Basketball Uniforms Materials - What is Used & Why
Old Style, The Way Basketball Uniforms Were
When the sport began people played in the clothes they could spare. Many early era uniforms were made of wool. They had terrible combinations of articles and garments that seemed to be restrictive by design. It could not have been very comfortable to play basketball at this point in time. Imagine getting hot and sweaty inside of pants and long sleeve shirts, it happened! Believe it but who would instigate this kind of torture? At the time only natural fibers were available to make clothing from, so cotton and wool reigned supreme. Even though the textile industry was booming, man made fabrics had not yet been synthesized. Players would have to endure the less than ideal conditions in those initial years but hey, no pain, no gain. Aren't you glad that you didn't manage a gym back then?
Luckily by the 1920's people got wise and started wearing shorts and a jersey style top. Movement was better and sweat could at last get off the skin with out total insulation, It was an improvement. After World War II synthetics were made available for every day commercial uses and soon found their way in to sporting uniforms. Further more, in this time machines began to be integrated in the garment making process like never before. Designs began to change rapidly. More skin got exposed as shorts got shorter as well as tighter, this trend also went for jerseys. Stylistically these new fabrics allowed for snappier looking designs. Before long it both the basketball players and the cheerleaders were wearing about the same amount of cloth. This kept up until much later in the century when the style reversed. Uniforms became bigger, they weren't sitting against the skin at all times. These new changes were mostly player driven and not the result of technology or garment developments.
Modern Uniforms, What They Are Made Of and Why
The development of basketball uniforms over the years has seen many changes. They have been augmented significantly since the early days. Most notably are the materials that make up the garment itself. In fact, many changes are not only about the fabric but the over all style of uniforms that players wore on to the court. They have gone through a number of transitions through out the years. If you compare a picture of players from the early days of basketball to the present era you might even wonder if they are dressed to play the same sport. It that radical of a change over time!
In today's uniforms we find state of the art fabric technology. Fully synthetic knits that are designed from the beginning to produce a superior look and feel. Plus they look really cool during high flying dunks. Fabrics such as Lycra and Dazzle are the standard in today's sporting uniforms. They help moderate the body's temperature better by getting sweat away from the skin or insulating against the environmental differences. Blends that incorporate a few different fibers are also popular. Nylon, polyester and even cotton still find regular use within the clothes that are currently worn by your favorite sports stars. Each fabric has benefits and applications that are unique, it is up to designers to great excellent products.
The loose fitting and flexible fabrics that make up today's uniforms allow for a free range of motion. Basketball players move around a lot on the court. They must be able to position their arms and legs in any way that the moment requires. Not only for offense and defense but also self preservation. Basketball games are fast paced with huge people colliding on a daily basis. The athletes need to be able to control and maintain all the aspects of their performance and uniforms are a variable. We want them at their best so they should be dressed in the best.
