
- With Christmas approaching, Rob Carey felt it was a good time to take a look at some of his favourite kit books
Not so long ago, there were no quality football shirt-related books on the market. Fortunately, this has changed, and now you can grab more than a few titles on the subject. Below are some of my favourites – no doubt you’ll have your own!
The Football Shirts Book: The Connoisseur’s Guide
Author: Neal Heard
Published: 2018
Pages: 144
If you’re looking for a general, yet immensely enjoyable, overview of the football shirt world, this hardcover is for you. It contains over 150 famous and super-rare shirts that are a joy to check out. For example, the book shows you the exact model of the shirt that Maradona wore in his ‘Hand of God’ game and gives you a glimpse into other lucky moments in the history of sports.
Besides beautiful full-color photographs, the book contains interviews with shirt design teams, as well as insight into brands, fashion designers, and sponsors who shaped the history of the most-loved football jerseys of all time.
1000 Football Shirts: The Colors of the Beautiful Game
Author: Bernard Lions
Published: 2014
Pages: 304
Getting this book will be a huge deal for anyone interested in the game as a whole and not just football shirts.
It’s the biggest collection of football kits ever assembled as it comes with over 1000 detailed illustrations covering over 100 countries and 500 teams.
It will bring you closer to the history of your most beloved shirts, and remind you of the legendary games and players involved. It’s full of rare information that will make you a much more knowledgeable fan of the beautiful game.
The Spurs Shirt: The Official History of the Tottenham Hotspur Jersey
Authors: Simon Shakeshaft, Neville Evans and Daren Burney
Published: 2019
Pages: 336
Denis has already given this one a full review, and it definitely deserves to be included in this list- especially as I’m a Spurs fan!
It’s similar to The Arsenal Shirt, which Simon Shakeshaft was also invoved in, but I think it’s even better. This coffee table book is priced at around £30, but it’s well worth your money.
If you’re a Tottenham fan, it’s a must-have as it describes the history of the iconic Spurs shirts in detail. Included are beautiful images that show the evolution of the shirt, and remind you of the critical moments of the team’s history. Even if you support someone else and are just a kit aficionado, you won’t be disappointed.
The True Colours series
Author: John Devlin
Published: 2005, 2006, 2018
Pages: More than enough!
What John Devlin doesn’t know about kits is hardly worth knowing and these three volumes will keep you entertained for weeks if not months on end.
The first two mainly look at English clubs as well as the Home Nations – how great an updated version of the PL teams would be! – while the third instalment, released before the 2018 World Cup, featured 20 countries.
Beautifully laid out, each entry includes interesting tidbits about the kit – though I’m not sure how he managed it all!
Shirt Tales & Short Stories
Authors: Derek Hammond and Gary Silke
Published: 2014
Pages: 128
The Got, Not Got series is a wonderful repository of football nostalgia and it’s no surprise that their tome dedicated to kits has some great nuggets.
Using a mix of pictures of real shirts and contemporary posters and collectibles, all of the major clubs – and some not-so-major ones – are featured while each manufacturer has its own special focus too.
Sure to bring back memories of times past and even if you consider yourself to be quite knowledgeable on kits, you will still come away having learned a lot.
Which one would you recommend? Specially focused in european clubs.
Great post. All of the books look really interesting to read
Hi Jordi, for European clubs, 1000 Shirts would be best!
Have almost all of these and love them all very much. John’s are absolute works of art!
I’m a huge fan of the True Colours books, well worth a purchase!
This is a fan tastic site !!!