by Bailey White
Staff Writer
When the Jacksonville Jaguars take the field to play the Buffalo Bills in the season’s first home game, they’ll be sporting their Sunday best: teal, gold and black.
And while their game day attire is predictable, off the field the Jags have an opportunity to experiment.
Several members of the team are known for their dapper style, while others take all kinds of risks when it comes to the way they dress.
With outfits made entirely of leather, knee length coats and shirts with more ruffles than a Shakespearian actor’s, linebacker T.J. Slaughter has a flair for dramatic dressing.
“I come up with my own ideas and I try things that others don’t try,” he said.
Slaughter has modeled since he was 20 years old and has developed an eye for interesting and unique clothing and accessories.
Headgear is a big part of his look; Slaughter often sports a bandana or do rag.
“And I’m big on color,” he said. “I have a pair of royal blue shoes and I have a pale blue suit.”
Slaughter and fellow linebacker Akin Ayodele take advantage of road games because it gives them the opportunity to shop in other cities that might be a little more fashion conscious than Jacksonville.
Ayodele is another Jag of style, whose tastes run from preppy looks from stores such as The Gap to clothes with a more urban, edgy feel.
“I’m not locked into a certain style,” said Ayodele. “I go with whatever catches my eye.”
In college at Purdue, Ayodele said conservative polo shirts were the standard look. Now, he’s likely to be found in dressy distressed denim and open-toe shoes.
Whatever he wears, Ayodele said making it look good is all about attitude.
“It’s really in the way you present yourself,” he said.
When asked to describe his sense of style, tight end Chris Luzar said, “I have none.”
Luzar might not consider himself fashionable, but his way of dressing sets him apart from other Jaguars.
His footwear, for one, gets him noticed. Luzar wears his cowboy boots every chance he gets.
“As long as I’m wearing long pants; even I know not to wear them with shorts,” he said.
Like some of the other players, Luzar favors custom-made suits.
Last year he had one made in bright yellow, which he wore after the first game.
“But when I wore it at the next game, they all hassled me about wearing the same suit twice in a row,” he said. “I guess if it had been black or gray, it wouldn’t have been so noticeable, but the yellow is hard to miss.”
The suit will likely make another appearance this year, as will a green suit Luzar recently had made-to-order.
Custom-made clothing is more necessity than luxury for Luzar because his height (he’s 6 feet 7 inches tall) and build make it hard for him to find ready-to-wear clothes that fit.
“I have a 19-inch neck,” he said, “but the shirts I find in the store with 19-inch necks are too big around the middle.”
Generally, Luzar, a Virginia native, enjoys dressing down.
He joked that he’d wear anything as long as it’s free, but his casual style suits his lifestyle: Luzar favors outdoor activities such as hunting, fishing and scuba diving.
Quarterback David Garrard is another Jag with style.
He usually wears clothes by Kenneth Cole, Guess and Tommy Bahama — lines that offer elegant, yet casual, looks.
Easy linen suits or silky, Hawaiian-style shirts are some of his favorites because they look polished but work well in Jacksonville’s humid climate.
Along with his wife, Mary, Garrard enjoys trying new restaurants. His evening look is likely to be a collared shirt, tucked in and worn with slacks, and a pair of Kenneth Cole shoes.
“But when I’m just hanging out with the guys, I might wear an NBA jersey and sneakers,” he said. “I like variety.”
Garrard’s typical accessories are bracelets and an urban-style necklace.
“And a nice pair of sunglasses,” he said. “The kind you can see the eyes through.”
And Garrard is generous with his fashion sense. His wife, he said, is a lady who doesn’t like to shop.
“I have to coax her into it,” he said. “I get all of her sizes down so I can shop for her. I have to get both of us dressed.”