Have you ever hidden a shirt you purchased from your other half? Given the old “I won this in a raffle” excuse or “I ordered this weeks ago and it’s just turned up!”? Welcome to the story behind Forbidden Football Shirts.
We are three regular guys living in Norwich that have a weakness for pretty football shirts:
• Dan, the Villa fan, who has an appetite for the extravagant, particularly evident by his J league collection.
• Andy, the Man United fan, has a particular craving for 90s Man United Umbro shirts, and yet to actually sell a shirt (which he has promised several times to his fianceé).
• The other Dan, the Norwich fan, referred to as such due to his lack of social media presence, currently collecting shirts from 1996, the year he was born.
What originally started as a group chat between the three of us about going to Euro 2020 games rather than Disneyland with our partners, has since escalated into discovering a whole new world within the “Kit Community”.
2020 will forever be THAT year (which we won’t go into, I’m sure you know what we mean). For us however, there has been somewhat of a silver lining to the chaos.
March saw the UK put into lockdown, and after a few weeks of sharing shirt deals amongst one another and collecting the odd one or two, we decided to set up an Instagram account to showcase our collection. We quickly gained followers and then a Twitter page was needed so we could properly “Chat Shirt” with other collectors, however it was the latter that unveiled the infamous “Kit Community” and has not only opened our eyes to this addiction/hobby, but has also kept us sane during the bleak months that laid ahead.
With Instagram and Twitter slowly taking over our daily routines, we soon fell upon Cult Kits which offered more shirt selection and desires we never knew we needed. A recipe for success or disaster? You decide.
As each of our collections and knowledge of shirts has grown, we’re constantly discussing our best buys, or favourite shirts, and that’s the beauty of this much like any hobby. One persons “Grail Shirt” is another’s pet hate. As an example, all three of us purchased the infamous “Drip Shirt” released by Forward Madison last year, based on it’s incredibly unique eye catching design. No knowledge of the team, no previous attachment to the area, but that’s the beauty of it. Something as simple as an aesthetically pleasing design can lure you in to something you’ve never heard of before, and broaden your horizons and the people you engage with
The funny thing about football shirts is that they are universal, much like the sport itself. Some hold fond memories, some hold value for collectors, and some are purely a representation of our personalities. Whether your collection is 1 shirt or 1000 shirts, each holds their own priceless value.
And remember, if your other half ever says “How many shirts does one person need?”, there is no answer.......it’s a trap.
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