Deansgate Inn Knott Mill
Deansgate
Manchester
17-09-07
Dear Lorraine,
Thought you might like this article from a Welsh newspaper. Excellent Location
Goggle hooded jackets on sale in Cardiff. Based on Italian C P Clothing
designs but on sale for £59.99. They are made in Manchester so a
great rainwear tradition continues.
Went to Blackpool the other day. Loads of hoods up to be seen. A group of twenty or so girls all wearing black snorkel parkas with the hoods fully snorkeled up. They were a mad drunken Hen Night. They claimed to be artic explorers looking for the North Poll. They were looking for the poll between the legs of likely lads in clubs.
Keep your hood up
A Chesterman
It may look like something out of a sci-fi thriller, but this is the latest in London street gang chic poised to hit the streets of Wales.
Already one shop in Cardiff has sold more than 100 of the intimidating suits, which give a whole new meaning to the tern "Hoodie".
It's being dubbed "thug uniform" because its zip-up gas mask-type appearance is ideal for hiding its wearer from the glare of cctv; and protecting them from police CS spray. Cam¬paigners worry the ghoulish gar¬ment might be the next big thing with anti-social teens.
And though the cost - £79.99 - may be prohibitive, Lucy Squire, who runs music store Catapult, has revealed that parents have been buying them for their chil¬dren as Christmas presents.
"We've sold more than 100 already, most of which has been over the internet which, if you consider it's technically still summer; is pretty good," she said.
"1 know it looks quite frightening but that's because it's been inspired by the London street gang scene.
"We've had a fair few mums come in and say they're going to get them for their kids."
But she was quick to accept how people might be concerned about them being worn for the wrong reasons.
"Look, I'm a woman and I can understand completely the fuss about these things - they are quite controversial looking - but if someone's going to go out and cause trouble then they're going to do it aren't they? Jacket or no jacket," she said.
"That's just the youth for you. But most of the lads that come in the shop are nice boys. They've had a bit of a laugh trying them on. A lot of cyclists have been buying them, too."
Her partner Simon Thomas, a style writer for Cardiff-based weekly online football mag Cat¬flap, said the look was a homage to Italian clothing legends CP Company; whose designers inspired the casual look once popular with soccer fans on the British terraces.
"It's made by a Manchester company and it's also big with graffiti artists, who don't want to get caught on CCTV while they're 'tagging'," he said. "But it's a shame about the criminal connotations because it's a nice jacket and, if you really wanted to, you could achieve exactly the same anonymity by pulling your scarf up over your face or tugging down your baseball cap."
Jon Trew, a spokesman from Victim Support Cardiff, called the hoodie "intimidating".
"If I was in a shop and someone walked in next to me with that zipped over their face I'd definitely be worried," he said.
'"There's enough fear and anxiety around teenagers in society these days without something like this creating more."
Courtesy Wales on Sunday 16:09:07
