Stan Wawrinka’s “dad shorts” at the French Open. Andy Murray doing health goth in an all black Under Armour outfit at the Mubadala World Tennis Tournament in Abu Dhabi. Tennis has been filled with as many memorable men’s fashion moments as Euro 2016 has had bleached hairos.
But the breakout style star at Wimbledon is umpire Kader Nouni. With his smoky tones, he’s been praised for having the best voice in tennis. But it’s his classically laissez-faire style that has been noted. The “Tennis Umpire at rest” look is a particularly hard one to get right, for all of its formality and suggestion of creaking conformity. But Nouni manages to mix low-key nautical and Wall Street styles in the Ralph Lauren suit. The way he wears his white collared boat-striped shirt with cream chinos suggests the classic trinity of Ivy-look dressing (Paul Newman, Steve McQueen and Sidney Poitier). While his tie, worn with the triangular end taken out of a buttoned-up blazer, hints at an off-kilter formality and the exoticism of the continent’s baby boomers (70s Campari advert meets the grizzled elegance of Serge Gainsbourg). Also, he sports his accessories in a way that’s classic not laboured: Jack Purcell-looking white sneakers (very Steve McQueen) with white socks and Ray-Ban shades. Basically, he wins 40-love all the way.
