Why Menswear Is Looking To The Bowling Alley This Spring

As hotspots for Danny Zuko-a-likes to indulge their inner Rydell High fantasies, the capital’s retro-themed bowling alleys are a hotbed of over-greased ducktail dos and slogan leather jackets picked up at the local charity shop for the occasion. So far, so naff. But step outside the (bowling) lane and into one of the capital’s menswear meccas and you’ll quickly find that one Fifties throwback has struck it lucky with modern man: the bowling shirt. A slice of nostalgia which doesn’t require a fancy dress code or a Saturday job in Ed’s Diner, the bowling shirt is identifiable by its elbow-length sleeves, Cuban spread-collar and often loud team-color-scheme stripes. And it helps that this all-American icon has received the blessing of the world of streetwear — arguably the most influential forces in the fashionsphere right now. Thanks to a legion of labels built upon seemingly limitless reserves of cool credibility and near-religious cult followings, this old-school staple’s new school of fans are the same tastemakers who queue around the block for Palace’s latest hyper-limited edition hoodie drop. See more at Evening Standard.