Thursday 31 March 2011

NEW M.A. STRUM S/S11 JACKETS




Our store http://www.80scasuals.co.uk/shop8.html has taken an extra delivery of M.A. Strum Spring/Summer'11 Jackets. There are three styles to choose from; The waterproof Harnett Memory Shape Jacket in Castle Green and two Parachute ripstop Blousons in Transit Gold and Green. All details of the garments are on the website.

Wednesday 30 March 2011

SECOND TO NONE T-SHIRT





The "Second to None" T-Shirt will be in-store on the 80s Casuals website this weekend.
The image shown is an exclusive to the site this month, as the Drughi image has a scar on the right cheek. The T-Shirt is available in Kelly Green, Royal Blue and Mint Green while supplies last.
Also, this month sees the 80s Casuals embroidered logo on the left sleeve change colour in order to give it instant recognition with the website image. In an era of visual communication it was deemed necessary to match the brand recognition on the T-Shirts with all other uses of the symbol.
The reverse of the T-Shirt now has the 80s Casuals signature in gold.



Monday 28 March 2011

SEAMASTER+ JACKET.

RACING GREEN RIPSTOP MATERIAL




This Winter sees us up-grade the popular Seamaster [featured in the recent online Umbrella magazine]. The jacket will now have a full length zip and a lining added to combat the harsher Weather we now seem to be getting. The arm cuffs will now have a buckle to enable better adjustable fastening.
We have secured a 400t Racing Green Ripstop Taffeta material as favoured by the likes of Stone Island and used by paraglider and sailing boat enthusiasts. The material is breathable as well as water resistant with a hot cire face [heat treated to make it smooth].
The Seamaster+ as it will be known will be available as a part of our Autumn/Winter11 Collection.
Only 100 will be produced with an even distribution amongst our numerous stockists.


NEW UMBRELLA MAGAZINE ONLINE


Our favourite online Mens magazine is now available to download for Free again. The latest issue, number 3, of Umbrella has the usual excellent content including Fashion, travel, Design and Architecture.
It was nice to see the 80s Casuals Seamaster covered in the Fashion section, but they may now be hard to trek down having already been available for a few months. The jacket has gained a bit of a following due to the exclusivity of only 100 being available in each colour, so we have some news on a Winter edition which shall be announced later today.


Sunday 27 March 2011

QUADROPHENIA - OUT OF MY BRAIN


Soon to be distributed to stores is our latest film inspired T-Shirt. In 1979 The Who's rock opera Quadrophenia premiered on screens with a young Phil Daniel's taking the lead roll of Jimmy. A disillusioned Mod with a complex set of personalities loosely based on the The Who's four members. The T-Shirt depicts Jimmy's journey back to Brighton on the 5.15 train, "out of his brain" after a large consumption of drugs.
The Mod era of the 60s draws many parallels with the Casual culture. Dismissed by Cultural Historians at first, it had it's roots in the working class youth who had a taste and obsession for style and fashion.
The Royal Airforce roundel insignia used on our design became a symbol of the Mod culture and was used to customize jackets.

Saturday 26 March 2011

OBSCURE LABELS - 80s ADVERTS.



As we compiled a dossier of iconic labels that befitted inclusion in the 80s Casuals book, there were some that were obviously omitted, mainly due to drawing a line at how many pages were going to be in the finished tome.
Here we have a couple of adverts from the 80s with two labels that seem to have been lost in time.
Americanino were an Italian brand established in 1975 by Gege Schiena. The meaning of which is "Small America", the influence being the comfortable lifestyles of American Culture. Initially a jeans brand, the label is still going strong with full mens and womens collections.
Martin's Evolution had a store on Floral Street, London in the late 80s but closed after a few years and thats about as much information we can find on the label.

COLLECTING MASSIMO OSTI.

The knowledge of clothing has always been a compulsion of the Casual. The male wardrobe has always been quite conservative, therefore the clothing needs to have that added detail, whether it be a story behind the garment or the finer details in its manufacture. These finer details can include its country of origin, the material used or its rarity, hence the mass market for vintage.
This obsession for quality clothing can lead to the world of Collecting. From not wanting to part with a jacket or trainers because of the history in finding or purchasing the piece soon amounts to a wardrobe full of gear which can goes years without being worn.
One collector and friend from the 80s Casuals forum is Darren or Oliver Beer to give him his user name. Darren appears in todays Telegraph newspaper in an article on the male fashion obsessive.
Here is his piece from the article, the remainder of the article can be found here;

He's gotta have it

From the man who collects swing tickets to the one who wants to be cremated in his favourite parka - enter the weird world of the male fashion obsessive.

BY SHERYL GARRATT | 26 MARCH 2011

Illustration by Spencer Wilson

For Oliver Beer, it all started quite innocuously, at a football match in 1985. He was watching his beloved Stoke City play when he noticed another fan wearing a handsome-looking jumper with a logo he had never seen before. They got talking, and the man explained that it was Stone Island, a new brand by an Italian designer called Massimo Osti. Afterwards Beer tried looking for it, but this was before the internet, before there were designer clothes available in every city centre and mail-order catalogue, and he drew a blank until the next year, when a shop called Review in Newcastle-under-Lyme began selling it. He bought his first piece - a sweatshirt - as soon as he could afford it. 'I've still got it. It cost me a week's wages.'


Beer was working nights as a printer for a national newspaper, so when eBay came along in 1995 he had time in the day to surf the German and Italian sites, buying rare jackets by Stone Island, CP Company and other labels that Osti had designed for. 'I was snapping up coats I'd never seen,' he says. 'Talking to the people who were selling them, I learnt more and more about the label. And it just mushroomed. I loved all the quirky details, and the weird materials they used: glass, metal, paper. The first ones, the Marina range, were made out of old yacht sails. It was so different from anything else I'd seen.'

At one point, Beer owned more than 200 coats, although he has now slimmed his collection down to about 50. 'I couldn't see the point of having boxes and boxes of jackets in my loft that weren't getting the use that they're designed for,' he says. 'But I've still got a lot of the older, rarer pieces, the quirkier bits which I like. People come to the house and say, "Can I have a look at your jackets?" And I'll spend two or three hours in the back bedroom, talking about them. I love having conversations when you go into the detail: why is that zip like that?'

I'm wondering how many of those visitors are women, and Beer laughs and says none at all. 'My missus thinks I'm crackers,' he says cheerfully. 'She'll bring up a cup of tea and take the mickey out of us: "This jacket's got goggles on, this jacket's got a torch on!" But over the years she's learnt to put up with it.'

Although he has pruned his collection, Beer is still buying and selling. He's a postman now, but his online trading pays for his family holidays. The day we talked, he had just bought a Stone Island NOC-1 jacket. 'It's got a rubber hood that's based on a helicopter pilot's helmet,' he says lovingly. 'I've had two hoods for years, but I never got round to finding the winter jacket. This one came on eBay, and the guy had an absolutely dire description of it, but I knew what it was. I paid about £50.' The most he has ever paid for a coat was £800; but he has sold them on for as much as £1,800.

He had also acquired a field jacket with multiple pockets by an Osti offshoot label called Left Hand, and was buying back a shooting jacket with rubber patches on the elbows and shoulder that he sold to a friend in Reading a few years ago. He won't be doing any shooting in it, he adds, but he will wear it to the match on Saturday - he and his son are Stoke City season ticket holders. Oliver Junior is 11, and already owns a Stone Island goosedown coat. 'It's really nice,' his father says wistfully. 'But at the moment he's more interested in Lego.'

Still, Beer believes in planning for the future. In his will, he has specified which coat he would like to be cremated in: a 1988 CP Company parka with a rabbit-fur hood.



Sunday 20 March 2011

FILM NEWS - FREAKBEAT FILMS

We are again going to put a short film together for our Spring/Summer '11 Collection. The Film and Media student we use now has a name and a High Definition Film account on Vimeo.
Freakbeat Films can be found here; http://vimeo.com/freakbeatfilms/videos
Since using the company for a short promo film for the Seamaster Jacket and a 10th Anniversary film for one of our stockists, Ran in Liverpool, they have gone on to produce a short interview with our favourite group the Sand Band and then only two weeks ago were commissioned by Festival organizers Liverpool Sound City to film Miles Kane live for the 2011 Sound City launch event.
Miles is one half of The Last Shadow Puppets [Arctic Monkeys frontman Alex Turner being the other half] who has an album, Colour of the Trap released on 9 May.
All films can be found on the Freakbeat Vimeo site.

PLAIN T-SHIRTS



This April sees the 80s Casuals travel inspired plain T-Shirts released. 'The Ordinary' and 'The Special' were the two forms of train travel in the 70s/80s. 'The Special' was usually organized by the club with British Rail and was the most organized form of travel with a police escort to the ground awaiting, while 'The Ordinary' was the frequently run everyday British Rail train journey. This enabled the groups of fans using this service to roam freely upon arrival at the destination.
'The Ordinary" T-Shirt is a website exclusive for now and has the 80s Casuals leather badge on the left breast while 'The Special' T-Shirt has the 80s Casuals signature embroidered on the left breast and is only going to be available at our usual stockists.
These small logos remind us of the discreet symbols of the Casual era such as an Armani eagle or the Lacoste crocodile which still inspire us and many others to this day.
A plain T-Shirt was always a Summer essential on its own or worn under a plain V-Neck jumper on cooler days.
Both styles of T-Shirts will be available soon retailing at £20.


CLOTHING NEWS UP-DATE.

Spring seems to have arrived and next week the clocks go forward giving us extra daylight in the evenings and the Summer months to look forward to. Now is the time to freshen up the wardrobe with some new 80s Casuals Clothing.
Here is a quick timeline of our forthcoming attractions;
late March; Limited Edition Pink Fila Terrinda.
mid April; T-Shirts 4 new designs plus a re-print of the original 'It's Grim up North'.
mid - late April; Dakar Jacket in Midnight Blue and Deep Red.
Sahara Sorts in Midnight Blue and Sand.
mid - late May; Nevada Jacket in Burnt Orange and Moroccan Blue.
late May; T-Shirts a selection of designs for Summer.
early June; Bucket Hat in two colours. Pics will appear as soon as the sample arrives.

As we have mentioned previously the M.A.Strum Jackets are going from strength to strength. All of our Spring/Summer selection have Sold Out except for the one XL Midnight Blue Parachute Ripstop Blouson. We now look forward to a Winter collection that is again of exceptional quality.


Tuesday 15 March 2011

PATAGONIA SHIRT - A SPRING FAVOURITE



There are one or two blogs that are in our Favourites list and each day we check them out to see what's going on in the world of Fashion and Design. A pleasant surprise today was the inclusion of our Patagonia Shirt in the much revered "The Reference Council".
With an eye for detail and style, the blog updates daily and is well worth placing in your Favourites list.
It appears the gingham shirt is very much at the forefront of this Springs look with Esquire magazine running a two page spread on the trend in its 20th Anniversary Issue this month.
The Patagonia Shirt is available at most 80s Casuals stockists including Ran, Manifesto, Terraces, Hip, Originals, Mainline Menswear and of course our own site, while supplies last.



Sunday 13 March 2011

NEW T-SHIRT - SECOND TO NONE


Another new design for this Easters selection of T-Shirts, available in stores at the start of April.
Taking our inspiration from iconic films of the 70s we have our "Second to None" design with a cursory nod toward 'A Clockwork Orange'.
The film has long been an inspiration for supporters, particulary in Italy and the Drughi image has become synonymous with the Ultras.
Besides this and the 'Designed for Joggers' image, we also have a 'Paninaro' T-Shirt which will be shown here once designed.



Saturday 12 March 2011

Introducing DELTA MAID


Last year we selected The Sand Band as ones to watch for 2010. Their album was recently released to acclaim from the music press and Dave from the band has been picked to play and tour with Noel Gallagher this Summer while the drummer Jay is touring with Miles Kane at present.
For 2011 we again steer clear of the mainstream and introduce Delta Maid. We had Delta play for a joint 80s Casuals/Liverpool Sound City night almost two years ago now and have tracked her progress since. Her first album is due for release in the next couple of months and we're sure an extensive tour will follow during the Summer months. Check out the offerings on myspace
http://www.myspace.com/deltamaid before Jools Holland gets her on his show and she goes global. The music is heavily influenced by the Mississippi Delta Blues but with a modern influence of her own up-bringing in Liverpool.

MOROCCAN BLUE NEVADA JACKET




Here we have the forthcoming Nevada Jacket in the Moroccan Blue. The sizing has been altered from the previous sample giving it a better shape and a more comfortable fit.
Made from a lightweight windproof rip-stop cotton, the Nevada has an adjustable draw-string hood and waist. Four large front stow pockets and an angled arm pocket plus an internal left breast pocket and double interior back poachers pockets. The funnel of the hood is wire rimmed to give further protection from inclement weather.
The Nevada is the perfect thigh length Spring Jacket, light enough for warm days yet will keep you dry in showery weather. Stockists should expect delivery during mid May. We have produced 125 of each of these colours and will not repeat the same colours. This is a style of jacket that should be a staple in any wardrobe as it can be brought out year after year. RRP is £120/£125


Thursday 10 March 2011

KHYBER SHORTS IN STORES



Our re-run of the Khyber Shorts should be in stores now. Sizes 30" to 38" waist, Sand colour only. All pockets are concealed by a press stud flap or zip so its difficult to lose anything from them. The 80s Casuals website will not be stocking these at the moment so they can only be picked up from these stores at present; Ran, Terraces, Manifesto, Red Square, 80s Casualclassics and Camisera.


Tuesday 8 March 2011

CHEVIGNON RE-LAUNCHES


An 80s favourite that conjures up nostalgia is heading back to these shores for A/W11.
Classic French brand Chevignon started in 1979 inspired by vintage U.S. outerwear. By 1984 the off-shoot Togs Unlimited had launched with the inspiration coming from Robert De Niro's Deer Hunter character. The labels Jackets and Sweatshirts became immortalised in The 90s due to its exposure in the Face magazine.
Chevignon re-launched the Togs Unlimited brand in 2010 with a range of Jackets sold exclusively in the Colette store of Paris and now the label is ready to launch once more with a nicely edited selection of garments. More details to follow soon.
The ad comes from the Autumn/Winter 1993 Arena magazine.


Sunday 6 March 2011

THE END FANZINE








For anyone unsure of what The End was, here is a short documentary shown on Granada T.V. in 1998. We have also lifted a few pages from a couple of issues dated 1982 and 1983. Co-Founder Phil Jones has more pics up on his Photobucket and Facebook page.
Discussions are taking place at present to produce a book of every fanzine published. It is hoped that this will be printed in this the 30th year since the first fanzine was sold.

INTERVIEWS - PETER HOOTON [THE END]

When the 80s Casuals website was up-dated last year we lost our Interviews section from the site. In the next few weeks we will put them here for posterity. Amongst those interviewed a few years back was Peter Hooton of The Farm. 2011 marks the 30th year since the first publication of The End of which Peter was the co-founder.

In the early 80s on Merseyside as a Casual culture was evolving, a new magazine hit the terraces. It fitted in perfectly with the times and gained cult status. It would be a fore runner and inspiration to many other publications in the following years. ‘THE END’ was the brainchild of Peter Hooton. Before finding fame with The Farm, lifelong Liverpool supporter Peter needed a vehicle for his witty observational thoughts. Using Phil Jones mod fanzine ‘Time for Action’ as a creative stimulus, the two joined forces and with the help of Mick Potter and produced what is now a part of 80s Casuals culture. Dave Hewitson interviewed Peter for the website.

D.H. Peter, tell us how the idea for ‘THE END’ came about?

P.H. The original idea for ‘THE END’ was to reflect Liverpool. I didn’t have a clue about doing magazines, so there was a mate of mine called Phil Jones who used to do a mod fanzine called ‘Time for Action’, so because he done this magazine I thought he was a genius. He had done 3 issues and I read it and thought it was good, plus another music mag was the ‘Merseysound’ Fanzine which was sold in Probe [Liverpool record store] and basically I thought we could do something and I always wanted it to be satirical. A year or two earlier I did a best man’s speech with loads of observations on Liverpool life and I got told to write these things down. Anyway a few years later after seeing Phil Jones’ fanzine I remembered this crackpot idea.

D.H. Was the idea for a music mag then?

P.H. The first issue was dominated by music. It was always my intention to get across to the lumpen proletariat of the city, which was a deliberate act, so the idea was to suck them in by mentioning pubs, clubs and things they may relate to.

D.H. So is that how the Ins and Outs column came about?

P.H. The Ins and Outs was a direct result of seeing something in a fashion magazine about what was In and what was Out for the next season, so anything people were wearing in Liverpool that was fashionable at the time went in the Out column and anything not being worn went in the In column. It was a satire at the fashion magazine.

D.H. Where did the title ‘THE END’ come from?

P.H. There was a lad who would come into this notorious pub in Liverpool and he’d go ‘That was the end’ ‘this was the end’ everything was the end. It was a popular saying in Liverpool at the time ‘that match was the end’ etc. The way it was said I thought it would make a great title.

D.H. How was it printed?

P.H. We went to a place called Victoria Settlement in Everton which was a Youth Opportunities place, Mick Potter’s [fellow writer and salesman] brother was on a YOP Scheme there and he said they had a printing press. So we got it done there for nothing.

D.H. There’s a story behind the first cover isn’t there?

P.H. The fella who designed the 1st cover, had experience doing design, committed suicide soon after. That’s what that cover became famous for. He had nothing to do with us, he just worked in there.

D.H. How many did you intend to print?

P.H. The 1st run was 500 and it was very difficult, we identified Probe and record stores but I also thought because I was a big Liverpool fan, I wanted to get across to people who go the matches. So we started selling at the matches, I always remember the keenest seller we had was Mick Potter. He helped me sell the 1st one, we stood outside the Anfield road on a cold night and the Bullens road on a cold night. My selling was pathetic but Mick had a different technique which was based on cajoling and threatening people, but also Mick was well known by people at the match, so maybe they thought if he’s associated with it, it would be different from a student fanzine.

D.H. What was the going rate for the first copy?

P.H. I think they were 20p but there was a bartering system, so if someone said I’ll give you 15p, we gave them it. Trying to sell the first one was very difficult.

D.H. From an initial run of 500, you got up to 5000 didn’t you?

P.H. By number 13 we sold 5000. That had a Billy Butler and Derek Hatton interview, plus the famous tattoo men and wedding days. Over the issues less and less music was involved and more and more observations. People wrote in to buy it after seeing revues in the NME and Sounds. The biggest seller was HMV in Liverpool. It sold a 1000 each issue in a couple of weeks. There was a shop by Lime Street station and he sold 500 in a weekend to all the lads going the away game. So we were like, great, how many more d’ya want? And he said he couldn’t take any more, ‘if anyone finds out I’m selling this I’ll be sued.’ It had things like the Ron Atkinson’s long leather poem, which wasn’t really offensive to anyone but Ron Atkinson. But there was probably a bit of libellous stuff in there. No one is interested until it starts going massive, then you’ve got the ‘Private Eye’ syndrome. You need a lot of money behind you with backers in that case.

D.H. Tell us about the letters, surely some were made up?

P.H. Lads started to send in letters. People thought we made the letters up, although I must admit, the ones in the 1st or 2nd issues we may have made up but those letters from the Derby Lunatic Fringe or the Lincoln Transit Elite were not made up they were genuine letters.

D.H. When did ‘Awaydays’ author Kev Sampson get involved?

P.H. Kev got involved by issue 10. Phil would do the music side and the introduction. Me and Potter tended to do the stories, and a lad called Tony McClelland, he did a few stories and so did Kevin Sampson.

D.H. Was it getting harder to write?

P.H. It got easier actually because the things that were in “the End” you could print today whether it was taxi drivers, coach drivers, bouncers, no mates etc.

D.H. Sounds like an Arctic Monkeys record.

P.H. Yes, I’ll pick one issue, crowd behaviour, fun pubs, Joe Wag’s in there, hairdressers, totally useless brothers, Jekyll and Hide, how people change after a few pints. And the cartoons were done by John Potter who’s still an artist now. John does murals all around the world. It got easier to do. But the novelty of picking them up from the printer wore off, then by the later 80’s the Farm became busier. The Farm started about the same time as the End., but the End wasn’t meant to be a vehicle. People like John Peel were into the End before he had heard of the group, and he voted our magazine his favourite magazine along with Viz. We got a letter off Viz saying how come you can sell 5000? A few years later they were selling a million copies and we were selling 3000. But I was a spectacularly unsuccessful businessman in that respect. There was no business plan, but we didn’t really want it to go the way of Viz because we would have to have toned it down and it would go away from it’s original readership. We didn’t want to do that really.

D.H. How did you go about getting the interviews, any tips?

P.H. What I found hard to understand was how easy it was to get hold of people to interview, whether it was the Undertones or Madness, It was very easy as a fanzine writer to get hold of them, they were so un-protected. I just door-stepped the Clash. Everyone thought I was with Pete Wylie, who was playing with the Clash in Paris for 7 nights and Pete Wylie thought I was with the Clash, so I became the adopted son for the week. Even the tour manager who was from Liverpool, thought I was with one of the others.

D.H. What brought about the demise of the End?

P.H. Apathy really. 20 issues was a good number to finish on, we had blown away Merseysound which done 20.

D.H. What d’ya think about all issues being published in book form?

P.H. It could be something to look at. There was talk about that when the Farm were the talk of the music mags because the End got mentioned a bit. There was an editorial meeting which I wasn’t at and everyone was arguing. Looking to do it as a bit of nostalgia, then yes possibly, but looking at what Puma and adidas have done with their retro stuff, you think maybe not, no thanks.

D.H. Cheers for that Pete, one last question though, Where d’ya get yer trainees from?

P.H. I remember getting a pair of red Puma Menotti when everyone had blue ones [Argentina], but my mate worked in Manchester’s Arndale Centre and they got two pair in for some reason. They resulted in me getting beat up at Tottenham as well because I had them on and everyone knew I couldn’t be a Tottenham fan.


The End ran from 1981 to 1988 and 20 issues were produced in that period. Soon after Peter and the Farm [name taken from rehearing at a farm and not Cantril Farm] went on to have success with a number one album ‘Spartacus’ and numerous top twenty singles. Peter now has a life of leisure, only now and again re-grouping the Farm for the odd concert, with no intention of releasing new material. He runs a kids football team in the Bootle and Litherland Junior Football League and his writing is restricted to one or two articles for the afore-mentioned league. Having done pieces for Goal magazine and early editions of Loaded, which both are no longer, he doesn’t give the website much hope with having his involvement here!

THE FACE ARTICLE FROM 1983





Here we have the Face Magazine article from August 1983. Recently we were asked to
re-publish the piece.
Known as one of the first written pieces to name the youth culture as 'Casuals', Dave Rimmer and Kev Sampsons articles gave an insight into the phenomona that had grown from underground to mainstream in close on five years. This first media account on 'Casuals' also included photographs by David Corio who worked for the NME and Time Out as well as the Face magazine at the time.