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

FADED LOIS DREAMS

Worth a read...

"As a clothes-obsessed music-loving football fan teenager Richard White always dreamed of living in London. By 1982 he was living this dream, and making his way in the big city. Faded Lois Dreams is the story of that year. The story of one young man and his friends as they face up to the joy and pain of living in the capital city. A city that reverberates to the sound of IRA bombs, post-punk, jazz funk and reggae. The charts are full of electro-pop while seminal records like The Message by Grandmaster Flash and Night Nurse by Gregory Isaacs edge their way into White's consciousness as Margaret Thatcher and Britain wages war with Argentina over the Falkland Islands. Set in the seemingly tranquil area of Muswell Hill where vampires roam the nearby cemetery and strange things happen behind the net curtains to Soho and Fitrovia where White and his friends party after dark. This is the London that evades the radar of the tourists and the media commentators. 

 Written from the first person perspective – and with both humour and pathos – Andrew Vaughan describes in painstaking details the minutiae of London life. From the terraces to the clothes shops via the pubs, clubs and record shops. He documents the changing fashions, attitudes, love affairs, fall-outs and personal tragedies that occur in this tribal city where if you take the wrong turning you could be walking into big trouble. Take the right turning and you could find pleasure and love. But most of all Faded Lois Dreams is about friendship, identity and belonging in this transient city. Friendship, identity and belonging whilst wearing decent clothes and trainers". JM

THIS TOWN

Is it just us or does every one horse town in the UK seem to have nothing left on the high street other than bargain stores, phone shops and boarded up pubs. A really sad sight in our opinion and poignantly summed up by the classic 80s tune 'Ghost Town' by The Specials.

This record sleeve was one of the most distinctive of it's time and something we miss with the advent of downloads. A great part of the decade we love was arriving home with your latest vinyl purchase and studying the cover front to back.

So in light of that we came up with our own homage to all the above with the customary Eighties hallmarks thrown in.

Wonderfully re drawn by the talented Mr Cruse, available on a tee for fighting on the dance floor in the not to distant future. JM

PRODUCT CHANGES

From the off we have always focused on quality fabrics and prints.Ten years on we still see some of our original tee's on backs or changing hands in great condition. 

Our British or 'Brit Fit' tee has always been our bench mark, with it's generous sizing and heavyweight 180g 100% pure combed cotton content (combed cotton is an extremely soft version of cotton made by specially treating the fibres before they are spun into yarn). However the colours offered from our supplier have shrunk year on year due to high cotton prices, leaving us a very basic pallet choice hence only offering this style on line @ £29.95

Our 'Italian Fit' tee is our wholesale product stocked in stores worldwide. It's a 100% ring spun 180g cotton garment (the ring spun cotton process results in a stronger yarn with a significantly softer handle than regular cotton which can be quite dry to the touch) with a tubular construction which aids shape retention. This product supplier is renowned as the market leader for durability and comfort. This is a regular fitting tee which will be exclusive to stockists going forward RRP £29.95 - £32

Our new 'Premium Fit' tee is a luxury 100% combed 165g cotton mixed with 15% a silk soft handle. This is again a regular fitting tee, that offers us the best standard out there in a choice of colours we like. This will be available on line and through selected stockists only, but unfortunately that comes at a higher price which is reflected in the RRP of £34.95 JM

BRASILICA!

So some claim we have just witnessed the best World cup ever (not for our money as both of our bloodlines were piss poor). One thing is for sure and that's the flair and colour of Brazilian football is second to none.

The Brazilian league has undoubtedly produce some of the finest and most recognisable players, whilst their clubs names, kits and badges have always caught our eye. So with that in mind we have produced a new design with an Eighties twist which, we think works quite well.

Available on tee's and sweats next month. JM

IN BETWEEN AWAYS

Most of our designs are of course conceived with our following in mind, however every now and then we do indulge ourselves in a tangent of our own. I am personally a huge fan of The Cure and doubt I'm alone on this with many of our customers.

For me the most memorable video from this wonderful band was In between days. The lyrics are agreed by most to be based on a love triangle, whilst the viewing was always fantastic on acid.

The opening line 'yesterday I got so old' is somewhat poignant at this stage in many of our lives as age kicks in and a good awayday session often leaves you feeling a little green on a Sunday morning...... artwork by the constantly brilliant Paul Cruse.

Coming back to you in the near future. JM

BEHIND THE IRON CURTAIN

So if you have ever bothered to read our blurb, we take a lot of inspiration from the cultures and terrace fashions of the 80s (no shit Sherlock).

Now I'm not sure how regional this was, but many footy types briefly flirted with all things Soviet in said era. Be it a hammer & sickle t shirt, or a copy of the Morning Star in your back sky on matchday..... a lot had a go.

Some of the best images on display at the time were from small independent Liverpool based label Macanno. Inspired by a book a of old Russian propaganda posters, creators Jeff and Rob Davies set out to produce one of the most under celebrate labels of it's era in our personal opinion.

So not for the first time we have a little nod towards all the above, with fine work from Paul Cruse, mixing an old poster and Soviet coat of arms, with our brands proud 10 years plus heritage. Many have followed our lead, but we believe we are the original casual culture label, so we've even given ourselves a star above our crest in a Serie A stylie, resulting in this rather natty image coming on tee's and sweats in the not too distant future.

Long live the Republic! JM

THIS CHARMING MAN

"This Man said it's gruesome that someone so handsome should care"


Growing up in the 80s The Smiths were one of those bands you didn't want to admit you liked, as the lead singer was well errm a bit 'fruity'. Yet by the time your 40 it's funny how your more than happy to swing your arms around at a family doo, with your mam's fake flowers in hand doing a really shit impersonation of Morrissey.

So here is our tribute the big glasses wearing Stretford crooner as it's now OK to admit his music was actually boss.

More fine work by our Man Paul Cruse. JM

FURTHER ADVENTURES WITH PAUL CRUSE

Back in 2003 when we started printing images of things we like on tee's, designing was a whole lot easier. Photograph your rare old training shoes, get the printer to filter the image into ink form and you had a rather smart tee. Problem was it caught on, so with that came competition and higher expectation. It came to the point that we had great ideas trapped in our heads but not the skills to realise them.....we needed a good artist/designer.

Over the years we have worked with one or two, but never anyone we felt comfortable with on a permanent basis.We often look back at many designs thinking 'great idea but we could do it better now' and yes, yes we can as we've got our Man.

Paul Cruse is a Liverpool based designer, who was brought to our attention through his own label ART OF WAR which we spotted in a mutual stockist. The quality of his graphics was in our opinion up there with the best we had seen, so we set out to track this Man down. Turned out we had a lot in common, years stuck in retail but wanting to do something more, both passionate owners of a small brand and a shared love of house music ( although a blue, Paul doesn't claim to be a huge match goer and we like that honesty).

So you may have noticed lately, us re visiting our archive as a good idea is a good idea and even better when PC get's his mitts on it.

Like some we don't constantly rave about our products, although we are very proud of what we do. We just keep striving to improve and believe if you like our goods then you'll buy them, if you don't you won't. However we do feel we are blessed to have Paul as part of our team, keeping our graphic tee's progressing in line with the rest of our clothing. Like us Paul works hard in his day job (well night actually) to keep his true passion alive. He also runs his own studio undertaking private work should you fancy a personal high quality image just for you. Oh and you know what? he's a thoroughly nice lad to. JM

You can contact Paul here.