Bowling Shirts

[Tomangoes]

Remember those baggy shirts with the 'Joe's Tyres and Exausts' etc (Crap ones with ACE on the back). First saw them on the 'bigger boys' around 1975. Anybody see them earlier? Where?

Ed

[Sean Hampsey]

Bowlers?

[Tomangoes]

And for sure, some of them might have been soulies.

Ed

[Peter99]

They looked rubbish - they were rubbish. Just like bowls.

[Tomangoes]

You have to have the figure for them.

Big and baggy, suit me fine the wrong side of 15 stone

Ed

[Sean Hampsey]

And for sure, some of them might have been soulies.

Ed

[Peter99]

You have to have the figure for them.

Big and baggy, suit me fine the wrong side of 15 stone

Ed

I was just pulling yer leg Ed. I bet you look mighty fine in yours mate.

[Guest johnm]

Remember those baggy shirts with the 'Joe's Tyres and Exausts' etc (Crap ones with ACE on the back). First saw them on the 'bigger boys' around 1975. Anybody see them earlier? Where?

Ed

Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble down th Bedrock bowling alley.........

[Guest nubes]

Depends on the type of guys who wore them.....to me...the Southern soul boys stylewise at that time looked fab along with the zoot trousers and plasctic sandals....to me...the ultimate in mid 70s club cool...Delxxxx

[Baz Atkinson]

RICHIE IN HAPPY DAYS NOW FAMED FILM DIRECTOR RON HOWARD!

BAZ A.

[Gert Mark]

RICHIE IN HAPPY DAYS NOW FAMED FILM DIRECTOR RON HOWARD!

BAZ A.

AHH so thats where all that R&B shite came from.

[Slippers]

Bowlers?

Beat me to it -

Had a couple in the mid seventies but they were a bugger to iron.

K

[grant]

They looked rubbish - they were rubbish. Just like bowls.

agree they were shite, as bad as those vests with about 30 friggin patches on!

[Guest Byrney]

Depends on the type of guys who wore them.....to me...the Southern soul boys stylewise at that time looked fab along with the zoot trousers and plasctic sandals....to me...the ultimate in mid 70s club cool...Delxxxx

All kinds of kids had them, available on any highstreet. I remember loads of lads in my home town not on the scene wearing them ; they all seemed to have Scullers Tavern on the back with a sewn in pleat either side (funny what you remember).

Never liked em though even less now

[Ezzie Brown]

AHH so thats where all that R&B shite came from.

only see sad twats wearing them in big room niters,not r& b rooms buddie!!! wear what you want,its in the groove what counts!!!! tired of saying it,only the music matters really !!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest mel brat]

Remember those baggy shirts with the 'Joe's Tyres and Exausts' etc (Crap ones with ACE on the back). First saw them on the 'bigger boys' around 1975. Anybody see them earlier? Where?

Ed

1975 sounds about right for bowling shirts at Soul venues. I think I remember seeing some guys wearing them in Torquay during the summer of 1975 (just about everyone from the Northern Scene seems to have taken a holiday there that particular year for some reason!) - and they were being worn at the Mecca (of course!) Along with tapered, 'pegged' trousers, they probably became fashionable due to the general 40s and '50s revivals influenced by the cult of James Dean, along with films like American Grafitti (which inspired the 'Happy Days' TV show) 50s styles were adopted by Bowie during his 'Young Americans' phase, and the 40s clothing being worn by Brian Ferry, Manhatten Transfer etc. were also influential through 1975-1976.

Of course you COULDN'T buy bowling shirts in the high street shops until they entered mainstream fashion - nor could you get 40s style shirts with small collars, or narrow ties etc., as all the contemporary shops by then were selling 70s shirts with appallingly massive collars and wide ties, so it was down to scouring charity shops. (Birminghham Rag Market was a particularly good place, as you could sometimes still find 40s clothing with original utility mark labels!)

I seem to remember that Robert Elms wrote an article on the emergence of these styles in 'The Face' magazine sometime in the 80s, and he also dated them to 1975.

Edited July 13, 2007 by mel brat

[Guest kid mohair]

Remember those baggy shirts with the 'Joe's Tyres and Exausts' etc (Crap ones with ACE on the back). First saw them on the 'bigger boys' around 1975. Anybody see them earlier? Where?

Ed

Do people put this sort of stuff on here to wind people up..........does it really matter.

[Guest NorthernDancer]

forget bowling shirts and baggies who remembers dungrees and sailor tops!!! big in the alldayers @ the brum Locarno.those were the days brummie carl

[Guest mel brat]

Do people put this sort of stuff on here to wind people up..........does it really matter.

Not really, but then again, do the matrix codes on records and endless varieties of US label designs "really matter" to most people?

[Billywhizz]

Remember those baggy shirts with the 'Joe's Tyres and Exausts' etc (Crap ones with ACE on the back). First saw them on the 'bigger boys' around 1975. Anybody see them earlier? Where?

Ed

Ian Clark 71-72 was wearing bowling shirts when he was doing soul nights at scamps billy

[Guest Brian J]

Had a smart white one with dark brown detailing on it in 1972.

It was a US original with 4 face cards and the words, 'Kings and A Queen - Another World' or summert!

[Guest mel brat]

Had a smart white one with dark brown detailing on it in 1972.

It was a US original with 4 face cards and the words, 'Kings and A Queen - Another World' or summert!

Quick! - stick it on ebay under "retro clothing", (slightly used!)

[Guest Brian J]

Quick! - stick it on ebay under "retro clothing", (slightly used!)

It would have to go in the kids section.

I think I was about a 34" chest then!