Episode 5: Fans in Fashion w/ Lauren Teague and Pete Rogers

I have always loved a well designed jersey and even collected some of my favorite team's jerseys for a little bit. There's a litany of old Patriots, Bruins, UConn, Arsenal, Celtics, Inter, Winnipeg, and even Hartford Whalers jerseys in my closet that I love to style whenever the occasion arises. A well designed jersey and well styled jersey can make any outfit stand out. However, this week's episode was inspired by why I had to stop collecting jerseys recently.

I'm certain you've seen the recent stories of see-through jerseys or just poorly made baseball jerseys from Fanatics. This has been a concerning trend in sports fashion as of late. Prices in production have risen, while quality in these jerseys have dipped significantly. There’s different tiers for jerseys that share too similar a price point and offer vastly different qualities. Not to mention the peeling numbers, out of place fonts and fabrics that make a jersey see through. So, what’s a fan to do now?

In this episode, I’m speaking with two fans who are trying to change how they showcase their fashion. I've been following Lauren Teague for a number of years as our paths have crossed when I started out in my professional career in sports. Her company, FANWAGN, is focused on helping you pass your fashion on to those fans who could use it, instead of just throwing it away. Sustainability in sports is something that should be garnering more attention, and Lauren is leading the charge for this area.

I came across Pete Rogers during his Boston Celtics design campaign last season, and was immediately struck by this design below:

There's some jerseys that are great and then there are others that make me want to throw my wallet at my computer like a Pokeball. This was Pokeball worthy. While this was unable to be sold due to copyright reasons, Pete immediately dropped another that was for sale and made up for the loss of the Boston Globe jersey:

Pete has continued to design jerseys that are unique to his city at a price point everyone can afford, and I would highly recommend the follow to his Twitter as he's branched out to designing jerseys for other fanbases.

I hope you enjoy this episode as it was a great example of how fans can create a truly unique solution in the face of a larger industry problem!