girls. Soccer girls have the image of being tougher and more intense - you don’t wear a skirt and look intense. It looks like a short kilt anyway.”

Marissa: “The ones with shoulder flair are just ugly, and make the women look broader than they are. If the goal is intimidating the competition with their burliness: achieved.”

Joy: “I like the patch of color at the shoulders.”

Joy: “I prefer the solid ones to the ones with all the stripes, only because I prefer a less ‘cluttered’ look.”

Jenny: “I think they are soooooo plain. Some look like what you buy for cheap for your rec league team to wear. They are so plain and they really don’t represent anything about the team. What a missed opportunity for an inaugural season. With games on TV, it would have been a great opportunity to leverage something more about the hometown, team name, etc. on the jersey so that people channel-surfing may stop and pay attention, or recognize that their hometown team is playing (especially if they aren’t following the league).”

Thank you, ladies. Here, then, are my rankings:

1. Chicago - Not just great-looking, but a true reflection of the club’s home city.
2. Boston - I like that color blue, too, and their white kit is sharp.
3. Sky Blue FC - Hey, orange and blue are colors near and dear to my heart.
4. FC Gold Pride - Black is the new black.
5 (tie) Los Angeles Sol and Washington Freedom - You’d think a team named after the sun would be a little brighter, but I like the white kit. and Washington’s blue is dull, but the red is snazzy.
6. St. Louis - Credit for going with a different color, but somebody has to be last and these are really uninspired.

Last word: this backstage photo made me laugh. See if you can guess why.

More from Nick and Dan on this topic.

*Disclaimer: there is apparently not a man on Earth who feels this way this morning about Leslie Osborne. I know. I checked.

Tags: saucer of milk table three please, soccer, uniforms, WPS

This entry was posted on Wednesday, February 25th, 2009 at 3:59 pm and is filed under soccer. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.