Brentford and Bees United have created a version of the club's first-ever striped shirt, worn in the 1890s.
The shirt, which has the same claret and blue colours from 1889, is now available for fans to purchase. It features a club crest that was in use during the 1893/94 season.
This release follows the launch of Brentford FC and Bees United’s 1889 heritage shirt, a version of the club’s first-ever playing kit, made available in March.
This second heritage shirt marks the club’s shift from solid claret to claret and blue stripes in the 1890s.
While the reasons for Brentford’s choice of design are not known, stripes were only made possible in the late 1880s thanks to new technology and textile capability. Hoops had been commonplace, but stripes were brand new.
Claret and blue stripes gave way to blue and yellow stripes for the club’s 1903/04 season. In 1904, Brentford FC moved to Griffin Park.
Brentford had a brilliant decade of results from 1892, winning the West London Alliance in 1892/93, Middlesex Junior Cup in 1893/94, the West Middlesex Cup in 1894/95, the Middlesex Senior and London Senior Cups in 1897/98, being promoted to the Southern League in 1898/99, winning the Southern League Second Division in 1900/01, and winning the London League Second Division in 1902/03.
Bees United secretary Don Tanswell said: "The second in our heritage shirts series shows us what our new club looked like pitchside, around the turn of the century. This was when we enjoyed significant success.
"Brentford took advantage of new manufacturing technology and adopted a striped shirt in claret and blue with the new club crest.
“Our Bees United team - Brendan Nevin, me and Jonathan Burchill - are working with Brentford’s retail team to realise original Bees kit designs celebrating our early years before the move to Griffin Park which was still a few more years away.”