Tampabay.com
JANUARY 30, 2009

NFL wives: Fashion forward at the Super Bowl

The official fashion event of the Super Bowl was supposed to be Friday morning, when the NFL wives got to strut their stuff for charity.

Whatevs. As if they didn't have enough competition on the party circuit, the catwalk piece of "Off the Field: Celebrating the Beauty Within" amounted to about a half hour of an event that dragged on for nearly four. (Kudos, though, to these gorgeous women of all shapes and sizes. They were sooo understanding when I didn't know who their very large husbands played for. Or what, exactly, a wide receiver does.)

Thankfully, there was another fashion show going on in the front lobby. Who knew that football players live a land of Louis Vuitton, Gucci and Christian Louboutin? That NFL paycheck must go a long way at Neiman Marcus.

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Angela Robinson
Sure, she looks fabulous in a Prada dress, Jane August bag and Dior shoes. But what got me was how sweet she is on her hubby, Bryan Robinson, a Cardinals player. She would have talked about him all day. Just for her, I'm rooting for Arizona this Sunday, and will pass along a pitch for her day spa, Endulge, in Chicago.

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Theresa Smith and Bonita Floyd
These wives of retired NFL players prove you don't have to spend a fortune to pull off casual chic with flair. Theresa, right, went with BCBG for her pants and vest. The bag is Dolce&Gabbana, and her shoes are Via Spiga. Bonita, left, shopped White House Black Market for her pants and sweater, and snagged the bag from Coach. (Their husbands are Fernando Smith, formerly of the Minnesota Vikings, and William Floyd, retired from the Carolina Panthers, for any sports buffs out there.)

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Duane and Kim Starks
They said they weren't trying to match. But ain't it cute that they did? Kim's Gucci shoes deserved their own runway, see the close up below. Duane, a 10-year NFLer last with the Oakland Raiders, didn't know where his shirt came from, but thought it was expensive. Kim informed him it was couture, and his shoes are Vuitton. Does ths woman dress her man well or what?

~ Deal Diva Letitia

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THE AUTHORS

Stephanie Hayes came out of the womb wearing high heels. While other kids were reciting multiplication tables, she was learning to calculate an extra third off the half-price discount during buy-one-get-one week. She loves animal prints, black mascara and anything that sparkles. She objects to visible panty lines, Crocs and anything that costs more than a car payment. And she doesn't drive a nice car. She can be reached at (727) 893-8857 or shayes@tampabay.com.

Emily Nipps As a sullen teenager, Emily Nipps refused to wear anything but black, olive green or burgundy, preferably ripped. She has since added color to her life but still experiments with her dark streak. A product junkie, she has tried tons of overpriced face creams and hair products but loves drugstore brands that work the same. She's an Aries and a bassist in a punk band. She has a pet pig, seven chickens, three cats and a rabbit. And just as many lip glosses. She can be reached at (727) 893-8452 or nipps@tampabay.com.

Kameel Stanley has never encountered a thrift store she didn’t like. Her mother taught her that the true value of clothes isn’t how much they cost, but how many outfits one can create from them. Having grown up in Michigan, she was delighted to learn upon moving to Florida that she almost never needed to wear socks or boots again. There’s a lot of turnover in her closet, and she’s obsessed with dresses, necklaces and wedge heels. She can be reached at (727) 893-8643 or kstanley@tampabay.com.

A disciple of the little black dress classics school, Letitia Stein stretches her budget by looking for styles with staying power. She lives for 80 percent off shoes at DSW, floral sundresses and bohemian chic tops. She confesses to being a bit of a snob when it comes to handbags and jewelry. She can be reached at (813) 226-3400 or lstein@tampabay.com.

Coming from a long line of fashionable women, Kim Wilmath considers herself lucky to fit into their hand-me-downs. Her wardrobe staples include her grandma's vintage blouses and her mom's funky jewelry. When she's in the market for "new" items, Kim hits her favorite thrift stores -- a habit she also picked up from mom. But when circumstances require a visit to the shiny stores in the mall, you'll find Kim at the sale rack like a good little diva. She can be reached at (813) 661-2442 or kwilmath@tampabay.com.

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