I like how you stress where you'll be, Andreas, although I'm not sure whether you think being out of Brazil makes wearing the England kit better or worse. I'll be honest with you, I did not grow up in a sports-loving family: my sister was more into science than soccer and I don't think my father would know the difference between a baseball and basketball if it hit him on the nose. So when I went to university I found the sight of young men (and it was generally the young men rather than their female counterparts who did this) wearing various pieces of professional sports kit rather amusing. And endearing. And baffling.
I tried to understand the mentality: did these men - these grown men - think wearing the kit made them a little bit like the players? Did they think that it made them look athletic? (Note: it doesn't. Football kits are designed for rugged, chiselled, athletic men; athletes, in other words. And sports fans are many things but rugged and chiselled are not generally among them.) Were they playing dress-up, like little children? Was it a talisman for luck? But then I started working on the fashion desk of this very newspaper and this gave me an unexpected insight into the mind of the football supporter.
You see, fashion fans wear clothes to express their identity and their aspirations. A woman who wears Versace fancies herself quite the molto molto sexy mama, with a dash of 80s tackiness thrown in. A woman who sports dreams of being a chic Parisian demoiselle. One who favours Christopher Kane takes pride in being seen as edgy, different, sexy but punky. And this dressing-up is not just for the pleasure of the fashion fan - it is also to make a statement to observers. Those in the know recognise the message she is sending and, if they are sending a similar one, there is a nod of recognition between them. (I was once stuck on a crowded train in the summer, sweltering, miserable, pretty much ready to give up on life. At just the point I was considering selling my soul to Satan in exchange for getting off this damn train, I noticed the girl across the aisle from me was wearing the same Marni for H&M jacket as I was. We made eye contact, shared a small smile of pride, and continued to wait. It was one of the most pleasing things that has ever happened to me on public transport.)
This, I finally realised, was why sports fans wear kit: as a sign of allegiance, yes, but also to create a community. I live in an area of London that is dominated by one big club and I have grown quite fond of all the football flags, scarves and even posters that decorate the house fronts on my street. How often do you get a sense of community in a city like London?
This brings us, eventually, to the question of wearing one's football kit during the World Cup. Absolutely - why not? I have heard that the World Cup is quite a big deal in this country, so I see no reason not to embrace the moment with one's clothing. It's like wearing a Christmas jumper at Christmas: yes, you look ridiculous but, really, who the hell cares and pass the booze. The question you are going to have to decide, Andreas, is which kit.
I would strongly advocate against wearing Asda's wearable flag, which looks oddly similar to a well-known outfit worn by a particular type of white supremacist in the States. Sure, you look like you belong to a certain community, but it's not really a community any person with two brain cells would want to belong to. Much preferable is the official kit from Nike, some versions of which cost 60 and some 90, despite there being no discernible difference between the two. Of the two colours I guess I'd say the white is probably easier to wear.
These are OK, as far as football shirts go, although they are a tad well €¦ boring. Yeah, yeah, three lions and all that, but they're really just T-shirts, if we're all honest. In fact, it's hard not to notice how boring the England kit is compared with that of other teams, especially if one has spent the better part of the past month poring obsessively over one's Panini sticker album.
I've become rather taken with - CONTROVERSIAL - Uruguay's kit, with its flattering sky blue colour and yellow-and-white hints. The Brazil kit is, of course, a bona fide style classic. Ghana wins style points for its fetching collar detail with its intricate red, yellow, black and green pattern around the neckline. Impossible not to be cheered by such a shirt, no matter the outcome of the match.
But after much consideration I have decided that my favourite kit is the French. So delightfully Gallic, with a delightful Peter Pan collar in a contrasting white against blue. If Alexa Chung was to wear a football kit, this is the one she'd wear. So yes, you might incur some bother wearing a French football kit around Bristol during the World Cup, but one must suffer for style.
I tried to understand the mentality: did these men - these grown men - think wearing the kit made them a little bit like the players? Did they think that it made them look athletic? (Note: it doesn't. Football kits are designed for rugged, chiselled, athletic men; athletes, in other words. And sports fans are many things but rugged and chiselled are not generally among them.) Were they playing dress-up, like little children? Was it a talisman for luck? But then I started working on the fashion desk of this very newspaper and this gave me an unexpected insight into the mind of the football supporter.
You see, fashion fans wear clothes to express their identity and their aspirations. A woman who wears Versace fancies herself quite the molto molto sexy mama, with a dash of 80s tackiness thrown in. A woman who sports dreams of being a chic Parisian demoiselle. One who favours Christopher Kane takes pride in being seen as edgy, different, sexy but punky. And this dressing-up is not just for the pleasure of the fashion fan - it is also to make a statement to observers. Those in the know recognise the message she is sending and, if they are sending a similar one, there is a nod of recognition between them. (I was once stuck on a crowded train in the summer, sweltering, miserable, pretty much ready to give up on life. At just the point I was considering selling my soul to Satan in exchange for getting off this damn train, I noticed the girl across the aisle from me was wearing the same Marni for H&M jacket as I was. We made eye contact, shared a small smile of pride, and continued to wait. It was one of the most pleasing things that has ever happened to me on public transport.)
This, I finally realised, was why sports fans wear kit: as a sign of allegiance, yes, but also to create a community. I live in an area of London that is dominated by one big club and I have grown quite fond of all the football flags, scarves and even posters that decorate the house fronts on my street. How often do you get a sense of community in a city like London?
This brings us, eventually, to the question of wearing one's football kit during the World Cup. Absolutely - why not? I have heard that the World Cup is quite a big deal in this country, so I see no reason not to embrace the moment with one's clothing. It's like wearing a Christmas jumper at Christmas: yes, you look ridiculous but, really, who the hell cares and pass the booze. The question you are going to have to decide, Andreas, is which kit.
I would strongly advocate against wearing Asda's wearable flag, which looks oddly similar to a well-known outfit worn by a particular type of white supremacist in the States. Sure, you look like you belong to a certain community, but it's not really a community any person with two brain cells would want to belong to. Much preferable is the official kit from Nike, some versions of which cost 60 and some 90, despite there being no discernible difference between the two. Of the two colours I guess I'd say the white is probably easier to wear.
These are OK, as far as football shirts go, although they are a tad well €¦ boring. Yeah, yeah, three lions and all that, but they're really just T-shirts, if we're all honest. In fact, it's hard not to notice how boring the England kit is compared with that of other teams, especially if one has spent the better part of the past month poring obsessively over one's Panini sticker album.
I've become rather taken with - CONTROVERSIAL - Uruguay's kit, with its flattering sky blue colour and yellow-and-white hints. The Brazil kit is, of course, a bona fide style classic. Ghana wins style points for its fetching collar detail with its intricate red, yellow, black and green pattern around the neckline. Impossible not to be cheered by such a shirt, no matter the outcome of the match.
But after much consideration I have decided that my favourite kit is the French. So delightfully Gallic, with a delightful Peter Pan collar in a contrasting white against blue. If Alexa Chung was to wear a football kit, this is the one she'd wear. So yes, you might incur some bother wearing a French football kit around Bristol during the World Cup, but one must suffer for style.