EIGHTIES x TRANSALPINO - GOING UNDERGROUND

It's no great secret that we are a Merseyside based collective and proud of that fact. Yes there is sometimes cross river rivalry but I always win (arf).

So as May saw the re opening of cult trainer store Transalpino in the city, we will be teaming up with our good friends there to bring you lots of nice stuff in the coming months.

First up is a t shirt idea that came to me while waiting to get the train back to Gods side of the river after a days graft in the Transalpino store (yes such is our bond they even let me hang around in there on Saturday's hoping not to get sussed as a wool).

Whilst patiently waiting for the 18.16 to Hamilton Square my mind began to wonder as to how we could tinker with the above signage intended to stop meffs and foreign folk alike killing themselves on the Mersey underground. However for me they are missing the bigger issue which is that Longsdale slip on's are not an acceptable mode of transport in the home of the 'trainee' and this needs addressing double fast.... So we have done just that with our 'Underground Etiquette' design.... we hope.

Coming soon exclusively to the Transalpino store, Bold St, Liverpool. JM

INTRODUCING THE SERGE DENIM

When starting our little label we had many hopes and aspirations... one of them was to put our name to a good pair of jeans. So finally that time has come as The Serge Denim sees us team up with fellow Merseyside based brand Alarleo to do just that.

Alarleo takes it's name from a game played by many a bored kid on housing estates in Liverpool throughout the years and is a choice that we really like ( A... lar... leo). The head honcho Mike Waterfield has many years of retail sourcing and manufacturing experience and after so much time talking about doing something himself,  it was his wife who finally forced him to stop talking and give it a go. We thank you Mrs Waterfield as he's pretty bloody good at this!

This 13oz premium selvedge denim has been imported from the East to be cut and sewn right here in Blighty. The fit is generous around the waist with plenty of thigh room tapering to a perfect shoe showing ankle width. The fly is button with two front hand pockets and one coin plus two standard logo stitched ones to the rear. Finishing touches include sewn Palla badge on front, rear Eighties pinch tab, plus real leather embossed collaboration patch with belt openings. Only100 pairs have been made and individually numbered just for us. JM

Realased 12.05.15 @ 8pm - £85.00

CONFUSION

A ritual that was as much a part of the weekly clobber shopping and match attending in the 80s, was the trip to the word of mouth back street record store to browse the latest 12 inch vinyl's, picture discs and foreign imports. 

We could spend hours flicking through the neatly labelled alphabetical sections, marvelling at the effort which went into the record sleeves. None were finer than the cover of New Order’s releases and with our continued homage to that we bring you the ‘Confusion’ tee... more cleaver artwork by local lad Paul Cruse. JM

MONACO KNITTED POLO

Introducing the Monaco knitted polo, a lightweight garment in a durable cotton acrylic mix achieving a soft, comfortable feel that won't bobble or wear with ease.

The cuffs and hem are ribbed for shape retention, a three button placket, ribbed collar, are all finished off with our classic leather Palla badge on the breast. Available exclusively online from size small to XXL priced at £49.95 JM

THE MARSEILLE KNIT

The Marseille is a simple but elegant fine gauge knit in a cotton cashmere mix. This is a super soft washable garment that avoids that 'itchy' feel than can come with wool.

The classic cut, leather Palla badge and pastel colours are a nod to some of the outstanding popular knit of 80s terrace fame. The 12 gauge rating means this is perfect for layering up on those cooler Summer nights or just tossing around the shoulders if you want to go all continental in the beer garden ....available exclusivly online now
 JM

NICE YACHTING JACKET RELEASE DETAILS

Possibly our most anticipated garm to date The Nice Yachting Jacket is released tonight @ 7pm online. We only have 40 of these available as the other 40 have gone to forum members and stockists.

Pictures and size chart are now up to preview but please note these are quite roomy. JM

HIGH AND RISING

There are just certain things you have something about.... grim Northern backdrops, house music and smartly dressed football types are just a few of ours.

Partially inspired by all of these this forthcoming design incorporates all three.  The KLF's renowned track 'It's Grim Up North' remixed with just a touch of our own self indulgence (we couldn't help but slip in our home towns and those of our loyal customer base in there).

Coming to a rough estate near you soon. JM 

EVOLUTION NOT REVOLUTION

So everything starts as an idea and being a very small independent set up with no backing what so ever it isn't always pretty.

We love a sweat here at Eighties and inspired by the great varsity sweats of that era we wanted to do one of our own. 

So we came up with a E and Palla logo combo which was then realized right here in the North West using chenille, felt and cotton.

We like how it's turned out sticking with our ethos of wearable basics with a twist. Hence the comprehensive or 'Comp' sweat (well lets face it that's as far as the majority of our educations stretched) will be available to buy exclusively online from 8pm 24.02.15

Sizes small to XXL in navy, yellow, royal and marl grey because we evolve but we don't revolve. JM

OUR TRADITIONS

Like most of our customers we simply like our culture which is copied by many but lived by few. We like to dress up (with a nice jacket being pride of place) for a few beers and the match..  simple as peas. 

So this image tinkered with by another Liverpudlian artist, is one of our favourite continental beers and one of the coolest ever Italian lines  ‘qualita e tradizione’ translating to ‘quality and traditions’, we’re having some of that. JM

GHOST TOWN RE STOCK

"Some designs are better than others" errr sorry wrong band...anyhow with that in mind our very popular Ghost Town tee will be re stocked on our website tonight from 8pm. Available in navy Brit Fit plus electric and chocolate Premium Fit.

Based on the distinctive record sleeve for 'Ghost Town' by Coventry's finest The Specials, a somewhat baffling recent twitter accusation was that we had ruined an iconic image and totally missed the point of the lyrics.... However those who 'get it' appreciate that the addition of expensive trainers is reference to the fact that although on the bones of our arses back then (clever eh) the more savvy match going chaps always found a way to fix up and look sharp in the face of adversity....... (and breath) JM

INTRODUCING THE NICE YATCHING JACKET

So this Spring we are doing a blatant copy of a jacket that has become a bit of a cult garm in certain circles. 

Between 1997 & 2000 in my previous life as buying director for designer clothing chain Tessuti, I bought in a smallish obscure brand called Faconnable for the flagship store in Chester. I was always looking for the next big brand getting some right and some wrong. Now barring a few clued up lads from Stoke who used to come over, this product pretty much flopped and was mainly sale fodder. However I gave it a few seasons in hope it would be picked up on for it's outstanding quality and as buying appointments go, a trip to their showrooms in Nice on the French cost twice a year was like a breath of fresh air.

So this one season I bought a jacket that was best likened to Joseph's technicoloured dream coat. I've always been a sucker for bright 'get on me' jackets and this was very much in that category resulting in a lot of raised eye brows and ribbing when it hit the shop floor. I bought one of each size in the two versions offered keeping my favoured version for myself in my size. Now unfortunately I managed to f**k mine up washing it too hot running the colours into the off white section resulting in us having to part company as I'm a pedantic little shit. I never for one minute I thought  would see one again but with the advent of Ebay I found one years later in my size just up the bloody road in Wallasey! Since then this little number has been hyped up elsewhere but I have no qualms with staking a claim on it for the reasons above. Now some will call it bastardization but let's be honest, it's so rare how else are you going to get one?

Due in April limited to 80 pieces. JM

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!

After discussion with our supplier, printer and stockists, we have all agreed to each take a little hit on margin to bring our new Premium Fit tee in to line on pricing with our existing Brit Fit tee @ £29.95.

Anyone who has already purchased the new fit at the current full retail of £34.95 please contact us via the website for compensation.

Best,

Jay & Dave.

FOOTBALL'S SOUL

You may, just may, have picked up on the vibe that we like our football...however our two respective teams couldn't be further away in a league that we feel has been ruined all in the name of ££££.

It's well documented now, that many in Blighty are simply pissed off with the modern game and all the circus that comes with it. Since 1992 the creation of the English Premier League has seen ticket prices rocket out of reach of your average working class Man, many traditional clubs go down the pan and to be quite frank the rise of the drum beating whopper appearing on what used to be the terrace.

Now I'm not knocking Prem teams per se, but my business partner now has to spend a substantial amount of his income to continue what he has done since a boy to follow Liverpool FC. Why? greed sums up in one word the hundreds of bad ones in my head. I fortunately don't follow a team of any financial interest, therefore I don't suffer quite the same expense. The flip side of that is will my beloved Tranmere Rovers with their lack of support or glamour still be around for my son to follow in ten years time? It's not looking good.

So with all that in mind we have combined our Northern roots with a very familiar image to get our point across, and how fitting that Wigan the home of Northern soul should have recently suffered at the cost of the mighty scramble to stay in the promise land....

What the fuck was wrong with division one as the top tier anyway? JM

THIS IS THE AGE OF THE TRAINER

On Saturday 4 October Liverpool gets its first ever Trainer, Trainees, Trabs, Sneaker Festival.

                                              

Taking place at the trendy Camp & Furnace the Festival will see hundreds converge on the warehouse to share in an obsession of footwear that dates back to the 80s. With over 20 stalls on show, with trainers for sale or swop, the day promises to be a highlight of the year for local enthusiasts. Admission is just £3 with the day running from 12-6pm. A bar, DJ's, a Barber and tattoo artist are also in attendance.

As a brand whose philosophy is totally Eighties related and Trainer obsessed, we have been commissioned to design the Official T-Shirt for the event. Taking inspiration from the start of the Trainer culture we have re designed the Merseyrail underground map highlighting some of the most iconic footwear from the 80s period, plus we have added a tagline or two from the Eighties archives. 

The Premium Fit T-Shirt will be available in white and a Melange Grey at a specially reduced price just for the day. It will then be available on our website 

from the following week. DH

THE FAIRWAY HAT

The bucket hat is an accessory we have championed for sometime now. So for Autumn 2014 we thought we would mix things up a bit. The Fairway is a robust construction made from fine needle cord fabric.

The addition of three golf tee holders is a twisted nod towards a certain training shoe of terrace fame, whilst four air vents will prevent you from turning into a hot head on the 19th hole.

Now odds are your not off for a cheeky back nine in this, but why not place your Fizzers, bookies pencil or posh rollies in them. JM

Out tonight from 8pm online @ £29.95

INTRODUCING THE HATRICK CAGOULE

The Hatrick cagoule is a revamped version of a very early venture into outerwear from way back when. 

We like to think we have developed as a brand since then and this is a celebration of that. Again there is a tip of the cap to it's original inspiration, the Patrick cagoule of terrace legend.

 The shell is 100% nylon with taped and stitched seams. The garment feature a horizontal three panelled cut and sewn body, with two angled pocket for easy access. The hood is generous with a large peak for better foul weather protection. Finishing touches include hood and hem adjusters, our distinctive Palla badge discreetly offset on the chest, plus the Eighties pinch tab on the left pocket.

Now available online priced @ £85.00 JM