Football merch in St Andrews used to be restrained to middle aged men in Molly’s on a Saturday afternoon but now it’s hard to walk around town without spotting a football scarf or five.
Vogue predicted last summer that football inspired fashion would be all the rage after stars like Dua Lipa and Bella Hadid were spotted incorporating football jerseys into their street style. However, few predicted that football scarfs would persist into the new year.
So why have they become such a St Andrews staple? The history of football scarfs is pretty simple, the scarf is a symbol of loyalty. Football scarfs rose in popularity in the UK during the 1930s before becoming a staple at every match by the 1970s.
Historically, you would wear a football scarf to simply save you from the bitter British cold winters, but they also helped you to spot your fellow supporters through their neck-wear. Staple colours, bold patterns and catchy phrases, the football scarf takes the phrase ‘wear your heart on your sleeve’ to an extreme, an advertisement around your neck.
Adorned with the club or team’s crest, perhaps a portrait of a renowned player and usually a slogan relating to the club’s history or a famous rivalry (think Manchester City vs Manchester United). The scarf is a tool often used to make ‘scarf walls’ where fans traditionally hold their scarves above their heads whilst singing the anthem of their club, a famous example of this is Liverpool F. C’s scarf wall’s accompanied by enthusiastic renditions of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’.
Credit: Wix.
Like so many trends of recent years, the football scarf symbolises the rise of over-consumption and thus factory manufacturing of what has previously been a handmade pursuit. Famously crotchet tops and bags became a symbol of this as they rose in popularity during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Football scarfs have shared a similar fate. Traditionally, they were called ‘granny scarves’ because they were knitted by the players’ own grandmothers. Now the sheer volume of football scarfs brought each year means they are usually made in factories and sold for a relatively cheap £12.
The humble football scarf can represent you internationally and this is why I theorise that it has become such a staple in the wardrobes of students at St Andrews. With just a simple scarf, practical for the colder weather St Andrews always has in abundance, you can show everyone you pass on Market Street where you come from. It’s a symbol of pride and for a lot of international students a way to curb the homesickness.
And, as interest in women’s football rises, the football scarf becoming a staple in the women of St Andrews wardrobes symbolises the pride, we have in women’s sporting pursuits being taken seriously. So no longer is the football scarf confined to middle aged men in Molly’s on a Saturday afternoon. Now it’s all around, a sign of the inclusive heart of our small town.
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