Menswear has always borrowed liberally from sports (rugbys, polos, and the trusty OCBD all originated on a freshly-mowed field of some sort), but until recently, the inspiration didn’t feel so literal. Jersey shirts were mostly the domain of your stats-obsessed cousin, bless him, the type of fella who couldn’t care less about subtle changes in the fashion zeitgeist, let alone the recent shakeup at Gucci. Framed in the proper context, though, jerseys look sick—think Spike Lee in Do The Right Thing, or the stylish blokes across the pond who mix and match their club colors with bucket hats, baggy jeans, and plenty of sneering moxie.
In 2023, brands are finally catching up: jerseys from every walk of the sporting life are making the jump from the merch shop to the runway, courtesy of designer juggernauts like Marni and Givenchy and hyper-local trailblazers like Dime and Brain Dead—you know, the same names you’d look to to score a sweet chore jacket or a sturdy pair of work pants.
To be clear, we’re not really endorsing, say, wearing a retro Eagles jersey to your cousin’s wedding (though that might be exactly the right gift for any Birds-obsessed relative in your life). But we are endorsing wearing jersey shirts—or just a groovy tee, sweater, or tank inspired by ’em—with pretty much everything else. Start with a retro soccer top and slim jeans, and when you’re ready to turn pro, swap out your sweater for a hockey-indebted knit, enormous chinos, and lug-soled derbies. No need to thumb through the sports pages, either—though you might want to prep an opinion on Pharell’s appointment at Vuitton.
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