Nat Nast

Nat Nast the man founded his shirt company in Kansas City, Missouri, in 1946, and is widely credited within vintage-fashion circles as having produced the first bowling shirt, earning him the nickname 'The King of Bowling Shirts.' His shirts introduced inverted pleats known as the 'Action Back,' made from washable rayon, and the company grew a business supplying customized, embroidered shirts to bowling teams, sponsors, and colleges and universities. The original company was sold in the 1970s. In 2000, Nat Nast's two daughters revived the name as Nat Nast Luxury Originals, basing new designs on their father's originals but working in silk and adding embroidered artwork, repositioning the brand around camp-collar and bowling-shirt styling aimed at a nostalgia-driven, mid-century Americana aesthetic. The brand has since done licensed collaborations, including with the World Series of Poker.