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The Modern Guide to The Thing Before Preppy

Tuesday, November 24, 2020

A Reader Question for the Community: Tennis bag / tennis gear?

 

A Reader Question for the Community: 

Dear Editor,

I have a Reader Question- I’ve taken up tennis, as social distant exercise / way to meet up with friends.  My dear hubby would like to gift me a tennis tote for Christmas - but there are so many brands and styles!  Any recommendations for a nice tennis bag / tennis gear brand that will last?  Something simple and classic?

Thanks!  Your blog is just lovely!


23 comments:

  1. I don't care what anyone says, "gift" is not a verb. Sorry to be so cranky. I used to have a Volkl bag and it was functional but I'm not sure how "classic." Maybe I should say it functioned but it didn't classic.

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    1. Don't be rude Sartresky.

      Prince offers a number of nice bags.

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    2. DEFINITION FOR GIFT (1 OF 2)
      noun
      1. something given voluntarily without payment in return

      verb (used with object)
      2. to present with as a gift:
      ...just the thing "to gift" the newlyweds.

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    3. ^ No sale, Charles. Purpose of a dictionary is not to prescribe usage, but to describe it. As long as people use a word or phrase often enough, however mindlessly, it will make its way into the dictionary.

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    4. According to Mirriam-Webster, the verb "to gift" has existed for well over 400 years.

      That said, it seems to me you're arguing against the dictionary's prescriptivism in favor of your own! Haha.

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    5. @Anon 1:18 am: I was not “arguing against the dictionary’s prescriptivism,” I was stating a fact about the purpose of the dictionary. In fact I would like to see the prescriptive dictionary make a comeback. For what it's worth (evidently not a lot), Robert Burchfield in The New Fowler’s Modern English Usage says that using gift as a verb is "best avoided." It has indeed been around for 400 years but only in two specific instances: 1) as a legal term (as in the gifting of a deed or piece of property) and 2) with reference to someone being “gifted,” e.g. “she was gifted with rare intelligence.” My source is the OED, not "Mirriam"-Webster.

      My own view was summed up by Dot Wordsworth in a recent blurb in The Spectator: "My first thought is that there is a perfectly good word, "giving." My second is that "gifting" is an obtrusive case of verbing a noun. Thirdly, it seems like an Americanism. Fourthly, it belongs to a kind of speech adopted by copywriters for luxury cruises and retirement homes."

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    6. https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/12/gifting-is-not-a-verb/383676/#:~:text=Gift%2Das%2Dverb%2C%20according,%22wedding%22%20in%20the%20plural.

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  2. www.Grasscourt.com

    The website is atrocious. The merchandise is not.

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  3. Have you looked at Cinda B totes? They are feminine, well designed, easily cleaned and made in USA.

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  4. I use an old LL Bean tote - large size.

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  5. I'm partial to Babolat racquets and bags, and Nike tennis clothes and shoes. I wear all white -- not required at my current club, but I'm a traditionalist that way.

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  6. I love the products sold by racquetworld.com. While they mostly service racquet ball enthusiasts, the bags they sell would work for tennis players. Lots of space, well made, durable and a special pocket on the side just for racquets.
    https://store.racquetworld.com/racquetball-bags.html

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  7. Thanks for all the suggestions! I ended up picking a sleek black Prince tote! Merry Christmas!

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  8. I would depends a bit. Classic tennis brands could be Lacoste, Fred Perry, Fila, but I am not sure they have a bag every season. My wife sometimes uses a Brooks Brothers tote bag, which looks in line with the bags on grasscourt.com

    If you want to look classic, get a cable vest or cricket pullover.

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  9. An L. L. Bean tote!

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  10. I play a couple times a week and prefer the Wilson backpack. Not preppy but you can get eye-catching colors once in awhile and its extremely serviceable, especially on those Florida tennis trips!

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  11. I play a couple times a week and prefer the Wilson backpack. Not preppy but you can get eye-catching colors once in awhile and its extremely serviceable, especially on those Florida tennis trips!

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