Finding clothing is no slam-dunk

At the college level of basketball, the head coach is more than just the person who recruits, teaches and guides the young student-athletes.

The coach also shapes and maintains the image of the program whenever the team is on the court, and the first impression always is communicated through the clothes she or he wears.

For the past seven seasons as women's basketball coach at California State University, Stanislaus, Sharon Turner-Dean has been the guardian of her program's image. She not only makes certain her own clothes are relevant to the position, but that they add a degree of style and class to the Warriors' bench.

It's not easy, she says. Turner-Dean is a former player, and remains athletic at 45. She also stands 6 feet tall and has yet to find a department store in any town where she can walk in and buy clothes off the rack.

There may be hope on the fashion front for Turner-Dean. Having a tall, athletic woman in the White House has created a new challenge for fashion designers.

And while it's far too early to tell if Michelle Obama's fashion tastes will create the same fashion stir for tall women that Jackie Kennedy did for 1960s socialites, Turner-Dean longs for the day when her own fashion choices become more varied and available.

Q: How difficult is it for you to find nice clothes that fit well?

A: It's extremely difficult, and nothing's cheap. I have to order all my suits online. I never get the chance just to walk into a store and try something on. There are a couple of online stores where I do my shopping.

Q: Do you see the first lady opening up fashion choices for you?

A: I think she will, but I haven't seen it yet. I haven't been shopping much since the start of the basketball season. I did buy a skirt and a short suede jacket to wear. On top of that, I have a triple-A width foot, so even shoes are hard to find.

Q: A male basketball coach can get away with wearing anything. Rick Majerus wore sweat suits on the sidelines, other coaches wear slacks and sweaters, and Pat Riley wore Armani.

A: I can't remember the last time I saw a coach at a four-year school wear a sweat suit on the women's side. But it runs the gamut from flat shoes and slacks with a dress shirt all the way up to dressing very nice. The first year I was on the NCAA Coaches' Committee, I was nominated as a best-dressed coach. When I was told that, I thought it was a joke, but there it was.

Q: But the way a coach dresses certainly can say things about the program.

A: I agree with that 100 percent. When I first started out as a high school junior varsity coach, I would wear flat shoes and slacks and a sweater. I saw a coach in gray jeans and a collared jacket, and she would suck on the collar of her jacket. The kids were freaked out by that, and I started dressing nicely after that. Kids started remembering me by how I dressed. When I was at Long Beach State (as an assistant coach) girls from UC Santa Barbara came up to me and said they loved the clothes I wore. On the flip side, the kids at New Mexico State would remark that if I wanted to be a model, then I should just go and be one. This was right before the game. I was wondering about their focus.

Q: But you did some modeling.

A: I did. I actually did. I even entered a beauty pageant once (laughs.)

Q: There has to be a good story with that.

A: No, but when you tell people that in athletics, they don't know how to react. One of the most common things I've heard over the years is that I don't look like a basketball player or coach. But I always wondered what that person is supposed to look like. I dress in what pleases me -- what I like and what I feel comfortable with. I don't want to be fidgeting with my clothes during the game to take my focus off what's going on. I want to wear what I wear. When I first started coaching at the college level, I always wore skirts or dresses. One guy commented that looked like I was going to the club. But I was just dressing to the style of the time.

Q: Do you have a lucky outfit?

A: No. I used to be superstitious, but I've really gone away from that in the last few years. We've lost so much that I can't have a lucky outfit. Every now and then, I'll put something on and I'll remember that we won the last time I wore this. The other night at Chico, I wore a black jacket with a skirt and a pink shirt for their cancer awareness night. I remembered that I wore that jacket when we played and lost in Anchorage, and I wore the shirt when we played and lost to Pomona. I told myself to just stop thinking about that.

Bee staff writer Brian VanderBeek can be reached at bvanderbeek@modbee.com or 578-2300.