Patriots Style Lounge Pops up at Gillette Stadium

It’s been said that Foxborough is a small town with big city issues, but this weekend it was also the home of big city fashion.

Showing off their offerings for female NFL fans, the league set up a pop-up boutique called the Patriots Style Lounge at Gillette Stadium over the weekend to show off the latest in clothing and accessories aimed at the ladies that make up 45 percent of the NFL audience.

For the past three seasons, the NFL Style Lounge has made visits in different NFL cities to set up shop and offer a shopping experience aimed at female football fans. Last weekend represented the first time the lounge has come to Gillette Stadium.

A two-day event in the courtyard by the Bank of America entrance, the pop-up boutique kicked off with a VIP event on Saturday morning before opening to the public that afternoon. On Sunday, ticket holders to Patriots’ game against the Raiders invited inside.

For female NFL fans, there was a time not too long ago when variety was not a word used when it came to apparel aimed at them. However, the options that have appeared in recent years were on display as evidence of the end of the league exclusively using a simple strategy for female apparel as pink it and shrink it.

“As horrible as it sounds, that’s what we called it,” NFL Director of Apparel Rhiannon Madden said during a VIP event at the Style Lounge Saturday morning. “We were realizing that women come in different shapes and sizes and have different tastes and we wanted to make sure that we were giving them that offering. Whatever their style is we have it and it is designed for women.”

Displaying exclusive items and some familiar ones seen in the Pro Shop Collection at Patriot Place, the options were there from replica game day jerseys to red and blue t-shirts and hoodies and athletic wear all bearing the familiar Patriots logo.

To help come up with the best styles, the NFL has been working with known stylist Philip Bloch along with Patriots wives Bianca Wilfork, Cecila Chung and Brittany Sena, the girlfriend of defensive tackle Joe Vellano to show off the latest styles for the female football fan.

“I think it’s really important for women to feel there is something specific for them that was created to them and they are just not in their boyfriend’s or husband’s jersey,” Bloch said.

In addition to the variety of clothing, Patriots-themed manicures were available and

During the VIP event, guests were asked to help with the charity component of the boutique and donate lightly or gently used female business clothes for the charity known as Dress for Success. The Boston-based foundation, which received a huge endorsement from Wilfork, helps provide professional clothing for underprivileged women.

“Even though this fashion is great, being able to give back to something like Dress for Success makes it worth it,” Wilfork said.

During a presentation earlier in the day, Wilfork remarked when discussing the non-profit, “I always say the reason why I give is because I know what it’s like to have nothing. I was a single parent, I was in the system, thinks like that. So any opportunity I can take to help someone who is like me is what I choose to do.”

As is the nature of pop-up boutiques, blink and it’s gone before you know it. With the New England stop out of the way, the NFL Style Lounge will make its next stop at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte on Oct. 5.