Football Casuals or Casualism

Casualism defines another subcultural phase beginning in the late 1970s through to the late 1980s  - for this article as Casualism is still relevant through to today think Liam Gallagher & Ultras fashion throughout the European continent as visiting football fans from Italy, Germany, Switzerland, Holland and Russia. 

For the non-UK based people reading this, please refer to the subtitle of British Football Hooliganism now available widely across the Western Hemisphere…..

Emerging in Liverpool in late 1976, and in Manchester shortly afterwards, or vice versa, dependant on which city you hail from…

The link I spoke about in last weeks Paninaro Instagram post came through the Liverpool fans travelling to Italy for the European Cup and thus taking on the influences of their opposite supporters through their home-grown brands such as Tacchini & Fila. If you are from Manchester then United’s (Fred) Perry boys would be your reference point when style on the terrace definitely moved on from the Boot boys look.

In the 70s and 80s, Casuals would to travel football matches in designer sportswear, ready to fight rival clubs Firms, employing tactics such as asking 'what time it was' to determine your accent thereby singling you out as a rival fan, also to establish their Top Boy status. The working class football casual would never wear their club colours in order to avoid police detection and infiltrate the oppositions pub to see what the other Firms numbers looked like or who was tooled up (weapons).

It was the same across the rest England as the trend spread to other football clubs with ‘Firms’ (see list of here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_hooligan_firms) with the Boys or they also called themselves Dressers or Trendies. 

At the pinnacle of these firms were ‘Top Boys’ a status achieved not just how ‘Hard’ or how much ‘Front’ you had (street fighting tough & courage) but what they dressed in, a form of British working-class dandyism, wearing clothes that take you above your allotted station in life due to the expense of the designer sportswear. The terraces were like fighting & lager fuelled catwalks! 

Some of the most popular brands mostly originating from Sportwear including Golf! Refer back to Insta post for pics of these styles.

  • Sergio Tacchini - Tracksuit tops

  • Fila Terinda - Tracksuit tops

  • Kappa - Tracksuit tops

  • Stone Island - Jumpers 

  • Ellesse - Trainers & Tracksuit tops

  • Lacoste Plolshirts & Cardigans

  • Diadora - Trainers & Tracksuit tops

  • Cerutti 1881 - T-Shirts, Jackets 

  • Pringle - V-Neck Wool Jumpers

  • Lyle & Scott - V-Neck Wool Jumpers

  • Fred Perry - Poloshirts

  • Puma - Trainers & Tracksuit tops

  • Adidas Gazelle Tracksuit tops & Trainers 

  • Kickers - Boots or Shoes 

  • Liberto - T-Shirts, Jackets 

  • Burberry Scarf

  • Timberland Docksiders Shoes

David Bowie features in here too through his film 'The man who fell to earth' - mainly because of the scene in Liverpool related musically to Bowie but as mentioned the film with the bowl or wedge haircut that Bowie sported, much copied across the causal scene.

Reference & thanks to Mairi MacKenzie  - Football, fashion and unpopular culture: David Bowie’s influence on Liverpool Football Club casuals 1976-79

Richard DuncanComment