I grew up working at a golf course. As far as golf courses go, it was pretty middle class. There were three golf courses in my hometown. One was a country club, and the other two were public courses. I worked at one of the public courses. Mowing greens, changing pins, cleaning golf carts, picking up driving range balls, working in the pro-shop, tending the snack bar, or whatever else they needed me to do.

Ever since I was old enough to understand the sport I’ve always been a golf fan. And one of the things that has always stuck me as interesting was the relationship of golf and fashion. In most sports, athletes are required to wear a uniform: football, baseball, basketball, soccer, cycling, swimming, track, gymnastics, etc. Golf is one of the only sports that allows participants a little bit of fashion freedom, if you will.

Several years ago Ian Poulter, a young British golfer burst onto the scene. With his loud outfits and even louder personality, Poulter has risen to the top of the game, and he’s been fun to watch, especially a couple years ago in his run for the British Open crown, in which he fell just short. He is currently ranked as the 6th best golfer in the world. And recently he launched Ian Poulter Design: Look good, feel good, play good. He also made a guest appearance last evening on Jimmy Fallon.

Now I’m not quite as bold as Ian, but when it comes to wardrobe, there’s nothing I love more than a good pair of comfortable patterned trousers. As the title of this post suggests, Ian’s slogan is “Leading with the Legs.” When it comes to wardrobe, he says, “Chose the trousers first, then coordinate the rest of the outfit around them.”

When I’m at the studio or out on portrait assignments, I’m usually pretty laid back in a pair of jeans. But if the opportunity presents itself for me to dress up a bit, I’m happiest ‘leading with the legs’. Yes, of course, in a pair of patterned trousers.

Here are a few of my favorites that I pulled from the closet this morning.

I was actually speaking at a convention a few months ago when someone came up to me and asked, “excuse me, where did you get your trousers?” I was wearing the pair just above from Distilled. I was a bit surprised, but I told him I purchased them online and unfortunately they were the last pair left. I could see the disappointment in his eyes. Then his expression changed and it was as if a light bulb came on in his head. He came a little closer, lowered his voice and asked, “would you be willing to sell or trade that pair?” Hahaha…seriously! I thanked him for his interest and respectfully declined.

Call me thrifty, but one of my favorite things to do is hit the stores between seasons. That’s the best ways I’ve found to score some killer fashion deals. As Spring is right around the corner (yeah, I’m being optimistic, I know), I’ve been looking a lot lately at jackets and coats for next year.

Check out some of my favorites. I found all of these online at pretty substantial savings.

From left: Monarchy on www.bluefly.com, Calvin Klein, Banana Republic, Kenneth Cole

And of course one of our all-time retailers is Zara.

www.zara.com

Besides the great finds, the best thing about shopping for outerwear in the Spring is that it gives you something to look forward to in the Fall. Happy shopping!