.jpeg "The Proud, Fashionable WAGs of Women’s Sports")
Among WAG culture, whether it’s in men’s or women’s sports, there tends to be a norm against simply wearing the jersey of your partner. That means that WAGs have to get creative when it comes to choosing a look for the game. “I think with the game growing itself, it’s cool to see another outlet of originality,” says Alexis Robinson, the founder and owner of the custom denim brand Boujee Basics, who has dressed Chelsea Gray’s wife Tipesa, in a custom jacket, as well as Kiara Marsh, whose husband Tyler Marsh is head coach of the Las Vegas Aces.
Morghan Medlock is a chef who has been dating her girlfriend, Brittney “Slim” Sykes of the Washington Mystics, for just about a year. “Because I sit courtside at every home game, it brought awareness that I have to be ‘on’ because there are pictures being taken and cameras everywhere,” Medlock says. Sykes often kisses Medlock on her way back from the locker room after halftime, making it clear what their relationship is and bringing even more eyes on Medlock.
Medlock enjoys surprising Sykes at the game with what she’s wearing, but tells Sykes the color palette ahead of time so that the two can coordinate. Sykes now always makes sure that the Mystics’ team photographer grabs a photo of whatever Medlock is wearing on game day. Medlock adds that her clothing is influenced by whether a game is home or away. “If we are away, I am in more streetwear or relaxed clothes but when we are at home, I feel like I get to be my full, most glam self.”
A recent game between the Mystics and the Chicago Sky saw Medlock in head-to-toe pink with a rainbow pastel trench coat from AKIRA and a matching pink basketball purse by Andrea Bergart. For a game against the Indiana Fever, she wanted to go edgier, choosing a mostly leather look that felt almost NASCAR-inspired. And after seeing Ronay’s fit Medlock is also having custom pieces made by Kenz. “Instead of bedazzling a jersey, I ordered three of Slim’s jerseys in different colors and it’s gonna be made into a pink sequin jersey dress,” she says.
It’s not just the WNBA where partners are showing up in custom looks to support their baes, either. After seeing a jacket that Benjamin Weiner made for Boston Bruins player Brad Marchand, Steph Klein, an equipment manager and wife of U.S. women’s national hockey team player Alex Carpenter, reached out about having something made to wear to watch Carpenter play in the 2024 Women’s World Championship in Utica, New York. Weiner, who is the founder and designer at Jeanius Jackets, worked with Klein to design a puffer vest made from one of Carpenter’s national team jerseys.
