THE sense of deja vu in and around Shepherd's Bush is in some ways quite unnerving. The 'Casual' buzz has returned.

The political and economic climate is similar to that at the start of the movement and one of the main players of that golden time, Stuarts, is once again filled with enough sportswear delights to fill the heart of any casual aficionado or fan.
For me the whole thing started around at QPR in 1982, with the following season seeing the lid literally come off the movement in the area.
Fable has it that coach loads of away fans would turn up to Stuarts, along with Man o' War across the other side of the Uxbridge Road, to buy the latest looks.
The area has been somewhat overlooked in the history books, but anyone in the known remembers the importance of the club and area to the fashion in its heyday.
But now it is definitely back. And after a slow underground trickle two years ago, 'Casual' of sorts has made a welcome return. Since the beginning of the season countless groups of away fans have been seen walking through the doors of the shop to pick up some new threads. Barnsley fans caught my eye on the opening day of the season sporting Fila tops en-masse.
And the same can be said when we visited Aston Villa earlier this season for a league cup match, with a good sized crew of Rangers fans cutting a retro-laden dash across Aston Park.
The lack of time given to the importance of W12 to the original movement may be slightly galling when thumbing through Phil Thornton's Casual book and such like, but it did allow for the club to create its own niche looks, in a similar way to the Scallies with their tweed jackets and so on.
The eyes never quite lose their eagle-edge when it comes to spotting football styles, trends and fashions. Admittedly, the initial new movement is sported by the 35-45 year old age bracket, but aspects are filtering down to the younger fans. Out seem to be going the high street footwear and Hackett, Stone Island and Burberry labels, in exchange for Fila, Tacchini and Lacoste and of course the dusting down of classic trainers (Forest Hills, Borg Elites and so on) with the hunt and challenge to be one step ahead alive and well.
It is obvious each look has been hunted down by the wearer, worked on and thought out, either while chasing that classic pair of trainers or faded Lois chords on eBay or originalsfootwear.com and so on, or simply through combinations of memory and just great dress sense.
The question of how the fashion avoids being a closed shop of old Casual 'die-hards' who know in-depth detail on the classic Adidas trainers of the day, or exactly when a style of Fila tracksuit top was released and how many were available is one I find interesting. This needs to be avoided if the fashion is to avoid failing to make the proper impact needed for it to flourish and grow, with younger Casual followers catching on and also bringing in newer styles and labels to the look. I have been keeping an eye out for this aspect of things and will monitor it over the coming months of the season.
That aside this is an exciting time and I for one am really enjoying it, I feel like something that was always 'ours' has been reclaimed in some way.
Whatever it is, Casual of sorts is back.

Labels: news

Now that's a headline. The famous British clothing brand Aquascutum have been revealed as the official suppliers of men's evening wear for the BAFTAs 2009, which will take place on February 8th.

Aquascutum has long been associated with stars of the silver screen. Legends such as Humphrey Bogart, Michael Caine, Sean Connery and Cary Grant have all been spotted in Aqua clothing.

Despite having the connations with identi-kit hooliganism after the chronic abuse of its iconic house check pattern, Aqua is enjoying a bit of a revival of late with their jackets and outerwear. The showerpoof wool fabrics mean that the Casual knows that Aquascutum will always provide first class quality when it comes to fabrication, but can they maintain the highest standards in classic British design?

It would appear that a true return to form is definitely happening at Aquascutum.

Labels: aquascutum, news

In the early 80's golf chic was all the rage with the rebellious souls from the football terraces.
It's impact on casual culture was probably not as evident as tennis wear, but strong none the less. The leaders in this area were Lyle & Scott and Pringle. Lyle & Scott has been the casual-friendly brand that has probably had the most over-exposure in the mainstream in recent years (with the exception of Stone Island), but Pringle is still a brand that maintains class and subtlety. It's rumoured on the ground that the pringle diamond jumper could be making a comeback in 2009.
I myself have an invested interest, having recently purchased two very nice v-necks in a cashmere/merino mix ;-)
We at FootballCasual.com are very keen to see whether a golf chic revival will actually happen this year, or whether its simply the senile murmurings of nostalgic grandads. New players in the golf arena worth investigating are J.Lindeberg and William Hunt.
We also have to keep stressing that although there is a huge nod towards retro in the casual revivalist mindset - young guns need to experiment and push things forward. After all, constant invention keeps constant attention.

Pringle:
http://www.footballcasual.com/clothes/pringle/pringle.html

Labels: clothes, news, pringle

What major lesson of 2008 have we learned about Casual culture? Well, we've learned in no uncertain terms that 'True' Casualism is dead. What I mean by that, is that the nameless movement that lasted from 1977 - 1987, for which we brand as 'Casual' is in actual fact dead. Kaput. No more. This is a late Parrot.
It was something truly unique to a time and place, within circumstances that will never be repeated. True casualism is and will forever be, confined to the history books as a cultural style of a time and place. That's fine by me. Let's the grandads cling on to the golden age, and move aside for the new generation.
2008 gave birth, to a want for a better term, Casual Revival. This is the age of the new casuals. They have a respect for past clothing which helped shape the overall look, but they are young and and want to add their own styles to it. They are aware of the basic principles of clean lines, minimal styling, high quality fabric and a preference towards classic adidas for footwear. They have eBay and the Internet. They are hunting down new brands and fabrics through cyberspace, and not via the route of TransAlpino. They are better informed and they are smarter.
So 'True' casual is dead, but what is left behind is 'Casual Revival' - a new version of what once was, repackaged and reporduced for the modern age. With that in mind, Feb 2009 will see a new look FootballCasual.com - catering for the revivalists.

Labels: news