The Fashion of Football: From Best to Beckham – The Book

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The Fashion of Football: From Best to Beckham - The Book The Fashion of Football, by Paolo Hewitt and mark Baxter, is a groundbreaking work that examines for the first time the link between football and fashion. Voted one of the 50 best football books by Four Four Two magainzine, it features a selection of rare photographs which enliven the text, the book divides itself into a work of two halves – the first depicting how fashion has influenced the players and the second showing how it has been represented in the stands. We begin in 1962, when restrictions limiting earnings from professional football were lifted and footballers started to splash out on looking good. First we visit George Best’s boutique in Manchester, try on the Terry Venables wig and reveal how the 1970s Chelsea team used flamboyant King’s Road boutiques to gain the upper hand in psychological battles with fierce rivals Leeds. We then move on to the ’80s to consider the influence British black footballers brought to bear on fashion, leaving room to mention the hairdressers and the mullet. Into the ’90s and, well, we’re confronted with Liverpool FC in white suits and David Beckham in a skirt…Back in the stands for the second half, The Fashion of Football describes how football fashion has been influenced by the world around it – from the ’60s working-class Mod look to ski.

Paolo Hewitt is also author of The Sharper Word: A Mod Anthology, The Soul Stylists, Alan McGee and the Story of Creation Records and The Looked After Kid. Mark Baxter is a former shop and club owner with a love of ’60s clothing and Millwall Football Club.

‘Hewitt and Baxter go in for a mix-and-match style…to create a colourful, colloquial history of British football fashions’ The Independent on Sunday



ITV’s Big Match DVD – A Cracking Christmas Present for Dads

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ITV's Big Match DVD - A Cracking Christmas Present for Dads In an age when football fans regularly debate the merits of goal line technology, video referees, players wages, and European super leagues, modern football often seems a million miles away from the era in which ITV’s The Big Match screened live football to millions in the 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. Now set for release on DVD, The Big Match: The Best From the Studio, compiles the highlights from the long running football magazine show fronted by Brian Moore.

Packed with big hair, big ‘tashes, but not so big shorts, The Big Match: The Best From the Studio, is a nostalgic trip down memory lane, revisiting an era in which families across the land would huddle around the TV every weekend to watch live football and banter beamed into their living rooms.

Pick a spot in front of the telly for an afternoon of entertainment delivered with the charm, wit and style oozed by Brian Moore and Jimmy Hill as they are joined by Jim Rosenthal and the straight talking Brian Clough. Fans will enjoy a nostalgic trip down memory lane, revisiting the best studio action and reliving the top goals from the era.

In a release packed with previously unreleased content, particular highlights include a beard sporting, pipe smoking Jimmy Hill airing his forthright views on the laws of the game, as well as a chance to see him on linesman duty when the first choice official was injured. Fans who grew up watching The Big Match will remember features such as Viewers Letters, Where are They Now, Jim Rosenthal’s News Desk, and with guest appearances from Eric Morecambe, Mohammed Ali and more, the DVD is a real treat for football fans in need of a break from the fast pace of the modern game.

The DVD is currently available at Amazon UK – click here or below for more details.