Legends of NBA Style: The GQ+A with Walt Frazier

GQ: That’s a budget issue as well.

Walt Frazier: Well, people  think I pay a lot for my suits, but I don’t. You know, you can get inexpensive  clothes. Some guys are paying three, four thousand for a suit. I wouldn’t do  that. The tailor is the guy who makes the suit and fits it the way you want it  to fit. So that shouldn’t cost that much money.

GQ: Were sneakers a big deal in the 70s?

Walt Frazier: I was the  first one to introduce a sneaker. The Puma Clyde. They came out with a suede  shoe. The other shoes were canvas. It was blue suede with a white stripe. And  even before that, when I wore my Converse, I had one orange string and one blue  string in the sneakers. Nobody else was doing that.

GQ: And the “Clyde” thing—your nickname is a sartorial reference.

Walt  Frazier: From the movie Bonnie and Clyde. What happened was, when I  first started I wasn’t playing well as a rookie. So to pacify myself I used to  go shopping. So I would go out buy clothes, go to my room, dress up, and look in  the mirror and say, Well, I ain’t playing good but I still look good! And  one day we were in Baltimore, and I’m looking in the window of a hat store. I  see this Borsalino hat. Brown velour. But it has a wide rim. And like today,  everybody then was wearing the narrow brim. But I never liked the narrow brim.  So first time I wore the hat everybody laughed at me. My teammates. The guys on  the other team.  And I go hey, man, I look good in this hat, I’m going to  keep it on. And as fate would have it, two weeks later Bonnie and Clyde comes out.

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