You all know who Fred Perry was, right?
He was a British tennis sensation in the 1920s and ’30s who won the Davis Cup and Wimbledon three times.
These days, however, he is better known as a brand favored by Mods, hipsters and fashionistas all over.
Bet you didn’t know it all began with a gauze band that Perry used to wrap on his wrist to protect his grip from sweat.
At the end of the 1940s, an Austrian footballer named Tibby Wegner approached him with the idea of making an anti-perspirant device that could be worn on the wrist.
The first model was made of terry cloth and "weighed a ton," wrote Perry in his autobiography. After making revisions for a lighter, stretchier sample, the first wristband was born.
Because tennis players at that time wore baggy tennis shirts, Wegner’s next suggestion was to make a sports shirt made of white cotton piqué with short sleeves and buttons down the front.
In 1952, the first Fred Perry shirts were launched and strategically given to leading Wimbledon players and BBC cameramen.
Fred himself wore it while commentating on television.
Because of the exposure it received during the games, the first batch of Fred Perry shirts that came out in the shop sold out within an hour.
In the 1960s, young British Mods claimed the style and wore it with all buttons fastened under shrunken blazers, skinny ties, pointy flat shoes, and Beatles-style bobs.
They found it cool enough to wear with jeans and boots, while smart enough to be worn under a suit.
The shirt became a utility garment that could be taken from day to night or night to day, making it a style that crossed over from sportswear to streetwear.
A couple of years back, even I became interested when Fred Perry teamed up with Comme des Garçons to come up with a limited range of shirts and bags. I had to admire it from a distance since the styles were only for men.
Because of the success of that team-up, Fred Perry has partnered with other progressive labels under their Blank Canvas series.
Some of the latest collaborations are with British designers Jessica Odgen and Northern Irish stylist Alastair McKimm. Select pieces from these are currently available at Homme et Femme at the Shangri-La Plaza.
Homme et Femme also offers the more traditional styles in the classic cotton piqué slim-fit shirts for men and women, as well as T-shirts by Comme des Garçons + Fred Perry.
As an added offering, Homme et Femme invites customers to design their own Fred Perry Bespoke shirt for about P7,500.
The service allows you to create a custom-made shirt from a selection of body, collar, cuff, and laurel colors from the classic Fred Perry palette in either maroon, chocolate, black, navy or white.
These colors are also available for the tipping around the sleeves and collar.
Here comes the coolest part: You can have initials of your choice sewn under the laurel leaf.
Orders taken from now until October 6 will be sent to the Fred Perry headquarters in England. They will be ready for delivery by November 15.
Hint: This is the perfect holiday gift for the man who has everything. All you need is the man’s chest size. If you don’t know your man’s measurements, take one of his golf shirts and bring it over to Homme et Femme. (For more information, call 633-7009.)