Style 

'I would have froze to death if I could show off my Lacoste t-shirt in the winter.'
Lorne Brown, Brighton Casual  

The Casual style evolved on the football terraces in the late 1970s. Dressed head to foot in clothes identifiable by their brand logos, Casuals raised labels like Lacoste, Ellesse, Sergio Tacchini and Pringle to cult status. Upmarket labels proclaimed personal success and wealth, but also a certain defiance when worn by the largely working-class Casuals. Branded clothing also differentiated Casuals from the rougher image of the earlier Skinheads, as did their hair. By the mid 1980s the skinhead had given way to the side-parted wedge, which had in turn given way to the mullet or 'footballer's perm', complete with blond highlights.

Brighton Casual David Blackwell recalls the hairstyle that was an essential part of Casual style:

'[My hair was] A very stylish highlighted, what would probably be known as a mullet now, but that seems a bit derogatory, but it was very cool at the time. So it ... was shorter on top and at the back it was a bit curly cos fortunately my hair was quite curly anyway, whereas a lot of people had to have perms. My hair was sort of perfect for it and as I say it was highlighted. I highlighted it with some help from my mum, cos I put the highlighting cap on and she used to pull the hair through the cap and then we sort of dyed it between us. It looked alright though, it looked pretty good.'

 
Sportswear 

Branded sportswear was the foundation of the Casual look in the 1980s, with continental labels such as Lacoste, Sergio Tacchini, Fila and Diadora being highly prized. Celebrity endorsement, particularly by tennis stars such as John McEnroe and Bjorn Borg, helped to further the desirability of these labels.

Whilst the wearing of recognisable labels offered a broad sense of Casual idenitity, the more exclusive or scarce the line of clothing, such as the Diadora Bjorn Borg Elite trainers, the greater the admiration from fellow Casuals. Brighton Casual Nick Sarjeant explains:

'Diadora trainers were so rare I had to buy the nearest size to me and had to wear extra thick socks. They came with a limited edition certificate and shoe bag, they cost £40 in 1984 if you could find a pair.'

Demand for branded sportswear, which was, for many, out of their price range, meant that fakes and imitations were widespread. As one of the most popular labels, Lacoste was massively counterfeited or copied. Obvious knock-offs, such as a label called Lacosta, were avoided for fear of looking naff.  

Diadora Bjorn Borg Elite trainers, worn by Nick Serjeant, CT004731.1

 
Classic British labels 

Classic British labels such as Burberry, Aquascutum, Pringle and Lyle & Scott were also worn alongside the expensive continental sportswear. As with the logos on the branded sportswear, the distinctive checks of Burberry and Aquascutum were immediately recognisable and advertised their expense.

Appropriated from the wardrobe of the upper-middle class British male, these labels were redolent of golfing weekends and country clubs. Worn on the football terraces by largely working class males and at a time of high unemployment, these labels could be seen both to undermine the traditional class basis of British menswear, and to feed into the aspirational culture of 1980s Britain. Brighton Casual Lorne Brown explains:

'We'll wear these expensive clothes to show we're not just scruff bags, you know we'll dress up lovely and they wont recognise us, we'll be able to pass just like city gents and these middle-class college boys'.

Oral history interview, OH000177

Seagulls fans wearing scarves in Burberry and Aquascutum checks.  
 

Style legacy 

The Casual's attention to detail and interest in their appearance fed into a broader revival of interest in mens fashion. Whilst Casual style in no way pushed the boundaries of fashion, simply focusing on styles and labels that were already available, it did have a significant influence in altering the status of sportswear and designer clothing. The influence of the Casual look lives on long after the Golden Age of the subculture ended. They paved the way for the success of firms like Chipie and Stone Island in the 1990s and the widespread adoption of sportswear as fashionable dress.

Brighton Casual David Blackwell recalls reusing a designer logo:

'My sister sent me down a Lacoste crocodile [embroidered logo] in the post when she was working in London 'cos someone she worked with had bought a cardigan and didn't like the Lacoste crocodile. So she sent me that and I got my mother to sew that on various items of clothing throughout my Casual period, making it on a few shirts and more than a few jackets as well so I sort of rotated my crocodile'.

Oral history interview in Brighton & Hove Museums' Renegade collection, OH000144

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