Whether it’s for fashion purposes, collecting or just for fun, the popularity of football shirts is undisputed. One name that has become synonymous within the football shirt community is @ellis_platten, so we decided to ask him a few questions about them.

1) How did you get into collecting Football shirts and what was your first one?

I'd wanted to get involved for years but never had the money or knowledge to do so, luckily I've managed to grow my YouTube channel with the passion which has worked massively in my favour for this!

2) When buying a football shirt do you look for a bargain or do you look for the nicest looking shirt?

I'll always have a shirt I want and then in turn, hunt for a bargain for that specific shirt, trying to get it as cheap as I possibly can.

3) What is important to look out for when buying a shirt?

It's always important firstly to ensure I actually like the shirt and want to own it, in my opinion there's no point in owning a shirt you don't personally like. Secondly, ensuring the shirt is real can be a minefield in this space now but doing the due diligence etc is key to ensure the shirt you have is real.

4) Do you prefer retro or current kits?

I personally prefer to wear current kits and store/display retro ones.

5) A lot of people think that cheap shirts mean fake shirts, what is your opinion on this?

This can be the case, especially with RRP's for shirts being £70 on release, it's crazy that the space/market has gotten to this point. However, there are amazing sites/ways to get cheap shirts and I think the 'kit community' is aware that cheap doesn't always have to mean fake!

If buying a fake football shirt worries you, then look no further than our amazing range of Football Shirts, where you'll find legitimate shirts and all at amazing prices.

6) What would your advice be to someone looking to start collecting shirts?

My main 2 tips are: 1. Set a budget for each month and stick to it. 2. Only buy shirts you love and really want.

7) What sites (other than MandM!) are important for shirt fans to keep track of within the football shirt community?

There's too many to name, haha! This thread has most of them.

8) There has recently been a surge in the popularity of retro shirts, what would you put this down to?

I think maybe nostalgia and lockdown has obviously played a part too. But also, a realisation for some that they can be a great investment/store of finances to hold onto for 5,10,15 years etc. Retro shirt prices will only increase as less 'mint' condition ones remain in existence etc.

9) What is your all-time favourite shirt in your collection?

My personal one is my Fiorentina 97/98 long sleeve. Stunning.

10) Are there any other football shirts you’ve got your eye on and plan on adding to your collection?

To be transparent, at this point I'm not too sure, I need to re-group and decide what my next shirt targets are, haha.

11) What would you class as the ultimate iconic football shirt and why?

I think the Holland 88 is the ONE that people talk about most when you think of the 'most iconic shirt of all time' people just love that shirt so much!

12) Lastly, if you could design your own shirt, for any team, what would it look like?

It would be a 'different' home shirt design for either Leeds or FC Porto. A lot of the kits for them tend to be quite samey, especially on the home shirts so a change of pace with design etc would be nice!

We would like to thank Ellis for his help and advice on all thing's football shirts! If you’d like to stay up with what he is doing be sure to follow his Twitter and YouTube for football related content.

If you want to check out any of our football kits or sports items remember you can shop with MandM and get huge savings against the RRP. You can follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay up to date on our latest releases!