For some, orange and blue has merely become a color combination sported on game days or school-funded events. Though the colors seem to consume Gainesville in an array of fashions during Saturday football games, two UF graduates choose to take their love for orange and blue to the next level.
Fueled by frustration over what to wear to football games her sophomore year at UF, Natalie Kim launched her own Game-Day dress line in 2005.
What started out as a part-time hobby for the 23-year-old Ocala resident quickly blossomed into hundreds of requests for custom and original dresses.
Word spread around Gainesville about Kim's business venture, and by her senior year of college, her line was picked up by a local boutique.
Kim's dresses are now located in six different boutiques in North Central Florida, including Allure Boutique in Gainesville. They can also be bought online.
"I never thought I would make a career for myself in fashion," said Kim, who graduated UF last December with a degree in English. "But this is what I love."
Kim's business allows the customer to design her own dress, and each one is handmade.
Customers can visit her Web site and enter their individual measurements to create their own unique dress. Prices for the dresses displayed on the Web site range between $60 and $120. Kim already has 40 different requests for this season and is expecting more.
"My dresses help girls become individuals at the games and stand out in the monotony of orange and blue," she said.
In the past few months, Kim has branched out, creating a garnet and gold line for Florida State University, a red and black line for University of Georgia and an orange and blue children's line. Louisiana State University and University of Alabama are next on her list.
She plans to create a Game-Day dress line for every Southeastern Conference school and soon will be printing her own custom fabric.
"I could never steer away from this Southern charm. It just isn't the same anywhere else," she said.
While Kim is creating fashions for Gators lovers, Karley Croton, 24, a UF interior design graduate, is drinking from another cup, literally. In June she started Tailgate Toddies, a company that sells Gators-themed hand-painted wine and martini glasses to make tailgates more sophisticated. Each glass costs $20.
"It is a fun addition to every tailgate, no matter the age, and it makes tailgating seem more like an event," Croton said.
Kim will showcase her dress collection today at 10:30 p.m. as the headlining designer for a Gainesville Fall Fashion Week show at Sharab Lounge.
Kim and Croton's collections are available at www.nataliekimgameday.com
