Let’s rewind to the 1840s. Rugby School, England - a pack of scrappy lads are tearing up the turf, inventing a game that to the untrained eye looks like organised chaos mixed with untamed violence. Their uniform? A hefty cotton shirt with bold horizontal stripes, a stiff collar, and enough grit to handle a tackle or ten. That’s the rugby top’s origin story - born on the muddy pitches of Victorian Britain, designed for function over flash. Little did those players know they’d kick off a style revolution that would begin with preppy Ivy Leaguers and lead all the way to creatives like David Hockney and Tyler the Creator.
Back in the day, rugby shirts were all about utility, hand-stitched from thick cotton flannel, and usually in block colours to differentiate them from neighbouring teams. Sometimes, when teams amalgamated, they would simply create jersey’s in half and half colours, then later club sides introduced horizontal hoops as a way to stay unique.
