dirtynine's Digest - The Thread for Kits

Zososoxfan

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 30, 2009
9,208
South of North
Learning the origins of national team colors can be fascinating. I went down that road many years ago and found it hugely rewarding.
I love this stuff too. I believe Italy uses blue because of the Medici family, and the Dutch orange has to be because of the House of Oranje. Not sure what Germany's away green is about. What other ones do you know of?
 

dirtynine

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 17, 2002
8,394
Philly
Germany’s green is because Ireland was the first side to play them after WW2 ended when they were trying to rejoin the world community. They really appreciated it.

edit: went back to check my work and maybe this isn’t true!
 
Last edited:

dirtynine

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 17, 2002
8,394
Philly
I’m kinda pissed Argentina got to purple first. Always thought that would be a killer US away color, not only unique on the world stage but a way to quietly say “we’re a blend of red and blue”. It’s getting harder and harder (for me, anyway) to wear patriotic stuff without being cognizant of the political messaging that others might infer. Thought purple would be a subtle way to address that.
 

Zososoxfan

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 30, 2009
9,208
South of North
I’m kinda pissed Argentina got to purple first. Always thought that would be a killer US away color, not only unique on the world stage but a way to quietly say “we’re a blend of red and blue”. It’s getting harder and harder (for me, anyway) to wear patriotic stuff without being cognizant of the political messaging that others might infer. Thought purple would be a subtle way to address that.
This is why you're awesome at what you do!

And just to be pedantic, @nolasoxfan the 'Azzurri' wear white away shirts. Of course, you won't see them in November...
 

Tangled Up In Red

Well-Known Member
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Nov 8, 2004
4,538
Bernal
I haven't listened to it yet, but the (second) latest Soccer101 podcast is #114 - Why are World Cup jerseys such a big deal?
I expect it to be a pretty fun and informative look at some histories.
 

Bozo Texino

still hates Dave Kerpen
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
11,729
Austin, Texas
Some more leaks. Nigeria's home kit is LOUD. I like it, but I wish it DIDN'T have the eagle design on the front. I do like the hodgepodge of fabric designs, though.

View: https://twitter.com/Footy_Headlines/status/1569774432939347968


New Zealand's kits are very clean.

View: https://twitter.com/Footy_Headlines/status/1569790283558051844


Croatia's "broken checkerboard" pattern is pretty cool.

View: https://twitter.com/Footy_Headlines/status/1569452309028945920


Holland's home kit is really underwhelming...

View: https://twitter.com/Footy_Headlines/status/1569666971125403648


...and their away kit is even worse - like, Tottenham away kit bad.

View: https://twitter.com/Footy_Headlines/status/1569448300067143697


Portugal's home kit tries something interesting, but I wish the red was darker like back in the Figo era.

https://twitter.com/Footy_Headlines/status/1569444257479507970

France's home kit is nice - I always like a henley design - but I'm not sure about the pattern on the shoulder.

https://twitter.com/Footy_Headlines/status/1569580409125478402

And finally, the cuff detail on the host's home kit is really cool. The rest, not so much.

https://twitter.com/Footy_Headlines/status/1569508703765667841

There's more at that Twitter account, but those are some of the notable examples.
 

Bozo Texino

still hates Dave Kerpen
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
11,729
Austin, Texas
Should've just done this.

You can see all of the Nike designs here.

I like Brazil (home), Croatia (home), Korea (away), and Poland (away) the most. I really like both of New Zealand's kits, too. I tend to like simpler kits, but the ones that really go for it with patterns are cool, too.
 
Last edited:

67YAZ

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 1, 2000
8,729
Feel like all these tie dye flavored jerseys look like my kids T-shirts from Target.

I always appreciate how bold Nigeria goes. They’re not all winners, but the Super Eagles stand out.

Poland away is clean AF.

Edit: my wife just asked if South Korea home was colored Squid Game pink.
 

allstonite

Member
SoSH Member
Oct 27, 2010
2,472
I actually don’t mind the USMNT home one. I’ve never bought a home one but this might be the year because the away ones are awful. They look like a training top or one of the generic knockoff ones you’d buy at Walmart. It looks alright in the preview but when you click into the article it looks worse in full. I don’t know how a tie dye jersey can look plain but Nike figured it out
 

candylandriots

unkempt
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Mar 30, 2004
12,327
Berlin
I actually don’t mind the USMNT home one. I’ve never bought a home one but this might be the year because the away ones are awful. They look like a training top or one of the generic knockoff ones you’d buy at Walmart. It looks alright in the preview but when you click into the article it looks worse in full. I don’t know how a tie dye jersey can look plain but Nike figured it out
Saved me posting exactly the same thing.
 

Zososoxfan

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 30, 2009
9,208
South of North
Re Nike shirts:

Still love what Brazil's going for with both home and away shirts.

Don't like the Croatian broken checkerboard at first blush.

England away shirt looks fresh, but I'm not a fan at all of their home shirt. There's some nice detail on the sleeve, but that light blue is...not right. Is it just me, or is their crest hilariously oversized?

I feel like France usually has the best classic shirts, but these look a bit uninspired.

I don't like Portugal's 'Monaco' design (what's the real term @dirtynine ?) but I bet it looks a lot better in action. The away shirt looks OK--I can't think of another horizontal stripe design with asymmetrical colors like that.

Agree that both Holland shirts don't look great.

Not usually my style, but I'm digging South Korea's away!

USA's shirts are both a yawn fest. I'm repeating myself, but the hoops and sash previous iterations were so strong, I'd wish they'd stick with those for an extended period to own them a bit more, and establish them as templates going forward. I also like the red shirt with blue horizontal stripe for a simpler look.

Australia and Holland are the Spiderman pointing meme--GJGE Nike. Maybe put a little more effort into THE BIGGEST GLOBAL SPORTING EVENT?

Both of Poland's shirts are clean and fresh. Well played Polska.

Agree that this isn't Nigeria's best design, but I love that they take risks and always go for it.

Do we have shirts for all the teams yet?
 

dirtynine

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 17, 2002
8,394
Philly
I was holding out hope that the leaked USA shirts were an elaborate fake-out hiding something much cooler - but that appears to be wishful thinking (especially seeing the Netherlands home, which looks a ton like our rumored away). @Zososoxfan - good question about that Portugal shirt - the blazon/heraldic term is "bend" - bend sinister, I think, because it goes upper left to lower right - but I'm not sure if there's a specific way to describe it for a soccer jersey. Monaco-style is probably the best!
 

Bozo Texino

still hates Dave Kerpen
Lifetime Member
SoSH Member
Jul 18, 2005
11,729
Austin, Texas
Not usually my style, but I'm digging South Korea's away!
I really like it, too. It does the "busy pattern" thing - which I don't usually like - perfectly.

I'm guessing the colors are a nod to the tricolored taeguk. I always appreciate it when jerseys incorporate something unique like that.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
Unfortunately, the class entries at either end of the baroque-minimalist spectrum, Nigeria and NZ, are not going to be in Qatar.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
I cannot stand the USA shirts. I don't know what that weird ox-yoke thing is on the home shirt. It's so disappointing. They could have a design competition among the first years at RISD or FIT and get 25 better designs in a week.
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
37,054
Hingham, MA
I cannot stand the USA shirts. I don't know what that weird ox-yoke thing is on the home shirt. It's so disappointing. They could have a design competition among the first years at RISD or FIT and get 25 better designs in a week.
It really is just so disappointing. It's not that hard to design a great looking jersey with the US color scheme. Simpler is generally better. Instead we get this.
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
It really is just so disappointing. It's not that hard to design a great looking jersey with the US color scheme. Simpler is generally better. Instead we get this.
Yes. You could do either simple, minimalist, elegant - or pull off something bold like Mexico, my favorite this cycle. Instead, there's this weak-ass kit equivalent of a Matlock episode - vaguely familiar, unthreatening, and dull.
 

tims4wins

PN23's replacement
SoSH Member
Jul 15, 2005
37,054
Hingham, MA
Are the current jerseys plain? Yep. But they look so much better. Collar and crest placement make all the difference




 

Yo La Tengo

Member
SoSH Member
Nov 21, 2005
911
Are the current jerseys plain? Yep. But they look so much better. Collar and crest placement make all the difference




Totally agree. Simply moving the crest 3 inches to the left would drastically improve this jersey. Where is the number on the front of the shirt going to go? Beneath the crest?
 

SocrManiac

Tommy Seebach’s mustache
SoSH Member
Apr 15, 2006
8,634
Somers, CT
That’s really, really bad. Did they forget about the badges when making the design?

I assume FIFA mandates where the WC badges have to sit. It would have been nice to find a more balanced location. Maybe the number will go on the left to hold it together? It’ll get awfully busy on the chest and uncustomized shirts will still look wonky. Iunno, I wanted a Us shirt for this World Cup but… Blech.
 

67YAZ

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 1, 2000
8,729
One upside is that those 4 stars across the top of he larger, centered crest look bad ass. USWNT are the shit.
 

67YAZ

Member
SoSH Member
Dec 1, 2000
8,729
I was flipping through a biography of Jim Throrpe this afternoon and was reminded of this Olympic uniform. I think you could lean into this for a nice jersey - larger centered crest lower down, simple touches elsewhere.
55604
 

Zososoxfan

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 30, 2009
9,208
South of North
Really dig this color way from @dirtynine.

Nice catch! Please post this stuff here too @dirtynine , you don't have bigger fans anywhere than on SoSH!

Those 2nd and 3rd kits are just WOW--awesome. Even the first kit is super interesting. Those kinked lines are not my style but still work objectively. Love the centennial crest, and love the fireworks motif even more!
 

OCST

Sunny von Bulow
SoSH Member
Jan 10, 2004
24,483
The 718
https://theathletic.com/2682819/2021/07/01/columbus-crew-mls-logo/

Great piece about the design of the Columbus Crew original crest, designed by the guy who did the Nike Jordan logo among other things. I did not realize that very few crests feature images of actual people. In what sounds like a true crime podcast type sleuthing effort, the story tracks down one of the three guys who modeled for the image.
 

rguilmar

Member
SoSH Member
Jul 16, 2005
1,610
I hadn’t seen the Denmark kits posted, so apologies if I missed it. No comment on the look, but the politics of a kit criticizing the host country’s human rights record is notable.

Regarding the all black option:
“The colour of mourning,” the kit manufacturer Hummel said in a post on Instagram releasing the black third-choice design. “While we support the Danish national team all the way, this shouldn’t be confused with support for a tournament that has cost thousands of people their lives.”

https://amp.theguardian.com/football/2022/sep/28/denmark-unveil-world-cup-protest-kits-over-qatar-human-rights-record