Proper attire for the press box

A well-known golf writer once showed up on a practice day at Bay Hill in jeans a sandals. Since Bay Hill won't even let Tour pros wear their hats in the clubhouse, I'm still wondering how he got away with that.

 

Dark jeans, dark socks, dress shoes, sport coat, collared shirt, no tie.

 

I was barred from entering a courtroom once by a baliff in Georgia because I was wearing what he termed "short pants." Since this was two hours up the road from home, I had to drive to a mall and buy a new pair of khakis.
A few weeks later I was in a courtroom in Florida where the defendant and his family were all wearing shorts and football jerseys. Different judges, different rules, though I suppose not owning a suit should not bar you from your day in court.

The dress shoes thing is where I draw the line. I might have to spend all day on my feet and/or walk all over a golf course or a race track. No way in hell I'm doing that in anything other than the most comfortable pair of shoes I can get my feet into. If you turn up your nose at me wearing Nikes because I don't want to be in agonizing pain at the end of the day, GFY

 

Nylon dress pants, nylon golf shirt, tucked in shirt, belt and dress shoes will keep you covered in a lot of occasions.

And nylon is a lot more comfortable than cotton when it gets warm. Plus, it looks nicer and keeps color much longer.

 

I get chided by all of my colleagues for being too dressed up to cover high school games, but I could really care less. Usually a button down, some khakis and brown loafers/oxfords no matter what I'm covering. And it does indeed mask your three-day bender.

I think if you're one of the young guys in the press box, you should always be well-dressed. I might be wrong, but I think it definitely makes it look like you belong. Now I have a weird doctrine for attire in general. I can't remember who said it, but it's something along the lines of "The better you look, the more confident you are. The more confident you are, the more you can accomplish."

 

There's probably some truth to that statement, but I also abide by a "When in Rome..." philosophy.
If I'm covering a high school baseball or football game where I'm going to be moving around a lot, shooting pictures (and possibly sitting on the ground), sweating, getting rained on, etc., I'm going to dress down a little bit. Khaki shorts and a polo shirt, or even a solid-colored T-shirt, are plenty good for that.
If I'm covering a trial or a banquet, then, yeah, a suit and tie, or at least khakis with a button down shirt with tie, is appropriate.
If I'm going to be in an air-conditioned press box and not having to walk a lot, I can see finding a middle ground between those two. Nice shirt and khakis, similar to what I'd wear to the office every day. At a stadium, though, you're usually doing a lot of walking so I prefer jeans or khaki shorts, decent shirt, and tennis shoes.

My main goal at most events is to blend in and be a fly on the wall. I don't always want people to be able to pick the reporter out of the crowd. Whatever dress that entails, is what I shoot for. Overdress -- or underdress -- and you can easily look like an ass.
Experience has taught me that in a controlled press box setting, not looking like a total slob and not wearing team gear is usually sufficient.

 

That's a great point. Just makes it easier for the parents to know where to direct their gripes about little Jimmy.

 

Dress for success like these two blokes at Super Bowl Media Day.

 

I'm not going to tell a grown man how to dress, but I always felt confident any time I was wearing a tie, so I liked wearing one.

 

ColdCat, stop being cheap and buy a nice pair of shoes. I mean nice - not Bostonian or Clark's. I spent a shitload on a pair of shoes and they're more comfortable than any sneakers I've ever owned.
Jeans are fine, but here's the problem - most people don't know what nice jeans look like. Don't wear Wranglers or Lee's. If they're blue, they're not good. If they taper in at the leg, they're not good. The should be straight-legged or cut out at the boot. Otherwise you look sloppy.
If you wear jeans to a golf course to cover an event at any level you deserve to get kicked off. Common sense.

 

Dress shoes have come a long way in terms of comfort. You can find a number of brands damn near as comfy as sneakers. I don't judge anyone for sneakers though. Back woes are no joke.

I simply go with the sport coat/nice jeans look because I think it's the right blend of dressy casual. I wouldn't wear it if I were covering a HS game, or a golf tournament, but anything that involves going indoors (presser, pressbox, LR, interview at someone's house) it's a safe, inoffensive choice.

That said, I've gone to Ravens OTAs and training camp practices in flip flops. Not my best moment, but not deeply ashamed either. I probably wouldn't do that at a team facility where I wasn't a regular though.

 

No problem with a pair of khakis, golf or button-down shirt and nice pair of sneakers. Got a pair of sensible shoes for special events, like a wedding, funeral or the brass coming to town. Only exception I'll make may be a long day at the ballpark in the summer. Look like a pro and, more often than not, you'll be treated the same.