Not just to the stadium: how else do you wear a jersey?

Major soccer, basketball and hockey competitions always inspire not only fans of these sports but also designers. Having once introduced jerseys into fashion, they keep coming up with fresh designs and new collections. And all because people are ready to wear a jersey of their favorite team to the stadium, work or party, because sports brands have started to create really multifunctional and stylish products that are not ashamed to go out in public. We tell you what you need to pay attention to when choosing a jersey and what things to combine it with to look stylish outside the stadium, and find out with a stylist if it’s a trend in 2021.

Alexandra Didenko

personal stylist, fashion consultant,

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What are jerseys and where did they come from?

A jersey is, first of all, a sweater from a player’s soccer uniform, made of silk or synthetic fiber. The history of the jersey began in Britain in the 80s, when the working class made soccer the premier game on the planet. That’s when the soccer aesthetic infiltrated the everyday closet of first fans and then all city dwellers. They were eagerly buying up Ralf Lauren and Burberry polos, Stone Island jackets and vintage adidas sneaker models. Now such a process is taking place with sports jerseys, which will eventually become a closet staple. Palace was one of the first skater brands to make jerseys part of their casual collection in 2012. This fashion was then picked up by KITH, adidas and Gosha Rubchinskiy.

Which brands have continued to bring jersey into fashion?

During the excitement of the World Cup, many designers released capsule collections dedicated to the event itself and in support of our national team. But the most memorable was the joint collection of adidas and Gosha Rubchinskiy, which included jerseys. The names of Russian cities and the designer’s name were written on them.

Such models were loved not only by Russian fashionistas, but also by foreign guests, who bought jerseys with the names of the cities they visited during the championship. In photos on social networks they combine them with black straight and skinny pants, depending on which they choose either classic shoes or sneakers. They add a chain and a bag to the look.

Umbro became famous for designing the England national team’s uniform for the World Cup in 2010, as well as for its collab with Demna Gvasalia for the Vetements sports collection. Since then, jerseys have been the brand’s signature, and no collection is without them. This season’s lookbook offered two options for the looks. The first one is with jeans and the second one with shorts. Umbro recommends to choose wide cut jeans with laces and white sneakers without print. The brand also supports the wave of black and white looks and does not consider them boring. With black shorts and white jersey you can wear the same sneakers, adding socks with a bright stripe and sunglasses.

The fashion for eco-friendly jerseys

Just imagine how many soccer players there are all over the world, and each one is sewn a customized jersey for every important competition. The creative association “Kruzhok” has come up with its own way of how to competently use such a stock of things. They collected jerseys of famous soccer players and sewed them.

This idea grew into a separate creative project, in which soccer uniforms are recycled. Upcycle gives new life to a thing in order to prolong its life in a new look. The guys from “Circle” create shortened versions, sew two parts from different jerseys, and sometimes even invent a model from patchwork and combine them in patchwork technique. You get an unusual and eye-catching jersey, with which you need to wear mom-fit jeans of black, beige or blue colors without prints and other details, so that the jersey remains the main part of the image.

In summer, you can tuck the soccer jersey into a tennis black skirt or shorts, or if your height allows, use the jersey as a dress.

Basketball Jerseys

Professional basketball players began to wear club uniforms only at the beginning of the XX century. Back then it consisted of padded knee-length pants, golf and short shorts that stayed with the league for a long time. It wasn’t until Michael Jordan was able to bring a change in basketball fashion by popularizing long baggy shorts. This was also helped by rap culture, which was closely linked to the basketball realm. In 2013, adidas and the NBA tried to introduce jerseys with sleeves that featured NBA and team logos, as well as the player’s name and number. But such a model was not suitable for a sport where the arms are most involved, so the modern basketball jersey is sewn exclusively without sleeves.

Hockey Jerseys

The first hockey jerseys were called sweaters, as they were knitted and differed only in color. As the number of teams increased, the jerseys changed: they were embroidered with logos, game numbers and names, and they were made not of natural material, but of polyester, which gives the uniforms lightness, good breathability, durability, brightness and richness of colors. Every professional team or club has two and sometimes three types of uniforms. Usually a club has two sets of uniforms – home and away, sometimes an alternative or retro kit is added to them. In the KHL, the home uniform is a dark version of the jerseys, and away, respectively, light. This is done on purpose so that you can easily determine who was the “home team” and who was the “away team” in the match.

Alexander Didenko

personal stylist, fashion consultant

Today, to talk about “trends” in fashion is a real mauvais. Everything is in trend. Indeed, this institution is no longer so relevant, everyone has “style” on their lips. And what is style? It is just that very unique and inimitable that each person carries in himself, wearing this or that clothing, broadcasting through it certain messages.

That is why it is especially important to define for yourself the main points of your own style, to find your “voice”. Of course, everyone’s voice is different, moreover, each particular person is diverse, that’s why mixing styles is the most working scheme to determine your own. Introducing a sporty jersey element into a classic closet will add a relaxed and comfortable feel to you and your looks. Mix it up!