The gentlemanly fad of Crombie overcoats – complete with a pure silk handkerchief tucked into the top pocket – started in London, swaggering out from the East End on to the football terraces where it was caught like measles and spread to places as far apart as Highgate and Barnes.
Soon it was commonplace to see Crombie boys getting off the football specials from the Midlands and the North.
It was a look for boys (and a few girls) between 12 and 20 who wanted to give themselves a group identity swinging away from the aggressive look of skinheads and rockers – some South London Crombie boys were even seen with rolled umbrellas.
Accompanying shoes were black and clumpy, shirts thinly striped and open-necked, and trousers knife-creased.
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