A Glimpse Inside Gameday Cloth: Home of the Stylish Sports Fan

The best time of year is here: football season! With college football and the NFL season rearing into gear, we are here to guide you to the cutest sports clothes and game time essentials on the market.With that said, enter into the world of Gameday Cloth, a retro-inspired sports gear shop started by two SMU grads. This sports-bar inspired store in the heart of Plano's Shops at Legacy is anything but mainstream and commercial. It is that local spot that satisfies your desire to be different as you cheer in the stands.Store owner, Jana Mathena, tells us the story behind this treasure-of-a-find and fills us in on some of her "favorites" in the Big D! Read on sports fans.What led you to starting your own store? Was it a long time dream or a sudden aspiration? I've always wanted my own boutique. While in NYC, I studied Image Consulting and Styling at FIT and ended up with a small list of clients, and even worked backstage during Fashion Week as a dresser. It just seemed like the natural next step. However, there are a lot of women's boutiques out there.I was out shopping with Scott, my business partner, for something to wear to the first SMU game at The Boulevard 3 years ago and couldn't find anything! Everything seemed too young or generic and mass-produced. Where was the cute stuff for my age? And why didn't more people in Dallas carry SMU? Scott, being a total entrepreneur, started thinking about how to put a store together that would be somewhere we would want to shop - a fun, relaxed store with unique, stylish and modern clothes not just for the game, but to wear any weekend. That's when Gameday Cloth was born. We created a sports bar style store with hard wood floors, a flat screen in the back, and a beer fridge. We always have the music turned up, and we receive new shipments every week. We're a true sports boutique. Love your team. Love your clothes.

Why the focus on retro-sportswear? Retro sports logos are the most unique. When you watch games on tv or walk around, everyone looks the same. Yet there's such an opportunity to show personal style even in fan wear. For girls it's about the newest body styles and trends and translating those into team logos, and for men it's making the softest, coolest shirt with a hard-to-find vintage logo. We work really hard to separate ourselves from every other store out there.What is the mission of Gameday Cloth? Do you wish to expand? Our mission is to be a sports lifestyle boutique, offering an environment that makes you want to come back, even just to hang out. We don't just carry team logos, but we stock our store with things you'd wear as the stylish fan - accessories, hats, sunglasses, etc. We currently have a store in the Shops at Legacy as well as the website, but we have definitely talked about where we would want to open next.Anything new for the season that you are super excited about?SMU Football! Wait - clothes - yes. I love the oversized, almost "boyfriend" look celebrities are running around in. We've been able to recreate that in your logo'd clothes. Everything is so comfortable; I wear it almost every day.

 

We know you split your time in 2 spectrums of Dallas: the city and the suburban realm of Plano. We want to hear your "favorites"!

Favorite restaurant in your work world? Coal Vines in the Shops at Legacy. Although, Whole Foods at Park Lane is my new favorite lunch spot. They have so many choices!Favorite eatery in Dallas? Lumi Kitchen in UptownFavorite trend for fall? Like I said, the oversized look. But doing it up in different ways: A fitted simple white tank with skinny jeans and boots and a loose cocoon-style cardigan. Or leggings, ballet flats and a super oversized top. Comfort is stylish again.If you could purchase one item to update your closet for the fall, what would it be? I'm on a shoe hunt. I really want a pair of Sperry's, as my loafers have been in my closet for the better part of a decade - and Cowboys boots for The Boulevard (SMU's tailgate).Favorite Dallas shopping? For affordable? I run to Ella Bleu. For saving up? I go to L Bartlet. For total Lustworthy? Intermix or Barney's. I'm also a big Bloomies.com girl.Favorite free time activity? What's free time? I try and work out or at least walk the Katy Trial when I can. But I really need down time, so a glass of wine with a friend is crucial.Favorite sports team? Of course, the Mustangs. I also love the Georgia Bulldogs - grew up in Atlanta - and think the SEC is the best conference out there. Professionally I cheer for everyone in Dallas, but I also love my other "home" local teams from everywhere I've lived. I loved watching the Braves games at Turner Field and Yankees games at old Yankees stadium. I never got to go to a Jets game, but I cheered loudly in the bars. Since I've been back in Dallas, our friends get together and make chili for every Cowboys game. I really just love sports!

Be sure to check out this unbeatable store to stock up on your team's paraphernalia for a great season ahead! Store hours: Mon.-Wed., 10 a.m.-7 p.m.; Thurs., 10 a.m.-8 p.m.; Fri. & Sat., 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Sun., noon-5 p.m.