Best, worst dressed in Big East

Well, this page looks different. Sorry, I’m used to the sports page where the powers that be allow us to print in color because, well, we’re sports.

But I could get used to this page and writing fashion columns for our inept editor-in-chief Taylor Dungjen, who, let’s be honest, doesn’t know the first thing about fashion.

So what better way to start my fashion-writing career than with the dos and don’ts of sports fashion.

We are extremely lucky as students at the University of Cincinnati, mostly because we’re more fortunate when it comes to school colors — Tennessee basketball head coach Bruce Pearl wears that awful orange blazer during games. At least UC head coach Mick Cronin doesn’t take his shirt off during pep rallies.

Cronin is actually one of the best-dressed coaches in college basketball. It must be something he learned as an assistant at Louisville under fashion king Rick Pitino.

In one recent game, I was able to grab a seat more to the side of the room at the press conference at Fifth Third Arena. It allowed me a side angle glance at the classy Cronin.
We’ll start with the shoes. Don’t ask me which French or Italian guy probably designed them, because I have no idea, and I probably couldn’t pronounce their name anyway. Cronin had on a pair of brown, polished alligator-skin shoes with no laces.

Brown shoes are tough to pull off. I’m more a fan of black dress shoes, but Cronin pulled it off with gray pinstripe pants. The pants were not pleated, which, for a man of my stature is hard to make work, but Cronin is so skinny he can rock the un-pleated pants.

But the belt is the key ingredient with this look and Cronin nailed it: The brown gator-skin belt made a perfect complement to the shoes.

The last piece of Cronin’s outfit was a white button down dress shirt with silver cuff links. The white button down is really a must have considering the gray pants and brown accessories. He really didn’t have many directions to go in with the shirt, but he made the right choice with white.

Cronin had it going on that night and he rarely misses when it comes to fashion. One game he went with the classy, all black look. It’s hard for anyone not to look good in all black, unless you’re Greg Oden of the Portland Trail Blazers because he’s doomed from the get-go. (Of course I’m sure he still pulls in more ass than me anyway, but that isn’t saying much either, I guess.)

But Cronin isn’t the best dressed in the Big East. Without a doubt, that honor goes to the aforementioned Louisville head coach Rick Pitino.

When he’s not bangin’ mistresses (or maybe when he is), Pitino has been the godfather of basketball coach fashion.

Pitino has been known to rock the all-white suit — which is generally a no-no because it’s what the white-trash kid in high school always wore to homecoming — but the Louisville basketball coach can pull it off well. He doesn’t break it out all that often and his team loses a lot when he does. But it’s still a classy look.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Villanova head coach Jay Wright when speaking of Big East basketball coaches. Wright has that tall, dark and handsome look to him and rocks a vest as part of his suit. A very classy look from a classy individual.

As for the worst dressed in the Big East, it would have to be Notre Dame’s head coach Mike Brey, of course. Brey never fails to wear a suit with a turtleneck instead of a button down dress shirt. I’ve seen Cronin do this a couple times, but Brey rocks it like Jim Tressel and the sweater vest. You work for Notre Dame for Christ’s sake, go out and buy some Gucci suits.

I’m not a huge fan of the Jim Boeheim look either. The Syracuse head coach never matches his pants with his suit coat and I can’t stand that. Just wear the same color.
The Big East’s worst dressed still goes to Brey because Boeheim is just so naturally awkward looking that he gets a pass for his attire. Brey has no excuse so he takes the cake for worst dressed in Big East basketball.

Think Garrett’s fashion sense is completely out of focus? E-mail him at sabelhgt@mail.uc.edu. Garrett and fashion columnist Taylor Dungjen will return to their regularly scheduled columns next weeek. Don’t worry.