WHETHER you are a dyed-in-the-wool supporter of a specific football club or just a casual fan with more than a passing interest in the beautiful game, chances are you will want to stand out from the sea of identikit replica jerseys.
Unlike seasons of yore, there are now a plethora of choices to appeal to footie fans of all ages, shapes and genders. Many clubs have substantially widened their offerings to capture more of your hard earned cash by providing stylish options beyond standard the home and away kits (with players names and squad numbers on the back as the only options).
So this coming season, deck out your wardrobe with some footie essentials for that casual athletic look. Here are some of the choicest (but by no means comprehensive) options available from official club websites.
1. Replica jerseys will always remain a firm favourite. It is bold and in your face, clearly designed to allow supporters to wear one’s colours on their sleeves. However, if you are looking for something other than the latest edition of a club’s official strips, retro kits are the way to go.
The classic designs evoke special memories for many and is a throwback to simpler, yet more elegant stylings of yore. This is best underlined by the number of modern kits that seek to evoke designs of the past.
A glorious example is the replica of Aston Villa’s jersey worn in its European Cup triumph from 1982. The pin stripe design is just pure panache.
2. Another fine example of a retro piece is Crystal Palace’s replica of its 1978 kit. Absolutely dripping with 70s motifs, the jersey features the Eagles’ famous bi-colour stripes as well as the thick red label icons on the sleeves.
Unlike jerseys that came in later decades, there is something simple and unfussy about kits from this era as exemplified by this example.
3. If a new jersey design is what you hanker after, here is a very cool option, in which the worlds of music and footie interspersed. Multi-platinum pop star Ed Sheeran hails from Suffolk and he is the proud sponsor of his boyhood club’s kit.
With Ipswich Town returning to the English top flight, his tour is getting that much more eyeball exposure, not that he needs it.
4. With many clubs now aware of the potential earnings from a global audience, there is a concerted effort to make their club shops more hip and happening with wider variety of choice for the fashion conscious.
This approach is best highlighted by West Ham United’s Hawaiian shirts bearing the club’s famous anvils embedded in a colourful sea of palm trees and other fauna not native to East London. Cool, colourful and most certainly, different.
5. Many football fans like to deck out the entire family in club colours and why not? The game acts as bonding glue for many a household and the kids, too, will want to proudly announce their allegiances.
All clubs these days have plentiful kid options. A simple and refined example is the Tottenham Hotspurs’s hoodie for kids range. Elegant in pastel shades and comfie-looking, it will work well as causal wear or even as a night-time slip on, albeit quite an expensive one.
6. Discreet and elegant in equal measures, this pocket watch is a throwback to a time when men wore waist coats and duffel hats were the norm.
It will definitely make you stand out from the crowd when vast majority of people do not even use wrist watches anymore, with the hand phone acting as the default timepiece. It is sure to mark you out as someone with a unique dress sense.
7. Most clubs do offer bags and carry-alls but they are usually of a sporting variety, more often than not shoe bags or back packs. Arsenal FC have tried to take this a step further with these exquisite hand-stitched examples that will add to a touch of jetset glamour to your luggage even if you are just going for a weekend trip to Port Dickson. This premium offering is also indicative of the game’s shift to a more affluent audience.
Whichever club you support, it is time to get decked out and let the action commence as the English Premier League will kick off on Saturday.
