Turning the calendar page to September is always a little bittersweet. For some reason--perhaps, because the beach and water are so relaxing--I'm always a little sad to see the season nearing its end. There's one thing, however, that keeps my spirits up: The US Open. As a lifelong amateur tennis player (hacker?), I’m lucky to have the international event in my backyard (25 minutes by train). Each year, I go with a small group of family and friends to watch some of the world’s greatest athletes and, of course, to people watch.
I think it's safe to say that looking glamorous for a day of tennis-watching in the heat and humidity is not the primary objective for most US Open spectators. Instead, comfortable clothing--hats, short-sleeves, and shorts or capris--is de rigeuer. Even those who sipped "the bubbly," cooling off under canopies, were dressed pretty low-key...
HAT-ATTACK
Women of all ages were wearing every imaginable hat style--straw hats with modest brims (top of this post) as well as ones with huge flopping, mushroom-shaped brims, straw pork pie hats, visors, and cotton yacht caps...
And, of course, there many heads tucked under baseball caps. Some women showed their allegiance to certain tennis players (below). I love the chain-style fastener holding the ponytail of the woman below, don't you?..
I, too, opted for the baseball cap look. I love my straw hat, but I wanted a hat I could easily stash in my drawstring shoulder bag. Here I am, looking a little limp from the humidity, doing the US Open wave...
Speaking of handbags, totes and other women's bags were a tournament accessories, despite the city buzz warning fans to leave their bags at home. Apparently, in the wake of the Boston Marathon, metal detectors had been installed at the event for the first time. There were reports of long delays while bags were searched at the entrance. However, the warning didn't seem to deter spectators from bringing bags, even two...
Some women lugged around super-sized bags (below). What do you think she has in there?...
Needless to say, we had a great day and saw all or parts of a half dozen matches with Serena, a high-flying Roger Federer (below) and others in the stadiums and on the smaller courts around the grounds...
And in-between matches, we cooled off with a frozen Cosmopolitan. Ah!...
