Back in Black White Sox

[Carolingian Steamroller]

This is a concept that I've worked on for a long time. I love the White Sox current uniforms but recently they've acquired some inconsistencies that bug me. The single stripe grey pants that don't match the jersey, the S-O-X on the sleeve, no patch on the home uniform, black hose. When you add it up it makes me think about a reboot.

Colors: Black and white with hint of red. Currently no MLB team is primarily black with some red. The Reds and DBacks are red with some black but nobody is black first then red. The Sox have done terrific things dressed in black and they own it.

Logo: The classic S-O-X requires no outline and no embellishment. I works best in monochrome especially on the cap where you can see the interlocking letters and all the negative space. It needs contrast to make the most of this effect. Hence the stark black and white. The plain black against pinstripes is also reminiscent of the Chicago American Giants who used to play in Old Comiskey.

Secondary Logo: The flying sock is a masterpiece so why restrain it in a roundel or a diamond? Let it be free like the Blackhawks tomahawks.

Caps: The standard regular season cap is almost the same as the current one except for the addition of a red squatchee and red field in the MLB logo. The BP cap uses the flying sock logo and a red brim.

Uniforms: There are three everyday uniforms and two BP/spring training uniforms. The black over black uniform is a home or away alternate. Ideally you'd like to see an even 54-54-54 split over a season. The home jerseys are a soft white rather than a cream. The team wears black socks in spring training and white socks in the regular season. You have to be in the show to wear white socks.

The uniforms roll off of the cap which is black with the logo in white and a red squatchee. The uniforms similarly have black or white scripts and numbers with red accents. Even the socks follow this pattern with a black field flanked with red stripes with white stripes on this inside.

The stripes on the away and alternate uniforms are wider than the soutache we see on the Royals or Red Sox. They're probably three times the width of typical stripes much closer to 1937 Cubs. This way the color really looks vibrant.

All jerseys have evenly spaced buttons for a smooth placket. The away script actually curls over the second button.

All script is chain stitched as is the sleeve patch. The difference in texture helps it stand out against the jersey. Additionally I've slightly enlarged the S-O-X on the home/alternate jerseys as a means to increase its visibility and show off its detail.

The numbers are an updated version of a retro font. They're somewhere in between normal Tigers numbers and Red Sox numbers in width. Big numerals with lots of space, easy to read, classic but still unique.

I hope everyone enjoys!

[derschwigg]

I'm not a huge fan of the red-winged sock (just not my cup of tea), but the unis look fantastic.

[JMtexan09]

I'm not a huge fan of the red-winged sock (just not my cup of tea), but the unis look fantastic.

Yeah, it looked like it had stolen Angels' wings and made this way for the current logo!

[Carolingian Steamroller]

Actually its a really old logo for the Sox.

[JMtexan09]

all right i didn't know that part, but it is always nice to bring back the old logos like that you just did

[NDFreek]

I really want to love what you did here. The sox have a pretty solid set like you said but there are a few problems. A hint of red would be great.

That bring said, I'm not a fan of the red. Seriously red alternates? Ik we used them in the 70s but there is a footwear based team in Boston that alread has these.

The thing is the Sox are a black and white team. When you said a hint of red i thought along the lines of the 59 uniforms, the red colors just don't work. I'd tone down on the red.

[Carolingian Steamroller]

Actually the red jersey is just the home batting practice/spring training. Not for real games.

[CallMeT22]

No white stirrups.

[derschwigg]

Actually the red jersey is just the home batting practice/spring training. Not for real games.

...and every Sunday game for the 2012 season.

However, he's right. A little red is fine, but too much, and you run into confusion with the BoSox.

[Carolingian Steamroller]

That drives me nuts that the White Sox have worn red socks on two separate occasions, not just the early '70s unis but the much beloved (though not particularly by me) 1983 beach blanket uniforms.

Sox need to use red sparingly and focus on the black.

[derschwigg]

That drives me nuts that the White Sox have worn red socks on two separate occasions, not just the early '70s unis but the much beloved (though not particularly by me) 1983 beach blanket uniforms.

Sox need to use red sparingly and focus on the black.

They also used Blue in that set, though.

[NDFreek]

That drives me nuts that the White Sox have worn red socks on two separate occasions, not just the early '70s unis but the much beloved (though not particularly by me) 1983 beach blanket uniforms.

Sox need to use red sparingly and focus on the black.

Exactly, my point being is that you focused too much on the red. I'm guessing you're a Sox fan like me, so just look back at the history of our team's uniforms. They've done good designs and bad ones.

When you say a red trim I think you should look at the 59 set. That's the perfect amount of red, hell even add a red outline to the logo, i always thought it was a sharp look

[Carolingian Steamroller]

This may sound contrarian but limiting the red was a something I really wanted to do. When the Sox did a 59 throwback game against the Dodgers in 2009, I noticed that when you put red trim on black numbers, in bright sun, the colors somewhat blend together creating an almost brown look and certainly not black. In short it was hard to really see the red as trim (the same holds true of the Twins roads as well).

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_a926k2zfAyE/SkRK8LcX35I/AAAAAAAAAEY/JvV1X1uMtp8/s1600-h/pods+win.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Y2jPfFxVTZo/SkQIYR-A5KI/AAAAAAAABm0/LB7wG-FXLH8/s1600-h/whitesox0.jpg

I really loved the slight touch of color that you got when viewing it close up and I wanted that to be apparent even from distance so I removed the red from the scripts/numbers and put it on the edges of the uniform. This way the most important features (the logo and numbers) in the center of uniform where your focus goes are clearly all black or white and everything red is limited to the periphery but is distinctly red.

[Shadojoker]

I'm not a huge fan of the red-winged sock (just not my cup of tea), but the unis look fantastic.

Yeah, it looked like it had stolen Angels' wings and made this way for the current logo!

Actually its a really old logo for the Sox.

Steamroller just OWNED you!!!

Btw..i agree with the red socks..BLACK Socks are the way to go!!

[coco1997]

This is a nice concept. Their current look is the only uniform I've known since I became conscious of the White Sox in the early '90s. I do think their current brand is perfect (which is why they've worn it for so long) but it could use some tweaks here and there. In recent years I've become bored with their road set, and your concept is a marked improvement. You could even try making the "Chicago" script white. I know white script on gray is considered a no-no by many, but I think it works for the Sox.

I'd also add some thin placket piping on the black alternate to break up the field of black a bit.

[Carolingian Steamroller]

I've made some of the suggestions but they've had some interesting consequences. By adding the red placket pipping to the black jersey it adds quite a bit of red. It probably would look ok but personally I prefer the other version.

In making the script on the away jersey white, I found I had to darken the shade of grey used for the uniform to more of a charcoal. I tried one version with white outlined in black script but it looked a little too cluttered. As a result of the new charcoal color, the red piping really didn't work so well anymore and I had to switch to white.

The resulting set is not too shabby but it lacks the unity of design that I'd liked in the original. Thoughts?

[Shadojoker]

I've made some of the suggestions but they've had some interesting consequences. By adding the red placket pipping to the black jersey it adds quite a bit of red. It probably would look ok but personally I prefer the other version.

In making the script on the away jersey white, I found I had to darken the shade of grey used for the uniform to more of a charcoal. I tried one version with white outlined in black script but it looked a little too cluttered. As a result of the new charcoal color, the red piping really didn't work so well anymore and I had to switch to white.

The resulting set is not too shabby but it lacks the unity of design that I'd liked in the original. Thoughts?

Love the revisions!!!

[coco1997]

I've made some of the suggestions but they've had some interesting consequences. By adding the red placket pipping to the black jersey it adds quite a bit of red. It probably would look ok but personally I prefer the other version.

In making the script on the away jersey white, I found I had to darken the shade of grey used for the uniform to more of a charcoal. I tried one version with white outlined in black script but it looked a little too cluttered. As a result of the new charcoal color, the red piping really didn't work so well anymore and I had to switch to white.

The resulting set is not too shabby but it lacks the unity of design that I'd liked in the original. Thoughts?

Hmm...Interesting revisions. One possible solution for the white script on the road jersey would be outlining the letters in red, which would mean not having to darken the gray.

As far as the red on the black alternate--You probably wouldn't need the red if you didn't pair the black top with black pants. I honestly can't see monochrome unis making a comeback, especially with a color as dark as solid black. If you paired the black alternate with white pinstripe pants you wouldn't need the placket piping and it would look fine.

[Dbroalexander]

I'm a Cubs fan, so I dislike everything Sox, but I like the first set of uniforms you did. I think they're better than the set with the changes. I don't see a problem with the Sox adding a color, but I'm not a fan like it seems everyone in this thread is so I see their uniforms differently. Even as a North Side Guy, I really like their 80's SOX uni. It would probably be one of my favorite unis ever if it wasn't Sox related

[Carolingian Steamroller]

I have tried to do the black tops and regular pants and it looks good, the only problem is that wearing white socks with a softball top just doesn't work. I wanted the Sox to wear actual pale hose every game and the mono-black look was the best way to incorporate an alternate. Of the two I probably prefer the road version just because the red stripes are identical on the black tops and grey pants.