Bringing fashion to sports is what OCCC student Lauren DeLozier does through her handmade dresses, designed to advertise the wearer’s team loyalties.

DeLozier said she makes the dresses from T-shirts, then adds her own unique and artistic touch.

Kelsey Vincelette, a senior at the University of Oklahoma, is one of her clients.

“I know when I wear one of DeLozier’s dresses that no one will be wearing anything like it,” she said.

Another OU fan is also a customer. “I like wearing Lauren’s dresses because it’s a fun and trendy way to show your school spirit,” Brandi Collins said.

DeLozier said most of her customers are Sooner fans, but she has made dresses for many different teams such as Vanderbilt, Penn State, Michigan and Texas State.

She also has made a dress for a Texas Rangers baseball fan.

“I make the dresses by starting with a plain T-shirt,” DeLozier said.

“Then I add elastic, lace, and frill to the bottom, making what was once a frumpy T-shirt into a cute dress for girls who love to support their school.”

She said she first became interested in designing the dresses after seeing many young women wearing similar dresses on game days at the University of Oklahoma football games.

DeLozier thought she could improve the concept by adding her own touch of creativity.

Last year she started making dresses for herself and some of her friends. The word spread quickly and soon she was making them for students at other colleges as well.

“I’ve made between 20 and 25 dresses so far,” DeLozier said.

“I’ve only made ‘game day’ dresses with team logos on them but I’m experimenting with other designs.”

DeLozier said she loves being creative, which has led to her passion for making the dresses.

“Last year I made a dress that had Wrangler pockets on the back,” she said.

“I am always thinking of new ideas to incorporate into my dresses. I hope to grab people’s attention and make them ask, ‘where did you get that?’”

Customers have the option of designing the dresses they want DeLozier to make.

All they have to do is provide a T-shirt of their choice, DeLozier said.

Then, they can design the dress in collaboration with DeLozier by choosing the type of fabric, lace and other special touches to make the dress unique to them.

“They’re fun to wear because she can incorporate your ideas into one of her dresses so it makes it special,” Vincelette said.

To advertise her business, DeLozier has set up a Facebook page, Designs by DeLozier, to spread the word about her designs.

In the future, she said, she would like to sell her dresses at boutiques or other stores on OU’s campus.

DeLozier is a junior public relations major from Flower Mound, Texas, who attends OU as well as OCCC.

She said she has been sewing since she was 5 years old.

She credits her great-grandmother with having taught sewing skills to her father who then passed his knowledge down to her. DeLozier said is now one of her favorite hobbies.

With a creative mind, chic edge, and a skill for sewing, DeLozier said she dreams of someday going to the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in California where, she said, she hopes to become a wedding dress designer.