Pants Man!

Ah Tuesday...lovely lovely Tuesd...what? It's Wednesday? That must mean we missed yesterday entirely and forgot to blog...oh dear, so we did, no blog. Doh.

Anyways...pants, they've been everywhere lately. Even the most ardent anti-Apprentice person surely heard about the infamous Pantsman - the world's worst idea - and now we hear that a footballer has been told by police not to run through a seaside resort in his underwear - after hearing he was planning to do so after losing a bet.

The footballer's defence is quite a good one actually. It's a seaside resort, people see that much all the time on the seafront...but the police are concerned it could lead to more trouble. We're surprised the footballer in question is so keen to go through with his bet. Surely any excuse to not have to humiliate yourself is a good thing?

Back of the net

We hope you don't mind us writing about sport too often - but it is a good source of interesting clothing related stories. Today's is that FIFA - the world governing body of football (lar de dah), is to launch a range of clothing that will use its trademarked logo.

Apparently this will definitely be cool - people love football right? - and will be on display at trade shows in the coming months. So keep a look out! Gooooooaaaaaaallllll.

It was all white on the night

The England football team - never ones to do things by the book are they? Saturday saw them take on the mighty Slovakia in a world-ending friendly in which they won 4-0. Well done them.

The whole thing though was overshadowed by the unveiling of the team's new shirt and their 'anthem jackets' - so called because they took them off during the anthem in order to give the new shirt unveiling 'maximum impact' (a phrase which is surely copyright for the next Arnold Swarchenegger movie.)

Some people weren't happy with this, claiming it was too much of a PR stunt. Well it is 2009, what isn't a PR stunt these days? Still it's an interesting take on clothing and fashion launches, and when all's said and done the new kit does look really good; a hint of 1960s retro and nice clean, elegant lines.

How not to kit out a team

French rugby team Stade Francais have been making headlines for their new kit, but not for the right reasons. As you can see from the image on the right it has certain hint of Andy Warhol about it.

Perhaps to give the designers some slack the BBC have plundered the photo galleries and found some other classic designs from the past - you can view the gallery here. Special credit to number 9.

Is a team kit meant to inspire fear in your opposition? Or build a good sense of teamwork and community? What is the best colour for success? New Zealand's black kit has a classic ruthlessness to it, but then they always falter at the end. England's white kit probably causes headaches for the people who have to wash it, but they seem to do alright, despite wearing a colour more synonymous with surrender than vicious tackling.

It would be some interesting research to carry out - see which colours result in the most wins / trophies etc. Manchester Utd, Arsenal and Liverpool have been three of the most successful English teams of the last 20 years and all wear red. Often a colour associated with agression...

Then there is Brazil in yellow. Argentina in blue and white stripes. Perhaps there is no science to it at all. What do you think?

Skirting the issue

A women's Dutch football team have caused something of a stir with their new kit which some have claimed more closely resembles a skirt, rather than shorts.

It's an interesting question though. Why shouldn't female football players be able to wear a skirt if they wish? If the garment is suitable for wear and doesn't hinder their movement then it's surely as acceptable as shorts? The club chairman of the teams insists this shift from shorts to skirts is no publicity gimmick and that his players genuinely prefer the skirts.

What do you think?