The word "soccer" began as an Oxford nickname (part of what’s known as the “Oxford -er” fad in the late 19th century) for "association footaball" or "assoc" for short - as opposed to rugby football, or "rugger."
Unlike traditional rugby shirts, which are super heavyweight (the nearest thing to pads ever to grace a rugby pitch) and either solid or horizontal hoop-striped, old-school soccer shirts are traditionally much lighter in weight, with a tab collar and vertical stripes. This British boarding school tradition carries on in the sport today, even in continental Europe and the new world: think of the iconic vertical-striped jerseys of Barca, A.C. Milan, Inter, Juventus, and Argentina.
Adapting soccer shirts for fashion is nothing new, but we wanted to do what we do best, which is go back to the beginning. The result is very different from a lot of the streetwear takes on the soccer jersey, but we think it’s pretty cool and perfect for that time between rugby shirt weather and polo shirt weather.
