Friday Fashion Face-off: A Combined Best Dressed

Are you going through Fashion Face-off withdrawal? Me, too. I initially planned to do them every Friday, but tennis fashion just doesn’t change often enough for me to maintain that pace.

However, I did see some new duds during the tournaments at Indian Wells and Miami. Let’s do a combined Best Dressed for the two tournaments.

Nominee #1: Mona Barthel

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I don’t know this girl at all, but how cute is this little tie-dye number? I’m not even a tie-dye fan–generally it’s too hippie-dippie for my taste. On this outfit, though, it’s not overdone and it’s anchored by the wide solid-color straps. A bright, fresh and fun look.

I’m pretty sure there’s an age cut-off for wearing tie-dye, or there should be, so I won’t be buying this one for myself. Maybe I’ll see it on some other younger players this summer, although the Bidi Badu brand may be tough to find.

Nominee #2: Venus Williams

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We’ve covered the trend of shirt tucking in this column before, and we’ve come down pretty firmly against it in the polls. Still, the fad continues to grow. I’d guess at least half of the women wearing separates this year are tuckers.

For the record, I’m still not on board. But I’m also still hopelessly fashion-challenged, so my opinion means little.

Venus, for one, isn’t paying attention to our tucking polls. (In fact, she may not even be reading this blog.) Here she tucks her elegant black-and-white halter top into her black skirt. And…it works. Would it work on me? Probably not. (Then again, it wouldn’t work on me untucked, either.)

A chic and elegant look by Venus’s brand, EleVen. (And does she have amazing legs, or what?)

Nominee #3: Polona Hercog

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Well, this is kind of edgy, isn’t it? The skull logo of the Hydrogen brand, the hot pink sleeve, the tats, the ripped physique. I have to say, I’m a little intimidated right now. I would NOT be challenging this woman’s line calls if I saw her across the net.

(Maybe Nominee #1 was looking at Hercog when her photo was taken.)

Nominee #4: Serena Williams

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After bashing her for tutus and cat suits, I simply had to include Venus’s kid sister in the best dressed club. This Nike dress is clean, simple, sporty and well-fitting. The soft drape and hemline of the skirt flatter her, and the triangle cut-out in the back keeps things interesting.

Unfortunately I don’t have a photo of the triangle cut-out, or even a decent photo of the front of the dress. She didn’t last long enough in the tournaments to generate enough photos–at least, ones that I can use legally and for free. Sorry about that. You’ll just have to take my word for it. She looked great. (I know I just said I’m fashion-impaired, but you really can trust me on this one.)

Cast your vote for this week’s best dressed. And BTW, someone asked me recently why I don’t write posts about the results of the polls. I didn’t think I needed to–you can simply return to the post after a few days and click “View Results” at the bottom of the poll. Plus, more work for me, so…no.)

Happy weekend, everyone!