Pretty in any color: women in basketball make style rules

Angel Reese considers herself "a pink girl".
Pink nails, pink hair tie, pink shoes, sometimes even "a little pink in my lashes," Reese said of the eyelash extensions she applies before basketball games. "It's all rosy."
It's all part of the pre-game routine for Reese, who was transferred in May to Louisiana State after a outstanding season on the Maryland women's basketball team. Before Reese hits the court, she applies lip gloss and gels her edges — her hairline — to prevent flyaways. everyone sweats your makeup,” Reese said.
Reese's dedication to her appearance for games expresses who she is as much as her style of play. Women's basketball players freely use style touches popular in black and Latin culture, such as gelled edges. It's a freedom that some say is a breakthrough in a sport whose athletes have always been forced to adapt to a mass-market ideal that has long benefited straight white women. Reese is black.
But the introduction of name, image and likeness agreements into college sports and an influx of marketing money into basketball- professional women's ball added dollar and cent stakes to players' decisions to glam up. In interviews with a dozen college and pro players, women shared how the decision to express themselves through their appearance had changed.
"I don't never really felt the pressure until the N.I.L. started it all,” said Reese, whose endorsement deals include Xfinity, Amazon, Wingstop and a Washington, D.C. area supermarket chain.
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Fashion Jul 26, 2022 0 85 Add to Reading List

Pretty in any color: women in basketball make style rules

Angel Reese considers herself "a pink girl".

Pink nails, pink hair tie, pink shoes, sometimes even "a little pink in my lashes," Reese said of the eyelash extensions she applies before basketball games. "It's all rosy."

It's all part of the pre-game routine for Reese, who was transferred in May to Louisiana State after a outstanding season on the Maryland women's basketball team. Before Reese hits the court, she applies lip gloss and gels her edges — her hairline — to prevent flyaways. everyone sweats your makeup,” Reese said.

Reese's dedication to her appearance for games expresses who she is as much as her style of play. Women's basketball players freely use style touches popular in black and Latin culture, such as gelled edges. It's a freedom that some say is a breakthrough in a sport whose athletes have always been forced to adapt to a mass-market ideal that has long benefited straight white women. Reese is black.

But the introduction of name, image and likeness agreements into college sports and an influx of marketing money into basketball- professional women's ball added dollar and cent stakes to players' decisions to glam up. In interviews with a dozen college and pro players, women shared how the decision to express themselves through their appearance had changed.

"I don't never really felt the pressure until the N.I.L. started it all,” said Reese, whose endorsement deals include Xfinity, Amazon, Wingstop and a Washington, D.C. area supermarket chain.