Nike’s Fake Sleeve Piping

I noticed something about the new Nike template jerseys this weekend, looking especially at the alternate uniforms that have piping on the sleeves. Compared to uniforms pre-2024, the sleeves of all uniforms were consistent, and had extra braid sewn onto the jersey as piping. But now, these alternate uniforms have these little sleeve extensions, and the extension portion has a red print around it instead of an actual braid sewn on. I tried my best to get a comparison photo.

Click image to enlarge. Notice how the home uniform on the left has a normal sleeve with standard seam stitched across, and the alternate uniform on the right also has that seam, but has a different fabric extending off of the sleeve with fake printed piping. How cheap is that?

I tried looking for more detailed shots but couldn’t come up with any yet. I did find this photo of a Rockies uniform that has the same issue and shows some good detail. Take a look, and you’ll see it’s clear as day, the additional piping portion is a different fabric and is an extension to the actual shirt.

What I also find weird, is that the FRONT of the shirt uses real piping similar to past seasons. You can tell from the photo below that the front piping has texture, and sits on top of the shirt. This piping is an extra piece of braided fabric material that they add on top of the shirt, and they’ve been doing it that way since the 1950s. Whereas the sleeve piping is normally applied the same way the chest piping is, however Nike decided to make another “innovation” for no apparent reason…

Take one last look at the photo below of Albert in 2022, and take note of the piping down the front and the piping on the sleeve. It’s easy to tell in this picture when you zoom in that the piping is real.