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| young 80's casuals from Londons' East End |
| Stone wash denim seemed all the rage in the 90's |
| stiched not glued, classic Lacoste polo in production |
| Lyle and Scott, Lois jeans Adidas Samba's |
| Lacoste polo, Farah jumbo cords Adidas Trimm Trabs |
| Burberry Harrington Adidas Forest Hills |
| Fila Borg polo, Lois jeans Adidas Jeans footwear |
| Cerutti Sweater, Farah slacks, Nike Cortez. |
| Pringle Jumper, Lois Cords Adidas ZXZ's |
| Green Fila Borg Tracksuit Diadora Borg Elites |
| Lacoste Windbreaker Nike Internationalist |
| Hooligans Against Acid |
| Boneville |
| Left Hand Jacket |
| Stone Island |
| CP mille miglia One True Saxon jeans Adidas SL80 |
| Stone Island Armani Jeans Adidas Jeans Trainers |
| CP Company OneTrueSaxon jeans Adidas Rom |
| Aquascutum Stone Island Forest Hills |
| Background, now it's gone full circle and the first thing you see at the football are the identikit casual lads as they stand out that much! Yet the whole emergence of it all came from ditching your club colours (yes, club colours) for a new look, the one constant was that all 'hooligans' were once proud to wear their clubs' scarves, strips and colours.. That in the days of the 70's bovver boy was the norm, and fighting usually only took place inside the grounds. Things changed 'lads' started to adopt new looks, and started to take the 'aggro' away from the terraces where mass brawls, missile throwing and pitch invasions were happening that much, changes had to start happening. In the 70's you could say the overall look would have been the 'boot boy' look, crombie overcoats, harrington jackets, donkey jackets, braces and jeans, and doc martens teamed with scruffy haircuts, mutton chops and facial hair carrying on from the hippyish look of the earlier era, long hair and even longer trouser hems. The original skinhead look soon followed more a rude boy two tone Skin, and not the far right 'National Front' kind, although some did go that way of course. Also, long hair, tight sweaters, round collared shirts, big flared trousers and jeans, platform shoes! and 'customised' butcher jackets, with home made logos and emblems for the team of your choice. |
| The 80's Casuals, it was the 1980's which saw the birth of the football casual, for the first time since the 60's lads were starting to take pride in looking trendy, and to stand out from the sterotypical hooligan, the bovver boy look, they started to adopt the boy next door look. Most towns, and cities were a limited choice of gear, you'd have to make a trip to the capital to buy the best, not like today where a 10 minute train journey will get you a bit of 'CP'. Smart clobber was worn with pride, £5 millets donkey jackets were being replaced by golfing jackets (harringtons) heritage labels the likes of Burberry, Ralph Lauren, Barbour, Aquascutum, Lyle and Scott, and Pringle, But the success of British clubs at home and abroad was about to see the 'explosion' of new and exciting labels, most never heard of before. Bob Paisley's Liverpool and Alex Ferguson's Aberdeen had enjoyed European success, and as a result 'lads' from the 'Pool and Scots lads (Aberdeen Soccer Casuals) had discovered new gear in european countries, most were nicked and brought back to the surprise and envy of friends, Lacoste was introduced to a new audience, actually the first garments to have their labels on the outside of their clothes. So Casual Culture was born, some beautiful fashions and some dodgy ones too! far too many to mention them all but the likes of Adidas, Fila, Diadora, Cerrutti, Benneton, Lacoste, Pringle, Farah, Lois, Ciao, Peter Storm,Sergio Tacchini, Kappa, Hugo Boss, Nike, Classic Nouveau etc, Polo shirts, Patrick Windbreakers Nike Kagoules, Berghaus Ice Cap jackets, Golfing jackets, Ski jumpers, Deerstalkers, Farah Trousers, Lois jumbo Cords, Bleached Jeans with optional hand made slits due tothe drainpipeness. And of course trainers - the re-issues of which the modern day clued up casuals are wearing! have all cemented themselves in football casual folk lore! But it was all down to individuality, everyone was different, it was all about being one step ahead of the game, totally not the case for the masses anymore! Towards the late 80's everything went a bit muted, smart casual dress replaced the bright coloured v-necks and argyl knitwear, things likepaisley shirts, chinos, and the much talked about M&S lambswool crewneck sweater. |
| The 90's to Modern Day... most of the following was written in about 2004 in the late 80's to early 90's new labels were still being discoverd, possibly surprising to some the likes of Stone Island and other Italian brands were being sported way back then, if you think they have appeal now... the early 90's consisted of bright coloured checked shirts Ralph Lauren, Mulberry etc, jeans were all much lighter in colour, the likes of Ball, C17 and Armani, clothing by the likes of Best Company, Replay, Everlast and even Naff Naff, shoes such as timberland's hand sewn moccasains, and decking boots, the much coveted Kickers boots based on a denim jean! Massimo Osti, the man behind Stone Island and CP Company had created some genuis designs, Coats and Jackets which were far more than just coats and jackets, Shortlived labels such as Boneville, World Wide Web, St-95 and Left Hand, not in production for quite some time are now fetching top dollar on any site or shop you are lucky to find them in, 80's labels have stood the test of time and show no sign of letting up the likes of Lacoste, Hugo Boss are still very much in mass production, other labels such as Burberry have all but died a death, a combination of the irritating plaid check cap and the 'wrong' people wearing it's clobber have really killed it off, who wants to dress up in Burberry when it's been re-discovered by 'Gangster Rap' types? it's checked cousin Aquascutum has all but followed it to the checked boutique in the sky, the only appeal with the stuff is old hard to find classics, Casual culture needs a check, Barbour has been there all along as a staple British label, only now are the fucking masses cottoning on to it, their scarves and shirts are slowly popping up, a crying shame as you know this time next year it'll be everywhere! Mulberry is another one, their caps were unheard of 18 months ago they're becoming the choice replacement for Aquascutum. The only good thing about these two is they're not to everyone's tase and not readily available to buy just anywhere. The much debated casual rave crossover single handedly killed off 'hooliganism' for a short period, so much so that a group of Chelsea fans brought out a T-Shirt baring 'Hooligans Against Acid' across the front! Stone Island is still very popular, but it's peak was in the late 90's early 00's when 'lads' and only 'lads' wear wearing it, it now has a small fan base amongst asian youths - never a good thing! and there are so many fakes about it's almost sacrilage, Stone Island's more minimal brother CP Company enjoyed a renaissance as people started to dress down, But remember a Stone Island top and checked cap does not make a Casual, it's not that simple! Nowadays, there ought to be a Casual re-think, new labels are still being discovered, anything with similarities to the original stuff will always sell, Newish labels such as the re-emergence of 6876, and One True Saxon, a label I bought a shitload of when I found it being sold in one small shop in Manchester, it wasn't long before people who asked 'what the fuck's that?' were then wearing it! Things take off and with a name like that it's not hard to see why. Of course it's not to everyone's taste, there are lots of labels which are very popular to some, such as Paul and Shark, Prada and Henri Lloyd which others won't wear. Other alternative labels to look out for are the likes of Faconnable and Zegna a little obscure to the masses. Patagonia, Fjall Raven and Norrona with kit made for extreme weather conditions, Dupe which has disbanded as a label but still available in certain places, and not to everyone's taste, old labels still doing the business like Lacoste and it's vintage IZOD range enjoying a revival, Ralph Lauren is back, the 80's casual label a line of limited edition tees to celebrate the culture. But above all, you have to be different you have to stand out, if that means paying silly money then so be it, but money's not the be all and end all, look at Marks and Sparks' Blue Harbour and Autograph stuff, and the likes of Racing Green etc lovely bits of kit that won't break the bank, no joke! it's not uncommon to buy a certain top for a certain game, believe me it sounds stupid, but we've all done it. |
| Above: a newspaper propaganda piece on the emergence of the boy next door look, a reproduction of a 1985 news sketch of how a 'likely lad' might look . |
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| Aquascutum One True Saxon Adidas Vienna |
| Prada, Paul Smith Stone Island jeans |
| Prada Hat Paul and Shark Adidas Tobacco |
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| Most of the following was written in 2003/4 so sections may appear slightly dated. However the notion of what this is and was still stands up. |
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| 70's style chaos, Man United v Cardiff City |
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| oneupmanship 2009 |