Champ reports that the top three finishers at the Quinn Direct British Masters, including the champion, used its Stinger spikes.
Bite Footwear reports on its strong spring sales, led by its the Golf AC 2 and the Ripped shoes from its Biotrac series.
PROFILE
The Nat Nast Company
By Janice Ferguson
GPA Fashion Correspondent
In 1946, "Its a Wonderful Life," starring Jimmy Stewart, opened in movie theaters; the Philippines gained independence from the United States; American comic actor W.C. Fields died at age 66; and the costs of a first-class stamp and a gallon of gasoline were 3 cents and 21 cents, respectively.
That same year, Nat Nast opened his hand-embroidered sport shirt company in Kansas City, Mo., inspired by an era of luxury and indulgences -- Palm Springs vacations, Cuban cigars and 12-year-old scotch -- not to mention refined taste that sophisticated clothing reflected.
Nast became known as "The King of Bowling Shirts," shirts that featured details such as hand-top stitching, shell buttons and French seams, in addition to the intricate shirt-back embroideries that were his trademarks. He couldn't have known that his creations would become an American art form -- wildly popular decades later with collectors of vintage clothing and memorabilia.
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Nat Nast designs also incorporate the creator's sense of humor, through what are referred to as Nat-isms. You can find labels on neckties with quotes like, "A good martini, like a good bikini, is always shaken," and even an actual martini recipe on a shirttail tag. This unique prelude to what many companies today call lifestyle apparel lasted 25 years, until Nat Nast sold his business to Beatrice Foods in 1971.
After Nast's death in 1986, his daughters, Patty and Barbara, began collecting their dad's original shirts. They realized that the hand embroideries were special -- representing a time in history and offering an insight into what life was like during a different era. Their collection of shirts gave way to a business idea.
In 1999, Patty Nast Canton and Barbara Nast Saletan formed the new Nat Nast Company. Their vision was to create a men's apparel collection that brought back their father's original details, ideas and quality.
Whether he knew it or not, Nast left behind quite a legacy, as the company has grown to include men's pants, shorts, jackets, sweaters, swimwear, loungewear, jeans, belts, ball caps and socks, in addition to the classic shirts. The success stirs an image of him looking down from the heavens -- a fat Havana in one hand and a wry, proud smile across his face.
Since launching in fall 2000, Nat Nast Luxury Originals apparel items -- shirts in particular -- have become a favorite of fashion conscious men including celebrities such as Mathew Perry (who ignited the craze by wearing the signature shirts on television's "Friends"), Ben Affleck, Tom Selleck, Bradley Whitford, Bryant Gumble and Vince Gill. Charlie Sheen wears them almost weekly on his current television show, "Two and a Half Men."
The appeal is vintage-inspired with updated details, and the attention to those details is never lost. Like the LV logo on an authentic Louis Vuitton handbag, you can instantly recognize a Nat s classic shirt by its block stripe pattern and topstitching.
Also not forgotten is the original sense of family, community and humor.
The theme of the company's spring golf catalog - "It Don't Mean a Thing if You Ain't Got that Swing" -- apparently was a comment made to Nast on a train ride to Miami Beach to play a round with Jackie Gleason and friends.
An embroidered shirt titled "Aviator" is aptly described as follows: "Billed as 'The Ace of Golf Balls,' there's no doubt these high flyers were named after aviation superstars of the pre-war era like Howard Hughes. An avid golfer, Hughes once landed his plane on the green of the Bel-Air Country Club to keep a golf date with Katherine Hepburn -- much to the dismay of the groundskeeper. The Aviator golf balls were touted as 'True in flight. Long in distance. Sure on the green.' The same might be said of Hughes."
Nast would be happy to see this spirit captured in product merchandising. However, he might be surprised to see the blends of materials used in his namesake apparel these days: silk twill, silk/cotton, Pima cotton/spandex, cotton/tencel, and cotton pique -- fabrics that stretch and breathe while keeping their stylish, cosmopolitan appearance.
Pants are lined with whimsically designed fabrics for an added element of fun, and a no-tag interior collar logo makes the shirts even more comfortable. A third-generation Italian tailor does the clothing fit -- one more testament to the attention to detail passed down from Nast s own family tree.
Whether you wear Nat Nast Luxury Originals on the golf course or movie set, to the yacht club or corner deli, you will be doing it with instinctive styling that is timeless, and creating your own air of elegance.
