By Jeffrey A. Rendall, Images courtesy of Antigua

PEORIA, AZ – Stacy Lewis is on a hot streak, and we’re not just talking about her scorecards and top spot in the women’s world rankings. She’s looking great in her clothes, too.

"Stacy has played exceptionally well in 2014. She continues to demonstrate that she is the #1 player in the world," said Ron McPherson, President & CEO of Antigua. "We are very proud to have Stacy Lewis wear our exciting 2014 apparel on the LPGA tour."

It’s true, Lewis dons an Antigua logo on her golf wardrobe, as all athletes tend to do these days. But with Antigua, it’s more than just a brand and endorsements – the quality is built in with every garment. The company has been around for 35 years now, and they clearly know how to “build” a better golf shirt.

Stacy Lewis

According to McPherson, Antigua’s founder was a golf sales representative and its first employee. McPherson himself was a golf professional, so he’s been around a few clubhouses himself. Fit, functionality and fabrications are therefore ‘woven’ into the company’s history and knowledge base, though Antigua makes all sorts of sportswear these days.

Antigua’s not just about golf, but it doesn’t hurt to start there.

We all know golf apparel must fit and perform correctly or it can hinder a player’s performance, but how does creating women’s golf clothes differ from designing for men?

McPherson supplies the answer. “Women’s apparel must fit and function like the men’s but women’s apparel is more ‘ensemble’ oriented where several items are designed to work together i.e. shirt, layering tee, sweater, windshirt, skirt-skort-short, and cap and visor.”

Professional men also ‘ensemble’ their duds, but most of us average Joes just look for something that goes with the color of our shorts on any given day. Ladies are different, as McPherson pointed out. They’re also really taking to Antigua’s most recent introductions.

“Women are going to love these new skorts and shorts,” McPherson predicted. “We’re very excited about them, as are our customers. In fact, our women’s business is up 40 percent this year.”

One thing we particularly noted about the 2014 collection was the striking colors. That’s the trend in women’s apparel, and Antigua is particularly audacious in leading the way.

The 2014 color palette includes versions of neon and ultra-bright hues. These pop colors, coined Citrine, Candy, Sherbet and Grapeade, are tastefully added to garments in small doses and utilized in contrast stitching, insets, zippers and tipping.

It’s yet another way to get noticed on the course.

In addition to prominent colors, necklines have also become more open and fun in 2014. Several of Antigua’s women’s polos have non-traditional necklines and although the new styles still have the required collars, they’re far from being traditional polos.

Further, the new collection features bold ombre stripes, lightweight mélange fabrics and textured jacquards. It’s all about sheer comfort, as these garments incorporate innovative poly yarns that allow for softer, smoother, and more comfortable fabrics.

What about performance?

‘Performance’ from clothing means “Moisture management (wicking), maintenance (washability), color fastness, fit and functionality (swing free motion),” MchPherson said.

You may not necessarily notice it, but there’s a lot of technology that goes into golf clothing. Antigua’s exclusive Desert Dry™ technology absorbs and wicks moisture quickly and evenly, achieving the most-efficient evaporation possible to keep players comfortable and dry.

Meanwhile, Desert Dry™ XTRA-LITE (D2XL) combines the Desert Dry™ moisture-wicking feature with specially constructed ultra-light fabrics for maximum wicking performance and optimum comfort.

For us, our lady players put Antigua to the test on a recent trip to Pine Needles/Mid Pines in the Pinehurst area. The weather was North Carolina warm – perfect to see whether the clothes would hold up in trying atmospheric conditions.

The vibrant colors looked sharp, so the eye test was certainly satisfied. Just as is the trend with men’s fashion, women’s golf apparel is becoming more fit conforming. Be aware of that fact when purchasing online.

Apparel performance was outstanding. Not even the steamy Carolina summer could beat Antigua’s Desert Dry technology. The ladies loved the comfort of the clothes as well as the looks, and sweat was blissfully wicked away – even in the afternoons.

We’ve been big fans of Antigua for years – and the brand has never disappointed. Perhaps most impressive is the longevity of the garments. We have shirts from several years ago that still look – and feel – great.

We trust the women’s apparel will be just as long-lasting and faithful.

McPherson says he wants Antigua to be known for “Significant Experience in Apparel that you Can TRUST.” Based on our trials, the company is already there.