Sports tops are the latest It-girl trend – but there’s a catch

Girls and gays around the world are shocking straight men by embracing a holy grail of stereotypical masculinity: the sports jersey.

Touchdown! The result! Dummy-half!

Thanks to It girls like Bella Hadid, Hailey Bieber, and Julia Fox, who have all embraced the flannel trend, the main block aesthetic has left the TikTok feed and hit the streets.

Around Paris this Euro summer, fashionistas have taken to the pavement in their finest soccer jerseys, football kits and baseball tops.

“I think the appropriation of straight men’s culture is another step in the gay agenda,” says London tourist Alex Gilbert, 31.

He wears a basketball-style mesh shirt while shopping at the Saint-Ouen flea markets in the French capital.

“I think the gay stuff has spread everything. So I think it’s more stylish now to look heterosexual and masculine, but in a slightly gay way. It’s an unusual game with straight clothes.â€

It begs the question: what other stereotypically masculine accessories can we choose? G-shock watch? Traditional stringless shorts?

Blokes, take this as a sign to do a thorough inventory of your wardrobe right before you pick the lock on the door.

Zoya Suinin, 17, says she had to turn to petty crime to keep up with the trend.

“I stole it from my little brother,” she says of the red soccer jersey she started wearing two months ago.

Other people are paying big bucks for sweaty old guernseys.

Eric Cossart, who owns Fripe Vintage in the Paris suburb of Le Marais, says he had to increase his stock after last year’s Euro Cup and now sells at least five jerseys a day for fashionable ladies.

Vintage System assistant manager Mahara Diarte says the store has been able to raise prices since the style took off. A red Italy World Cup jersey on display in the store is priced at $140. The yellow and green color combinations of the Brazilian and South African teams are also proving popular.

“Some girls are sewing them up and making them super girly,” she says. “It’s a sexy boyish look.”

Aussie retailer The Iconic says sales of football shirts from sports brands such as Adidas are up 97 per cent year-on-year, while more fashion-forward shirts are up 328 per cent.

Meanwhile, men’s underwear brand Teamm8 has just released a range inspired by sexy football gear, complete with mid-cut guernseys.

“The combination of mesh, shirt and sports shirt has been a big hit for us, and although we’ve offered some safer color options, dusty pink has certainly been a standout,” says the brand’s creative director Michal Nicolas.

Of course, there is a rule to the trend. Under no circumstances should you wear the jersey within a sporting context.

Charlie Trapp, 18, is a student at Parsons School of Fashion and has collected five jerseys over the past few months.

“I’m not sporty, I don’t play sports,” he says. “So for me to wear a jersey is ridiculous.”

Sports ball co-op has never been more awesome.