Scotland Top History

[romanticscot]

Today I finally received the last jersey in my Scotland collection from 1986 to present day.  This has taken me six years of purposeful collecting to complete.  I was caught up in 2018 World Cup fever, convinced we were going to qualify and I decided over the latter half of that qualification campaign I wanted to set a goal for my collection.  I decided the starting point would be the 1986 Home and Away Umbro's because those are my earliest memories as a young boy of football tops when it came to Scotland.  As an aside, I do have fond memories of a hand me down Aberdeen 83 top from my oldest cousin, that went to my brother and then to me.  

I have been fortunate with a few re-release's, mainly the Scotland Leisure's from 1990, both the Purple and the Pink variants.  I have acquired a few knockoffs, maybe 7, but I would scoop up a lot from Eastern Europe and also grabbed some bargains whenever there was a refresh.  My main goal was to get them in sizes that would fit me, but I had to make do as my budget or patience wouldn't stretch especially as I got down to the last half a dozen.    

I wanted the collection to be complete, there are maybe two that I am not happy with because of some markings but I am sufficiently satisfied with it as it is.  How much did this cost, I am not entirely sure, the most expensive item is my 1990 Home that cost me about 100 quid, as I was towards the end I thought I have to.  I don't think anyone outside of a Scotland fan would consider this collection valuable, perhaps a jersey collector would find it interesting. Not for any hopes of getting rich, I do intend to do a YT series on them, talking about the history of each jersey, the win/loss rate, notable events, key players and so on but that will take me some time to build up more history before I embark on that project. 

With all that said, I wanted to share the pictures with you in the hopes you may enjoy remembering some good times, memorable matches or times with your friends and family. 

Edited August 17, 2023 by romanticscot

[romanticscot]

[romanticscot]

[romanticscot]

This one deserves it very own post.  Its not an ugly top, its a bit elaborate in the construction but it stands alone in choice of color and we all certainly remember a certain away night in George wearing this. 

Edited August 17, 2023 by romanticscot

[er yir macaroon]

I would say the current one and the 150th are the best of those. 

[romanticscot]

I agree, both the current home and away are favorites IMO.  I also really like the first Fila one, 2018 Home and Away, 2007 H and A I felt were strong, with my favorite being 1990 Home.  

[Kirk]

I don't like the current home top at all. The 150 is a belter. The home with the gold from Caldwell against France was a great top and the first yellow adidas an absolute belter, shame mine came back with some sort of stain from Amsterdam/Dortmund 😂

[Toepoke]

Well done, that's some collection! Must have set you back a few quid 😯

[ghorne67]

Cracking collection to have. Will you nip it in the bud there or you planning to source the pre-86 ones now?

Some great kits in there, maybe it just nostalgia talking but the 80s/early 90s really was the real pinnacle for Scotland tops. Such a noticeable drop off in quality during the Fila/Diadora years 

[thesaint]

4 hours ago, ghorne67 said:

Cracking collection to have. Will you nip it in the bud there or you planning to source the pre-86 ones now?

Some great kits in there, maybe it just nostalgia talking but the 80s/early 90s really was the real pinnacle for Scotland tops. Such a noticeable drop off in quality during the Fila/Diadora years 

Yes. The 80s and 90s umbro shirts were top. notch. Can't believe anybody thinks the current shirts are the best. Boring beyond belief. In fact so bad that even as  somebody who has all shirts since the 80s i can't force myself to buy the current home and away. Just nothing of interest or even style about them. 

[romanticscot]

For me, I like the simplicity of the current pair.  When I first saw it, I couldn't stand it but once I got it, I have grown to like it. 

I think looking back over the past 40 years the simple ones are my favorites, but when I was young I loved the paint splatter away one and the 93 away one as well.  Saying that, my dream away would be yellow with a prominent Lion rampant.

I may get the 82, 80 and 78's ,I will only get ones which have the manufacturer logo so Toffs and stuff like that won't count. I have an off ramp in that I accomplished what I set out to do, I will see the prices but if these earlier ones are more than I would prefer to spend I am happy with it as it is. 

Edited August 18, 2023 by romanticscot

[mariokempes]

9 hours ago, Toepoke said:

Well done, that's some collection! Must have set you back a few quid 😯

Cannae afford a wardrobe obviously..

[thesaint]

34 minutes ago, romanticscot said:

For me, I like the simplicity of the current pair.  When I first saw it, I couldn't stand it but once I got it, I have grown to like it. 

I think looking back over the past 40 years the simple ones are my favorites, but when I was young I loved the paint splatter away one and the 93 away one as well.  Saying that, my dream away would be yellow with a prominent Lion rampant.

I may get the 82, 80 and 78's ,I will only get ones which have the manufacturer logo so Toffs and stuff like that won't count. I have an off ramp in that I accomplished what I set out to do, I will see the prices but if these earlier ones are more than I would prefer to spend I am happy with it as it is. 

The 78-82.originals will set you back about £150 minimum(maybe nearer £200 plus) Vintage shirts were going up and up in price for years but have steadied a bit and you can sometimes get them cheaper than they were a few years ago. 

[romanticscot]

Thats a pass from them "thesaint", I don't have any connection with them and they would be far beyond anything I have acquired to date cost wise.  

[scottincarlisle]

So are the two 86 tops remakes? The badges are more modern looking. I remember having the home top & the away shorts.

[borojock]

Some brilliant shirts in there - personal favourite would be the '90 away short 

[romanticscot]

1 hour ago, scottincarlisle said:

So are the two 86 tops remakes? The badges are more modern looking. I remember having the home top & the away shorts.

They are, they came from DH Gate.

[Texas Pete]

Great collection mate. Last Christmas I found out my dad threw out a box which had a good few of my old tops in it when he cleared out the loft a few years ago or I might have had as many as you. 

[romanticscot]

On 8/18/2023 at 10:35 AM, mariokempes said:

Cannae afford a wardrobe obviously..

I realized I had quite a few just from normal purchasing as I sure if you counted up your own you may be surprised how many you have. As an adult, it's not like you outgrow your own clothes. I made the decision to collect in the hopes of making the Russian World Cup and got the collection going in earnest. There's an older pic I posted of what was my current collection in 2021.

 

These pics were the first time I was able to look at them in one go, I want better hangars and I likely fold them and put them in a case other than the 4 that I have in current wearing circulation. Discovering DH Gate was good for my target, I did a bulk purchase of 7 knock offs, $15 each, my most expensive was the 1990 home $100, and then rest I would get in the $20-40 range off ebay. All in, it was probably quite a sum of money, because many were bought over 10 years at retail prices.

I remember buying the blue and gold one Friday after work when I had no idea it was coming out. I bought it and wore it down the beach in Aberdeen to go to the pictures and it was definitely getting tons of looks. 

[Auchinyell Sox Change]

On 8/16/2023 at 7:35 PM, romanticscot said:

Today I finally received the last jersey in my Scotland collection from 1986 to present day.  This has taken me six years of purposeful collecting to complete.  I was caught up in 2018 World Cup fever, convinced we were going to qualify and I decided over the latter half of that qualification campaign I wanted to set a goal for my collection.  I decided the starting point would be the 1986 Home and Away Umbro's because those are my earliest memories as a young boy of football tops when it came to Scotland.  As an aside, I do have fond memories of a hand me down Aberdeen 83 top from my oldest cousin, that went to my brother and then to me.  

I have been fortunate with a few re-release's, mainly the Scotland Leisure's from 1990, both the Purple and the Pink variants.  I have acquired a few knockoffs, maybe 7, but I would scoop up a lot from Eastern Europe and also grabbed some bargains whenever there was a refresh.  My main goal was to get them in sizes that would fit me, but I had to make do as my budget or patience wouldn't stretch especially as I got down to the last half a dozen.    

I wanted the collection to be complete, there are maybe two that I am not happy with because of some markings but I am sufficiently satisfied with it as it is.  How much did this cost, I am not entirely sure, the most expensive item is my 1990 Home that cost me about 100 quid, as I was towards the end I thought I have to.  I don't think anyone outside of a Scotland fan would consider this collection valuable, perhaps a jersey collector would find it interesting. Not for any hopes of getting rich, I do intend to do a YT series on them, talking about the history of each jersey, the win/loss rate, notable events, key players and so on but that will take me some time to build up more history before I embark on that project. 

With all that said, I wanted to share the pictures with you in the hopes you may enjoy remembering some good times, memorable matches or times with your friends and family. 

I recall the 86 away top being a very pale yellow ; not the sunny look ….

maybe it was just the tv picture though of that awful game in iceland

[romanticscot]

I have the same recollection, but I was six/seven.  I wasn't sure if the one I had seen up close had just faded in the wash.  I have looked it up and I have seen both but I am inclined to believe the muted yellow was how it was when it launched and these other one's are knockoffs like mine. 

[thesaint]

51 minutes ago, romanticscot said:

I have the same recollection, but I was six/seven.  I wasn't sure if the one I had seen up close had just faded in the wash.  I have looked it up and I have seen both but I am inclined to believe the muted yellow was how it was when it launched and these other one's are knockoffs like mine. 

Yes the remakes are brighter yellow and the horizontal stripes are more pronounced. 

[Bzzzz]

I don't do re-issues or "fake" jerseys, but my collection goes back to my first jersey from 1978, I love the 150th jersey, the 96 home jersey, 98 home jersey, quite like the current home jersey... I just love Scotland jerseys! 

[romanticscot]

11 minutes ago, Bzzzz said:

I don't do re-issues or "fake" jerseys, but my collection goes back to my first jersey from 1978, I love the 150th jersey, the 96 home jersey, 98 home jersey, quite like the current home jersey... I just love Scotland jerseys! 

Do you have the whole set? Maybe you can clear something up for me, the euro 96 has the Umbro logo down the sleeves, did they do a version without the Unbro? 

[thesaint]

1 hour ago, romanticscot said:

Do you have the whole set? Maybe you can clear something up for me, the euro 96 has the Umbro logo down the sleeves, did they do a version without the Unbro? 

The player shirts for the Euros didn't have Umbro down the sleeves. Weren't allowed to have it. Something to do with sponsorship rules. So matchworn Euro 96 don't have the Umbro down the sleeves but every other version of the shirt does.