Making The Old School, The New School

Fashion comes round in circles is what they say. Only yesterday I saw a girl wearing a pair of Adidas poppa trousers on the train home. These were cool 20 years ago, earlier that same day I saw a girl in a hoop stripe pastel colour sweater, these were cool 30 years ago. What is it then that makes all of these things come round in circles. For these people, its not nostalgia, as they were probably only about 20 themselves so would not have even been born when the fashion was initially launched. I believe its more about making a statement, saying that you appreciate something old can now be cool again if you are proud enough to pull it off.

Old School Football deal in unofficial product. Shirts that are designed to look like those of yesteryear, jumpers and scarves with all the old design badges before some marketing and PR companies came wading in. They are a blast back to when football outfitting was simple but still identifiable. I contacted Katie from Old School Football to ask if we could take a closer look at the product, she was kind enough to send us a couple of items and you can see our first impressions video below.

Out of the packets the products are of fine quality, starting with James's Plymouth hoodie, which is a thick soft cotton, a highly detailed embroidered badge and accurate in its sizing. Its nice to have something that you can lounge in with the comfort of a team you support or have some connection to being represented on the garment. The beauty of the hoodie was that it is simple in design, and isn't going to go out of date of fashion like some other team wear would do. Its made to be out of date by design and that thing alone just makes it carry that bit of cool.

The Juventus shirt which I received was actually a real surprise. In the packet I thought that this would just be a T Shirt with stripes to represent the classic colours (not that disgusting kit that they have just released with the pink guff down the centre) as well as the very classic crest representing the Italian flag and the gold star, all keenly again embroidered into the fabric. What made this a bit more than just a T-Shirt was that the arms were cuffed, the neckline carried a bit more detail and the print was on both the front and back. It had the real feel of a retro shirt. This one was meant to depict the shirt from 1972.

I have been in conversation with Katie since reviewing the product and she reliably informs me that they do a shirt printing service which is cool as hell, to get a players name printed on the back of these is not something that would be true to era but it would be an insane throwback. It takes me back to my initial point, it makes something cool on the value of the statement. You're saying this is a team I represent as a fan and this is a player that I believe may have been one of the greatest the club has ever seen. I love the idea of that combination.

The selection of goods on the website is quite astounding, and its not just football there is rugby gear on there as well if chasing eggs is your preferred pastime. Katie has informed me that there is a non league section being added to the site and in the future were going to look at a broader range of good, it will be ace to have a look at re-creations at that level.

And I guess this is where i come full circle, Football is one of those things where pride, and history is celebrated. My league team is Ipswich Town, give me the option of a replica kit costing 50 odd quid versus one of these shirts at 19.99, without the need to have magical vegas smashed on the front of it, while commemorating the greater days of the clubs history, Im going to take this option every time. Don't take me the wrong way there is a definite place for replica shirts, but this offers something that any football fan can relate to in celebrating the team history, with not only great quality but also at a great price point. These tops, shirts, scarves and polo shirts from non league to international level, celebrate the history of the game, while allowing you to make a statement of your own wearing something that is a real talking point. As an aside, this site has singlehandedly sorted about the next ten gift giving events for my Dad.

The difference between this and the stupid fashion crazes of today is that you can wear it with absolute confidence knowing that other football fans will be wanting to ask you where you bought it so they can get there own. Poppa trousers on the other hand, they belong in the bin.

If you give Old School Football a follow on twitter they will give you a 10% off code, they assure that all product and embroidery is hand checked before it goes out, and it showed in our review products, the quality was faultless. One of the big plus points is that delivery to the UK is free, however the clothing is comparatively so cheap i don't think postage is something that will deter our foreign readers. I know there are quite a few of you in the USA, and some of the USA international Jerseys are incredible.

If you want to bag your self some of this incredibly cool gear first add @OSFshop on twitter, grab your discount code and head over to https://oldschoolfootball.co.uk/

All in all theres a big stamp of approval from us at FTGIG. Not only a product that we were really excited to receive but we really enjoy wearing subsequently. The one thing that I would add is that the company as a small business. They are doing an amazing job of bringing football merchandise from yesteryear back to life. It feels like exactly the sort of business we should all be enjoying and making the most of.