Style dunk

N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe has a style that's tough to beat

Mike Krzyzewski has an astonishing number of wins. Roy Williams brought UNC back its legacy. Sidney Lowe? He might do all that some day for N.C. State basketball. For now, he's the ACC's man of style.

The coach simply oozes good fashion sense.

While UNC's Williams mixes and matches his Alexander Julian suits, ties and shirts, and Duke's Krzyzewski is dutifully allegiant to his alternating black and blue suits, Lowe takes style risks like few other coaches in the conference.

"I think Sidney has done more for dressing than any other coach around here for a while," said Chockey Kassem, owner of Chockey's Men's Designer Fashion in Raleigh. "He seems to enjoy dressing and he dresses sharp."

One night, he might be daring in a Wolfpack red jacket. A few nights later, he's powerful in a black suit with thick white pinstripes. The next week, he's got on a Sunday-best lightweight olive suit. The next time you see him, he's all corporate in banker-gray pinstripes.

"I'm not afraid to wear something," he says.

Lowe seems to pay as much attention to the details of his suits as he does to drawing up plays for his team. He likes 5-inch venting on his jackets. His pants have inverted pleating and 2-inch-wide belt loops. And his ankle hem is 24 inches around -- most are about 12 inches. He prefers three-button suits to four. And the sleeves of his shirts usually hang 1/8 of an inch below his jacket sleeves.

Lowe's suits are bold, yet understated, often with thin or thick pinstripes in non-traditional colors such as lavender. He likes color -- especially N.C. State red. Not just on that infamous jacket strategically worn on the night State beat UNC, but also on cuff links and patterned ties. He also likes good shoes, lately a soft leather Cole Haan that doesn't crease below the toe box when he bends down while coaching.

"I'm really, really into fashion," he says.

So much so that when he was coaching for the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers, he had his own shirt line called Sidney Lowe, a custom-made shirt company he eventually gave up because it got in the way of his day job.

Now he leaves the custom-made stuff to his tailor, Cary's George L. Saunders, a former IBM salesman who nine years ago turned his hobby of making clothes into a full-time custom clothier business. Lowe met Saunders six years ago, when he asked him to make two suits. When Lowe returned to Raleigh last year, Saunders was again tapped for more suits.

It was Saunders who made Lowe's red jacket, something Saunders still smiles and chuckles over when thinking about the reaction when Lowe wore it. He's made several other suits for Lowe, including a tuxedo. Several others are in the works, and no doubt will be included in the rotation for next season.

A full closet

All of Lowe's suits are tailor-made. Lowe says it's his best option, not only because of the detailing he prefers but also because of his size. He's got a broad chest and thick thighs, making it hard to shop off-the-rack. With Saunders' help, Lowe's suits are well-proportioned, yet stylized, a fit that's both roomy and comfortable, the way Lowe likes.

Although neither Lowe not Saunders would say how much Saunders charges for his work, custom-made suits can start about $700 and go up to several thousand, depending on who makes the suit, where it's made, the fabric that's used and the level of detailing ordered.

It all adds up to a full closet. Lowe says he has around 87 suits. He has more than 100 ties. And he has dozens of pairs of shoes.

But while many people dress to impress others, Lowe says he dresses for himself. "It's not for attention," he says. "I just like to look nice. When you think you're dressed nice that day, there's a certain confidence you're going to have. You just feel good. I just think I feel better when I'm dressed appropriately."

Chapel Hill native Alexander Julian, whose suits, ties and shirts have been worn on the court of at least three of the last four UNC basketball coaches, says it's part of a growing trend.

"It's a smartening up of the coaches," he says. "They're realizing, like it or not, they're role models, and not just for the team. People look up to them. They think 'I want to look like that,' or 'I want to to dress like that.' "

(How Lowe can you go?

Create your own style with Lowe's help

When it comes to helping out other guys on the style court, Lowe goes into coach mode. His message: Figure out your own style and go from there, not just in how a jacket, shirt or suit is cut and how it fits, but in color too.

"It's up to each individual," Lowe says. "They have to find out what they like, what makes them feel comfortable, what looks good on him. Whatever it is, make it neat.")