COMING SOON - 80s CASUALS DEERSTALKER

As the Winter approaches our thoughts turn to keeping warm while venturing out. Therefore besides the Ski-Hat which is at the production stage we are also producing a Deerstalker. A big favourite from the 80s but a practical one at that. 

The Deerstalker often used for hunting was adopted in the early 80s by casuals up and down the land and although having two flexible side flaps that covered the ears was often worn with them tied up. The iconic check tweed pattern served as a form of camouflage while hunting and so was the obvious choice for our model. The larger 80s Casuals leather badge adorns the front.

Our website will have them exclusively available in the next month.

RED SUNS in 80s CASUALS

We were out and about at the weekend and caught a few bands at The Mathew Street Festival. One band worth making a note of are the Red Suns from the Wirral. Having a touch of the Bunnymen and Joy Division as possible influences. it was certainly something that made us stand up and listen. Add to that the fact that the lead singer was sporting an 80s Casuals polo and what more could we ask for. Deltasonic [the Coral] have their capable hands on the guys so expect things to start happening soon, plus having a Sharrock [Jim] on the drums can't be a bad thing. Check their myspace site for a couple of songs.

http://www.myspace.com/redsunsmusic

DAVE WHITE INTERVIEW

Heres a new video interview with Dave White who recently launched his American Eagle Edition at the Art Republic Gallery in London. He mentions his collaboration with Nike for the 'WINGS for the future' project for Brand Jordan, the first to be void of any Nike swoosh. If you check his website http://www.davewhiteart.com/ the 'Americana' Exhibition moves on to Copenhagen, opening on 16th September at the 'Nordic Art Fair'.

BIDO LITO - FREE MUSIC MAGAZINE

Bido Lito is a Liverpool based music magazine. Now just over a year old, the mag is independently produced and has a production run of 5000 with over 170 stockists in the North West. But here's the best part, like our other favourite on-line magazine Umbrella [ http://www.umbrellamagazine.co.uk/ ]....it's FREE and available from any of the stockists or it can also be read on the Bido Lito website http://www.bidolito.co.uk/ Also available on the website is a hour long podcast.

The magazines content embraces the local music scene with interviews, gig guides, gig reviews and comment. As Liverpool has become a mecca for the weekend break, you can do no worse than to pick up a copy in one of the local fashion or music stores before venturing out on the Town, as there is more to Liverpool than the Beatles, the Cavern and Mathew Street.

Should you be a budding writer or photographer, then the magazine is always looking for contributors, so drop them an email.

We continue to support such grass roots culture with an advert for our up-coming Happy Mondays 'Twisting' T-Shirt, which should be in stores late September. The latest Edition of Bido Lito is available now.

NEW BOOK - DRESSERS

The book is a social history of a young working-class youth culture, covering the early 1980s on the football terraces through to the dance floors of later that decade and charting the route from Italian sportswear to baggy rave gear - all placed against the backdrop of a small steel-working town 10 miles outside Glasgow ... It chronicles the rise of one of Scotland’s original football casual groups, pioneering the fashion that was to become central to the Saturday afternoon fracas in town centres and at football grounds all over Scotland. Some of these exploits (out of a collection of literally hundreds) are well documented within the book, with photographs and words telling the real story behind the newspaper headlines. In the 1990s, as getting arrested every Saturday afternoon began to lose its appeal, football took a back seat as Scotland’s rave and club culture exploded with the introduction of 'that pill'. This was then followed in the new millennium by a new generation taking up the mantle that had been set in the early eighties. Enjoy the read. Two years in the making, 3 nervous breakdowns, 25 personal accounts of featured events, over 200 pages in full colour, 45 fashion pages, over 500 photographs, 75 designer labels, umpteen spelling mistakes, 25 scrapbook pages, 78 pairs of training shoes, 8000 shapes thrown on the dancefloor and so much raving your adidas Gazelles had holes in them........

Pre-Order it now at 80s Casuals for the special price of £19.99. Release date is 31 Oct 2011.

http://www.80scasuals.co.uk/shop10.html

MEET VINNY THE GRAFTER

We have a new set of swing tickets which include washing instructions for our T-Shirts. The character on the front is our friend Vinny. You may notice him popping up now and again in the next year as we prepare for the 'Grafters Collection' release in Spring of 2012. He first appeared outside the Wade Smith store in an advert we commissioned a couple of years ago to place in a few fanzines. He has now spread his wings and we picture him somewhere on the French or Italian coast.

Meet Vinny...he's a lovable rogue who like many of us spent most of his time following his team around Europe in the 80s golden era of British football. His main interest on these trips were the lightly guarded colourful sportswear and training shoes left out in pairs in Continental sports emporiums. So toothpaste and undies packed, armed only with his Head bag, a jarg Transalpino ticket and the odd borrowed credit card, he jibbed his way across foreign borders. Vinny joined the exodus with the sole intention of improving his wardrobe along the way.

The grafter was born.

THE FEMALE 70s CASUAL LOOK

As we have mentioned, the 'Jayne' T-Shirt image reminds us of the girls from the early days of 'Casual' when the look was basically a new fashion that was moving on from the 70s glam image of wide legged jeans and big collared shirts.

Here we have a small article from a few years back highlighting the parallels of the male and female fashion of the time.

Southport is a small seaside resort, not more than 20 miles from Liverpool. During the winter months, the rain and wind swept prom is deserted apart from the odd retiree walking his dog. There isn't much call to pay the town a visit. The Pleasureland fairground is a ghost town and the swimming baths too cold. Come the summer months though and the place comes alive. The baths fill up and the car parks overflow with day-trippers, but best of all the fairground bustles with kids, parents with prams, boys and girls queuing for the rides. Being a half hour train journey from Liverpool, Southport becomes a week-end mecca for scouse teenagers determined to 'have a laugh.'

In the summer of '79 and '80 the scouse lads and girls who were into the fashion of the day would, as your mother wouls say, put on there Sunday best. It was an easy and enduring look of jeans with Pod, Kickers or Kios plus a nice T-Shirt or shirt. Jeanette had the flick to die for [another necessity] and would meet up with the lads each weekend, minding their sovereigns on a match day whilst they got up to some shenanigans at the game. During the summer months once the season had finished, it was off to Southport for some fun.

'We would meet up in town [Liverpool] and all get the train together. Some weeks there'd be about 30 or 40 of us. I remember one week I'd been going on at me mum to get me some new Kickers. I finally got a baby pink pair and wore them for the first time on the next excursion to Southport. I had me Kickers and a pair of white Inega jeans with a French Connection check shirt on. You had to get dressed up or you'd get the piss taken out of you all day. When we were at the fair, the caterpillar was for snoggin' because you could pull the covers over and no one would see you. The lads would then go into the funhouse and the girls would be look-out to tell them if anyone was going in. As soon as anyone went in who wasn't a scouser they'd get punched and kicked and threw about the place in the dark. This became a regular occurrence until one week when they had security patrolling inside the funhouse to stop them scousers. I think they even called the police on another occasion.'

The girls fashion mirrored the lads from about '77 to '81 with both wearing Pod, Kickers, the same jeans [lois, fiorucci, inega etc], tops by Marc O'polo, French Connection and check shirts, polos and t-shirts. As the lads went off to liberate Europe of the finest of sportswear, the girls fashion took a separate route. As the lads ran around in Fila and Tacchini tracksuits, the girls went for the leather look, with leather jeans and skirts, closely followed by loose fitting jumpsuits.

MORE THAN JUST A GAME T-SHIRT

The roots and heritage of 80s Casuals lies in the fashion and passion of going to the match, whether its following a premier team around Europe or standing on a terrace at a local non-league club.

The 'More than just a Game' T-Shirt depicts the passion and style of what a game means to most of us on a Saturday or whatever day Sky may dictate.

We may delve into other influential cultures of music and film but our main inspiration will always be the stable of brands that made the 80s an iconic era for fashion. We do pay utmost attention to the latest fashion and looks but then we will fuse the two together to give all of our designs a distinctive twist.

'More than just a Game' still needs tweaking and the tagline adding but it should be in stores by mid September.

80s CASUALS BOOK REDUCED

We have put up a few bargains on our Ebay page today. The last few sizes of the 'Awaydays' Cagoule include only one small and then a few of the larger sizes. There's also a couple of Polos and the last 'Subway' Sweatshirt.

The 80s Casuals A5 size book has now been reduced by £5 for the foreseeable future and is for the first time available for international postage, although we have to include insured delivery on any foreign purchase.

check the Ebay page here; http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/80scas/m.html?_trksid=p4340.l2562

NEW SCOOTER T-SHIRT

Another new T-Shirt in the design process is our Lambretta Scooter ad. The picture was taken in the early 60s with movie goddess Jayne Mansfield adding a touch of glamour to the image. She reminds us of the late 70s/early 80s when a few girls would dress in European labels in a similar vein to their match going brothers or boyfriends. A tight fit jumper, usually French Connection would be worn with narrow jeans, probably Lois, Inega or Fiorucci. The ubiquitous Kickers topped off the early Continental look.

The 125 Lambretta and Northern Soul clenched fist cross references the sub-culture cross over in the late 60s from Mod to Northern Soul. Both very much a part of British cultural history and periods which influence us through their design and fashion.

The T-Shirt will be in stores during September.

A/W '11 'SUMMIT' SMOCK

Here we have a final sample of the only jacket we shall be producing this Winter. The 'Summit' Smock is a part of the A/W '11 'Off-Peak' Collection. It's never an easy journey to get to the final design as you may have noticed if you have followed the process from the initial sketch in February, but we believe we are now at a design that is one of our most accomplished pieces to date. We still need to add a central inner draw-cord but this is basically the finished article.

The over-head 'Summit' is an All-Weather Smock, being wind-proof and rapid-drying shower proof with one large central cargo pocket and two front dual access side pockets, all button fixing. The hood is peaked with a metal buckle adjuster to the rear and has a metal tipped draw-cord, there is also a hem draw-cord with a waist cord to be added to the design. The elbows are re-inforced with the same colour material. The three button high neck placket is ideal buttoned up during extreme weather or open for ventilation. There is also a shoulder guard flap on the right side.

The Smock will be produced in Khaki and Navy.

Orders are being taken in the next few days and shops should expect delivery at the end of October.

ORDINARY T-SHIRT MkII + SUTTON SWEAT

Soon to be added to the store page http://www.80scasuals.co.uk/shop1.html is our latest Ordinary T-Shirt. A plain coloured Brit Fit with the latest subtle embroidered badge. Perfect on its own or accompanying the latest Zip-Through Sweatshirt.

The 80s Casuals Sutton Sweatshirt takes its name from an area closely associated with the Awaydays Book. It comes in two colours Navy or Marl Grey and has a contrast drawstring through the hood. The embroidered badge is placed discreetly upon the left side pocket. The Sweatshirt can be found in the Sweats and Pants section.

http://www.80scasuals.co.uk/shop11.html

80s CASUALS T-SHIRT BOOK

Just over a year ago now we catalogued an ever growing collection of 80s Casuals T-Shirts with the idea of producing a commemorative book of the best designs. As with all book projects, this will take us some time, but we now have together a selection of some of the earliest pieces to produce a small booklet in time for Christmas.

The T-Shirts shown here were from the 2004 year. A year when the print was a single colour on the front and the reverse had 80s Casuals at the top by the neck. There was no embroidery and the only place to buy them was at Tessuti in Chester or if you were lucky one or two would appear on Ebay.

The idea now is to have approximately 40 of these designs photographed and then we can put together a small book showcasing the first few years of our existence.

GRAFTERS COLLECTION S/S'12 CAGOULE COLOURS

After careful consideration we have decided upon four colourways for the Spring/Summer 2012 Cagoule. The contrast colours include the recent sample of Cream and Navy. We have then produced sketches with varying colour options before settling upon a Navy Top with an Empire Yellow lower half, a Navy Top with a Beaujolais Burgundy lower half and finally a Marina Blue Top with a lower half of Cream.

As with any Cagoule it is functional and easily packable having a zipped pouch as part of its construction.

The Grafters Collection for Spring/Summer 2012 takes it's inspiration from the European Trips of the early 80s where a new world of colour opened up to the Casual. Grafters who had at first travelled to the Continent to support their team then returned abroad to bring back an array of designer goods unavailable in the U.K. The Continental colours and styles are now here to stay and here we have our own interpretation.

We are also waiting for a Chambray Jacket sample which will be in the same shape and style as the Cagoule. The Jacket will be available in only a few select stores as it will be very limited in it's production. The first pics will appear here soon.

80s CASUALS SMOCK A/W11 STAGE 3

STAGE 1

STAGE 2

STAGE 3

Some of you may have been following the progression of our Autumn/Winter 2011 Smock design. After going through a few design sketches we have chosen the second drawing but reverted back to the original drawing for the chest pocket and two lower front side pockets.

The sample has now been produced and we await its arrival this week. The waterproof 100% cotton fabric includes a peaked hood, a three button placket, a right shoulder strap, strengthened elbow patches and velcro fastening cuffs.

As soon as the sample arrives we shall put pics up here first.

T-SHIRT IN PROGRESS - HAPPY MONDAYS

This months set of T-Shirt designs are in the course of being prepared. We have 3 or 4 new ones plus a couple of classics not seen for a while.

The first one nearly ready is related to the Manchester music scene of the late 80s, a period that touched everyone, especially those who stood on the terraces on a Saturday afternoon before an evening of clubbing.

The Happy Mondays came to the fore with the classic album 'Bummed' in 1988 on Factory records. The follow up 'Pills 'n' Thrills and Bellyaches' went platinum before 'Yes Please' became the final release on Factory. The major cost of producing this album brought about the downfall of the Factory label as they soon had to declare bankruptcy.

The T-Shirt depicts each of these iconic albums in a somewhat mixed up frame as part of a Rubik's cube which debuted in the Western world in 1980, the same year in which the Happy Mondays were formed.

The final design shall be previewed soon with a list of retailers stocking the T-Shirt.

EXCLUSIVE 'BOSS MAG' T-SHIRT

In its three years of existence 'Boss' Magazine has earned a great reputation culminating in a nomination for Football Fanzine of the Year for 2011. The lads behind the Mag are definately keeping their feet on the ground as the latest edition still retains the £1 price tag.

The usual cultural issues are sure to be included like going the pub, football and other important weekend activities.

80s Casuals have collaborated with 'Boss' on an exclusive design which will be sold through the website http://www.distantecho.co.uk/t/80s-casuals

We have been prone to the odd collaboration in the past like Fila but that doesn't stop us working with the grass roots of football culture whether its a Fanzine or the sponsorship of weekend football teams.

The design is one of the Magazines own and fits in nicely with our own heritage with the use of an 80s adidas Tango ball as the main feature. It's available in two colours, Marl Grey and Navy Blue while supplies last.

This Saturday also sees a gig at Static Gallery in Liverpool promoted by the lads as a celebration of how far the non-profit Magazine has gone and to give something back to those who have supported them.

A/W 'OFF PEAK' MONTE SKI HAT.

The 'Monte' Ski Hat is now in production with two colourways having been selected.

Firstly we have the sample colours of Navy/Red/White and now a new combination of French Blue/Cyber Yellow/White.

We expect delivery to be towards the end of September.

NEW UMBRELLA MAGAZINE

Our favourite on-line magazine goes from strength to strength with readership now up to 15000. The fourth issue of Umbrella includes pieces on Photography, Architecture, Graffiti, Food, Drink and of course Fashion. So basically a guaranteed reason to keep the mind amused for an hour or more. Download is free and it's available here;

http://www.umbrellamagazine.co.uk/