july2018

SEXY GLAM

NOVEMBER - JULY 2018

less expensive look. They simply wore white. Wealthy

teams could afford to sport its club’s colors, but were

required to provide alternate colors just in case two

teams showed up to a game with the same color. And

players were expected to foot the bill until soccer be-

came professional, in which case the team paid for it.

Soccer shirts welcomed the twentieth century with

a traditional look that created a giant fashion trend

around the world. Players sported a tailored jersey

made from durable, natural fibers in a variety of collar

designs. Most popular among them were laced crew

necks and wide vertical stripes. Horizontal stripes

were common also. In the 1930s, collared rugby-style

shirts replaced crew necks, most visibly the 1933

Arsenal red shirt with white sleeves, and a wide,

white collar. Within a few years’ time numbered shirts

were introduced in Britain, and after the war the trend

began to spread to other parts of the world.

The jersey changed little over the coming decades.

It wasn’t until World War II that strides were made in

the evolution of the soccer uniform.

In the mid-1900s teams began wearing light, synthet-

ic fabrics, creating a look that became the mother of

the modern soccer jersey. And so we saw the “con-

tinental style” jersey featuring lighter, short-sleeved

v-neck designs, although some parts of Europe were

already sporting sleek, lightweight looks. Meanwhile,

Brazil had a look all its own - a yellow shirt with green

collar and cuffs, the brain child of young newspaper

illustrator whose handiwork won a national design

contest.

The soccer uniform entered the revolutionary 1960s

having departed from the long, baggy shorts and

button-down shirts of the prior decade, to V-necks

and rounded collars. The following 20 years found

jerseys becoming more commercial, as teams sought

to sell replicas of signature jerseys of notable players

complete with team logos, and which were made with

lighter, cooler fabrics.