A vintage football shirt might once have been the domain of proper football keenos and sports geeks, but latterly they have inspired a massive trend among A-listers this summer.
With the football season getting back underway, there’s never been a better time to take a leaf out of the books of the likes of Kim Kardashian and Dua Lipa, to name but two, and branch out in your football shirt game.
Paired with anything from jeans to a bias-cut satin skirt, the oversized vintage shirt makes for an extremely wearable item in almost anyone’s wardrobe, as well as a great talking point. Additionally, a pre-loved football shirt is a great option in terms of sustainability.
There’s a story behind every vintage football shirt. Sure, we can’t see Kim K rocking a 1980s Charlton Athletic home kit while rattling off an anecdote about the team’s return to their beloved ground (maybe one day), but many of us remember Liam Gallagher’s iconic Man City shirt, worn a decade later.
Vintage football shirts have become decidedly cool, to the point that many a club has tried to emulate the look of a bygone kit, perhaps associated with a time of previous glory, or perhaps just because it looked nice. That said, but you can’t beat an original.
Thankfully, you no longer have to raid your dad’s dusty wardrobe to track one down thanks to the growing market and the number of one-time shirt collectors setting up shop.
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Arsenal ‘91/92 Away Shirt
To many a ‘90s kid, the JVC era of Arsenal shirts is one of the most memorable periods of Gooners’ shirts, and the infamous “bruised banana” is no exception.
Worn by the likes of Ian Wright, it was somewhat maligned at the time thanks to turbulent times on the pitch. But the ‘91/92, ‘92/93 away kit has become a modern icon.
The club even launched a remake of the kit a couple of years ago, and an entire bruised banana collection is still sold on the club’s website.
Buy now £50.00, Vintage Football Shirts
Spurs ’92 Away Shirt
Anything they can do, right? While Arsenal debuted their bruised banana shirt, their North London rivals had their own fetching yellow away kit.
Featuring the classic Holsten kit sponsor, and a barely-out-of-the-80s motif on the shoulder, this shirt would have been worn by the likes of top goal scorer that season, Teddy Sheringham, and *whispers* Sol Campbell.
But probably the less said about him, the better.
Buy now £149.99, Cult Kits
Man City ‘93/94 Away Shirt
Back when the treble was just a twinkle in the eye of then-Barcelona forward, Pep Guardiola, City were the club you’d heard less noise about, if you lived outside of Manchester.
All that changed in the era of Britpop as the swaggering Gallagher brothers became household names, with the breakthrough album Definitely, Maybe, from their band, Oasis. Along with Cigarettes & Alcohol, the mono-brow, and a distinct disdain for the mainstream, the Gallagher brothers were famed for their love of Man City.
From their early days, they were often seen sporting a City shirt, most notably those sponsored by sewing machine and printer company, Brother. Fitting.
Buy now £35.00, Amazon
Chelsea ‘96/97 Away Shirt
Of course, the mid-nineties saw the Battle of Britpop, and you couldn’t have a Man City shirt without mentioning Chelsea.
Though throughout the 1980s, the club was better known for less savoury aspects of the game, such as financial peril, racism and hooliganism, a middle-class lad from Colchester was about to give a pre-Abramovich’s Chelsea shirt something of a facelift.
Enter Damon Albarn, frontman of Oasis’s nemesis, Blur, who would often be seen sporting the mid-Nineties blue Coors-sponsored home shirt. It’s pretty difficult to get hold of one of these now, unless you’re prepared to shell out on eBay, but you can still get hold of a ‘96/7 yellow away shirt.
Buy now £175.00, Vintage Football Shirts
Charlton Athletic Third Shirt ’95-97
A somewhat unusual colour palette, this shirt might remind some Addicks of a time they’d rather forget, with their 1995/96 season ending in misery as they failed to secure promotion, having been knocked out of the playoffs by Crystal Palace in the semi-finals. That said, it’ll remind some fans of the time the club reached the FA Cup fifth round and Charlton legend Carl Leaburn, top goal scorer in both seasons, wore this shirt.
Buy now £165.00, Vintage Football Shirts
Italia ‘90 England shirt
A classic England shirt worn by the likes of Gazza and Gary Lineker, whose fates in this tournament were sealed after they crashed out in the semi-finals, losing on penalties to West Germany. It reminds us of one of the last times we were Quite Good in the pre-Southgate era and, of course, the John Barnes rap. The original Umbro shirts can still be tracked down, but plenty of replicas are available at a lesser price.
Buy now £45.00, Amazon
Scotland ’90 Third Kit
Perhaps a little divisive, but what they may have lacked in flair on the pitch during Italia ’90, Scotland made up for in shirt design. Having made it to the World Cup, Scotland crashed out in the group stages after losing to Brazil, but at least they did it in style. Scotland’s traditional Blue is “complimented” by a retro pink and orange design, at least, I think it is.
Buy now £39.99, Amazon
Nigeria ’94 Away Shirt
The Nigerian football team has had something of a reputation in recent years for its sharp shirt designs, but this is not their first foray into the world of killer kits.
Not only is the ’94 away shirt one of the most interesting designs amongst its ‘90s counterparts, it also holds a special place in the hearts of Super Eagles fans. Perhaps not for its original use, in the 1994 USA World Cup, though Nigeria did progress to the knockout rounds after beating Bulgaria and Greece in the group stages.
But for the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, where the Nigerian team surpassed all expectations beating teams such as Brazil and ultimately Argentina, to finish as surprise gold medallists.
Buy now £34.99, Retro Soccer
Netherlands ’88 Home Shirt
Objectively a beauty, this shirt was worn by Dutch legends including Frank Rijkaard, Ronald Koeman, and Ruud Gullit. An eye-catching shirt in The Netherlands’ national colour, it also features a striking retro graphic design. It would have been hard to miss them on the pitch, though as the eventual winners of the 1988 Euros in West Germany, clearly, they managed to get past a few defenders on the way.
Buy now £44.99, Etsy
Argentina ’94 Away Shirt
As we know, Argentina are quite good at football. Though, having been champions of the ’86 World Cup, and runners up in ’90, the group stage of the USA ’94 World Cup will have been something of a head-scratcher, finishing the group stage in third place behind Nigeria and Bulgaria on goal difference.
Despite progressing to the round of 16 the side, led by Diego Maradona, lost out to Romania. But we like the shirt, in Argentina’s national blue with a bold diamond design down the right side of the chest, with adidas’s three stripes on both arms.
Buy now £84.99, Sports Direct
