AC Milan Shorts and Socks Review
When it comes to the broad spectrum of merchandise offered under the license of an association football club, or any sport team for that matter, you know you will come across a wide variety of products, from those aimed at casual followers, to hardcore fans. Courtesy of MMSports, I’ve been able to review some great AC Milan products, with jerseys ranking as generally favored products and others such as the beanie hat and scarf acting as products for the slightly more dedicated fan, but of valued use. Well today, I’ve got my hands on two great Milan products essential to any heavily absorbent fan of the Rossoneri: the 11/12 AC Milan shorts and the correspondent socks. I’ve enjoyed observing these two for the sake of giving an in-depth view of all aspects of the products and their respective values. Let’s go!
The Look
(I’ll be starting each section with the shorts, then the socks; following that, I’ll portray their function together.)
I’ll admit myself, I don’t consider myself to be at the dedicative level of purchasing much clothing other than jerseys and the occasional shirt when it comes to raw support for my favorite teams, but thanks to MMSports’ shipment of a pair of shorts for review, I’ve been given great insight into something that I’ve overseen for years as a football fan. Matching shorts make any jersey look much, much better. I’ll say it myself; I’m the kind of person you see outside wearing a jersey adorning a normal set of clothes, regardless as to whether I’m out playing, shopping, or otherwise, but the way that the shorts look with the jersey is just so fitting, that I find myself wearing them much more then I expect, in fact, I’m treating them a lot more like casual everyday shorts then one would think. What I’m trying to say is, there’s much more value to having your club’s shorts then just for diehard spectating and dedicated representation.
AC Milan’s latest set of shorts, fortunately, has not changed much at all. Milan is legendary in its iconic color scheme, as many teams are, but in my opinion, this year the shorts look better than ever. But if they have changed minimally, how can this be so? Take the following photographs into account.
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AC Milan’s 10/11 kit, as you can see in the image on the left-hand side, sports a more focused, darker theme, with an emphasis on the large black and red stripes across the home jersey. Look around the kit, there is no white to be found, other than the shorts. So now, if you take a look at the 11/12 home kit on the right-hand side, you should get a bit of the “vibe” that I got with the shorts. With the thinner stripes, meaning less black, and the white collar and cuffs, it all comes together so much better. It’s ironic that the change in jersey improves the visual appeal of the shorts, but that’s not to take away from the value of the shorts in accordance to all AC Milan jerseys of all time, for I’ve come to learn that they just go great with anything Milan, not being Inter Milan that is.
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To get to specifics, AC Milan’s shorts are one great big flood of maximum white. Along both sides, the symbolic Adidas stripes can be seen in a red/black/red scheme, one that matches that of Milan’s away kit stripes, as well as the general color set of everything AC Milan. It’s almost double value for the fact that these are the shorts worn in the away kit as well, so you could consider them, outside of the third kit shorts, almost universal to all jerseys of Milan. Sewn into the lower-right side of the shorts is a high-quality AC Milan emblem, just as it is on the home and away jerseys. On the back of the lower-left side of the shorts is the forever present Adidas logo, its own priceless brand of quality and clean, abstract design making itself known. Lining the outer rim of the bottom of both sides is the same, thin-line Italian national colors present vertically upon the jerseys.
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The shorts pretty much go perfectly with any AC Milan top, be it a shirt, jersey, or otherwise, you name it and it looks great. The bold, total whiteout look compliments any top, obviously preferring red, black, or white clothing. Maybe the changes from previous shorts are minimal, but Adidas has really done a great job of respecting the main kit design this time; the upper-kit is a large influence upon the visual display of the shorts and really, I can’t stress enough how good they look with many different clothes, they serve the representation values of a jersey in a simply less extravagant way; I’ve been wearing them with completely unrelated shirts and they just look so good. The shorts are definitely the ideal addition to any Rossoneri fan’s set.
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Visually, the shorts are easy to see as either dedicated or casual; you could wear them to watch a match or play outside, but you could wear them when you go out in the summer and it would be no different from usual, everyday clothes. Unfortunately, the socks don’t work like that, but that’s not to take away from their value. I’ll talk more about this later but for now, here’s a review of the visual aspect of the socks.
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AC Milan’s latest socks, produced by Adidas like the rest of the set, are totally black, other than a few other features. Near the top of the socks is another three-stripe design as sported on almost all Adidas products; the stripes are red, as is the text in the middle of the socks reading “AC Milan”. Near the bottom of the socks is the Adidas logo in the matching red of the other images, completing the main look of the socks. Around the feet, the socks sport many thin, colored patches and cushions, clearly for athletic purposes, and they are tinted with reds and grays. Overall, the socks look very sleek and go well, as with the shorts, with pretty much any Milan top, though you’ll be looking more to put these with a whole kit rather than just one piece.
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So what’s the deal with the socks? It’s very easy, they are great, and they match all Milan merchandise well, but they are what they are, athletic socks. You probably wouldn’t find yourself slipping these on when you need to go out to buy something or take a walk, but that’s not what their purpose is. They are great looking socks for playing a match and especially great when you want to really put yourself behind AC Milan as they step into a difficult 90 minutes on the pitch. They lean a lot more to the dedicated fan style then casual follower.
The Fit
Regardless of what they are for, both the shorts and socks are supposed to be comfortable, right? Luckily, Adidas has done another great job with sizing, build, and fit to make a couple of really good products here.
The AC Milan shorts are very, very fitting and comfortable. I recreationally play football outside and find that I need to find a nice mix between tight yet loose when it comes to shorts to play with. Well, no more, because football shorts are what any fan that plays as well is looking for. The semi-elastic waistband is easily adjustable, courtesy of the laces with which you may tighten the shorts, but you’ll find that even without using them, the shorts are tightened just right to adjust as you move. From there, the rest of the shorts are a thin and light material; you will never find them obstructing your movements. They hang with an almost featherlike grace that makes them ideal for any athletic exercise or movement. The shorts are most assuredly a great fit, all you need to do is pick a relative size and you know you can’t go wrong with the adjustability.
The socks are brilliant; they are a specialized fit with the fabric technologies of Adidas making themselves known. If you’re like me, you look at the packaging for something such as football socks, and you’re probably thinking, “what are these complicated words doing on sock descriptions, they’re just socks?!”. You’ll find that it’s all of the tiny little details that make them so great for slipping into your boots and moving, all the meshes and cushioning is subtle yet effective; the socks are even shaped and built around studied features of the human leg and its muscle movement! I’ve had other football socks before but they don’t quite hold up like these, others always begin to slide down quickly with minimal grip. I have zero complaints or negative comments on the socks and from an athletic and comfort perspective, they are the ultimate solution in socks. That goes for all socks of the Adidas line, obviously not just AC Milan’s socks.
The Final Word
Recently I reviewed the AC Milan beanie hat and scarf together; I was pleasantly surprised to find that though they are club merchandise takes on normal, accepted clothing, they easily seam into casual wear without a problem. I would definitely place the AC Milan shorts in that segment too, if you wear them right, they go well with certain clothes and you can hit a mix between an athletic and striking style. The same is not true for the socks, they are great in their own way, but you logically would not factor them in when getting ready to head outside for an everyday sort of activity.
Purpose wise, both products hit the spot. The shorts are great for slipping on with a jersey and watching AC Milan duke it out with another team and the socks are a fantastic addition as well, helping to compliment an already attractive fan set. Once again, both products are also great for athletic activities like walking or playing a sport, in the end that’s what they are designed for.
In the end, I think both products are very, very good, but I would consider the shorts to be perfect for any AC Milan fan, and the socks to rank more as an athletic or diehard fan’s piece of merchandise. They both fit the entire Milan look and work well with any jersey of any year, home or away, and there are definitely fewer ultimate ways to yell “AC Milan!”, then putting these on for a good, fun match of the beautiful game, no matter whether you’re playing or watching. I recommend both of these products to all AC Milan fans that are big on wearing jerseys, for these two will make the kit look complete, and you can’t beat a full set.
