Whether the wearer is a scratch player or just an expert at drinking rounds of Arnold Palmers, Byrdie Golf Social Wear is on a mission to infuse fashion into the game of golf.
Founders from Charlotte, North Carolina, Rachelle Williams and Hayden Shoffner, who met working for high-end specialty store Capitol, grew up playing golf every weekend with their families and learned etiquette on and off the golf course. field of their grandmothers.
For both, golf is as much family time and an opportunity to entertain as it is a sport, they say, but they have never felt comfortable in traditional ladies’ golf clothing.
“You were really compromising your personal style for acting,” says Williams. “Immediately you wanted to go home after your round and put on something you felt more comfortable in before dinner or cocktails.”
Williams says she was more likely to create impromptu tee-time outfits, like everyday button-down shorts in bright Gucci prints, until the pandemic shutdown. Spending more time playing golf than ever before as a safe outlet for the great outdoors, the two designers decided to merge their fashion production and wholesale backgrounds to launch Byrdie.
Using family photo archives to see how their grandmothers dressed to play, Williams and Shoffner modernized golf basics, including polo shirts, skirts and shorts, taking into account proper course etiquette such as hem length.
Landing in a luxe performance fabric made in the USA, they incorporated feminine details like Liberty floral prints, gathered shoulders, bright pastel stripes edging pleated skirts, and bold plaid shorts. Byrdie is the nickname of William’s grandfather, Byrd, which “speaks to that heritage of the brand,” he says.
The response from Houston women to the line, which has staged pop-up windows at the Avenue by Lyndsey Zorich boutique and the River Oaks district’s Teressa Foglia bespoke hat shop, has been enthusiastic.
The South, where golf is a lifestyle, is “a perfect backdrop for what we’re doing,” says Williams, who grew up the daughter of an amateur golfer on the senior tour in golf mecca Juno Beach, Florida. .
The founders believe that millennials and younger generations can become interested in golf “simply through fashion,” says Williams.
Best-selling pieces include a flattering one-piece that’s her playful nod to a Masters caddy suit, cast in preppy florals and gingham accented with contrast-print Peter Pan collars. The Hayden, a dress with puffed sleeves and buttons down the front, is another popular garment.
Collaborations include sun hats designed with Australian luxury brand Lorna Murray. In 2023, Byrdie will launch a women’s golf shoe in partnership with Cole Haan.
With September comes the launch of the new collection, which coincides with the President’s Cup in Charlotte, “a kind of Super Bowl,” says Williams.
The collections are designed to serve both an experienced golfer and a woman just starting out in the sport.
“We try to defend both,” says Williams. “I think golf is such an intimidating sport to start with. Picking up a stick for the first time… you may not know what you’re doing, at least you can rock the part and look really confident in that regard.”
Half of the brand’s fans are buying feminine and avant-garde pieces for strolling and other aspects of a lifestyle close to golf, he estimates with a laugh: “We have a very large clientele at the 19th hole.”
$95-$295. Select pieces available at Avenue by Lyndsey Zorich, 3209 Westheimer, and byrdiegolfsocial.com
Source: www.houstonchronicle.com