A brief history of the Royals' and Giants' most memorable -- and most unusual -- uniforms

While there is nothing wrong with wearing a graphic-T and old jeans to a formal event like a wedding or funeral, baseball uniforms require a little more thought and careful planning. Stirrup socks, jersey piping and team name typography -- these are the most important sartorial decisions a ballclub must make. 

With the World Series coming down to the Giants and Royals, it's time to look back at the best and strangest designs they've ever donned. 

Giants

In the early part of their history, the Giants had a little trouble with their identity, switching between blue and white, blue and orange, and black and orange. They even tested out the black and orange in 1933, but wouldn't stick with those colors until 1947. 

In 1916 they wore an outfit that Craig Sager would love: 

If there's one thing I've often said about baseball uniforms it's that there's not nearly enough plaid in them. 

The Giants were also the first team to ever wear a "World's Champions" uniform after winning it all in 1906.

Though they didn't return to the look in recent times, the team did wear special uniforms with gold lettering after their 2010 and 2012 World Series victories. 

But seriously, why did teams stop wearing World's Champions uniforms? If you win the World Series, you should have the right to rub it in the face of every team you play for a full season. Hopefully whoever wins this season will bring the look back.

Once Willie Mays joined the Giants, the club settled down with a pretty iconic look: 

Though even the Giants couldn't avoid the pullover jerseys of the late '70s and early '80s. This was when an orange alternate first showed up:

And there are plenty of people with a deep and abiding love for the Giants when they put the SF over the heart: 

Both looks were popular enough that the Giants have brought back both as alternates in recent years:

Royals

When the Royals joined the league in 1969, they already looked the part:

Though, like a teenager testing their bounds, they did some experimentation with block lettering. And in the case of Lou Pinella, some serious Dadhat. 

But no team embraced the powder blues like the Royals. Whether it was Bo Jackson or simply Bo Jackson's biceps that made them look so sharp, scientists will never know for sure: 

The team did make one questionable choice in the early 2000s. As everyone tried to make things more EXTREME by creating things like yogurt you can drink from a tube, the Royals added (gasp!) black to the unis: 

Fortunately, the team soon saw the light (blue) and returned to these bad boys in 2008: