49ers Throw It Back to the 94ers, Unveil Alternate Uniform

[Carolingian Steamroller]

In all seriousness, I like these. I wish they had red socks but I'm a fan of that design. 

[oldschoolvikings]

Ehh, whatever.

 

If these (at least unofficially) nail the coffin on those ghastly black PJs then they're worth it, but otherwise not much to get excited over. 

[HOOVER]

9 hours ago, phutmasterflex said:

Wish the stripes were thinner like the throwbacks. The thickness (and having most players not actually have sleeves) gives this throwback a unique distinct look as players from 1994 with no sleeves just had the stripes disappear underneath the pads 

 

 

I agree on this 100%.  I would've rather them not had any stripes at all than have such a giant set of 3-stripes.  They could've done a 3-stripe knit cuff, though that's probably not the answer either.  Given the structure & fit of the cap sleeve, this was probably the only way to do it that looked right in reality.

[whitedawg22]

So it seems like there are three assumptions that don't quite fit together.

1. The black alternates are no longer in use.
2. The Color Rush program is no longer mandatory.
3. The new throwback uniforms have white socks to fit within the Color Rush program.

If the black alternates are no longer in use (and teams are only allowed one alternate uniform), the throwback could be the 49ers' alternate uniform, and they could wear the red socks worn in 1994. So the most likely explanations seem to be that either the black alternates are still available (whether or not they'll be worn this year), or that the NFL has prevented the 49ers from coming out with new alternate uniforms within 5 years of the debut of the black uniforms, which were originally designated as non-CR alternates.

[Gothamite]

9 minutes ago, whitedawg22 said:

So it seems like there are three assumptions that don't quite fit together.

1. The black alternates are no longer in use.
2. The Color Rush program is no longer mandatory.
3. The new throwback uniforms have white socks to fit within the Color Rush program.

If the black alternates are no longer in use (and teams are only allowed one alternate uniform), the throwback could be the 49ers' alternate uniform, and they could wear the red socks worn in 1994. So the most likely explanations seem to be that either the black alternates are still available (whether or not they'll be worn this year), or that the NFL has prevented the 49ers from coming out with new alternate uniforms within 5 years of the debut of the black uniforms, which were originally designated as non-CR alternates.

 

I'm not sure there's a conflict here.  We've heard the black alts won't be worn this year, but has it been confirmed they're out of the style guide entirely?

 

Color Rush jerseys are in addition to the alternates, even though some teams like the 49ers and Packers use one of their standard jerseys for Color Rush.  This year the Niners have designed an actual Color Rush jersey.  That doesn't need to have anything to do with their alternates.

[andrewharrington]

4 hours ago, Gothamite said:

 

I hate to disagree with you, but manufacturers absolutely introduce new fabrics and templates to spur sales.

 

I don’t doubt that they’ll point to small differences in fit, stretch, durability, airflow, weight, feel, etc., but sometimes those differences are the result of wanting a new product to sell, not the reason for it. 

 

I suppose the cynic in me sees your point of view here, but I’d counter with this:

 

How can material, construction, and fit innovations be driven by the need for new retail products when many of the materials and fit details aren’t a part of even the highest-tier retail product (especially in football)?

 

Obviously, the line between true function and “aesthetic function” is gray sometimes (flywire collar seems like a good example), but by and large, the material and fit innovations are exclusively driven by the need to put athletes in the absolute best garments. If you don’t keep up, you get left behind (like the old manufacturers did). Retail product simply has to match that as best as possible.

 

There ain’t nobody buying a new Eagles jersey just because the collar looks different and there are fewer seams on the body (or if there are, that market is inconsequentially small). That’s probably where the aesthetic obsolescence becomes valuable for people who are into that. 

 

[Gothamite]

6 minutes ago, andrewharrington said:

How can material, construction, and fit innovations be driven by the need for new retail products when many of the materials and fit details aren’t a part of even the highest-tier retail product (especially in football)?

 

Because the retail consumer is not their only consumer.  They are also selling themselves and their services to college football programs, etc.  That's why we have things like Flywire and other "innovations" which seem as much about creating distinctive company branding as any performance aspect.

[hawk36]

11 hours ago, upperV03 said:

Fail pure and simple due to no consistent stripes. Helmet red/white/red, sleeve 3 red stripes, pants red/black/red. Even changing the white center stripe on the helmet to black would be a great improvement. Once again Nike lets a good initial concept slip through their fingers. 

[BJ Sands]

3 minutes ago, hawk36 said:

Fail pure and simple due to no consistent stripes. Helmet red/white/red, sleeve 3 red stripes, pants red/black/red. Even changing the white center stripe on the helmet to black would be a great improvement. Once again Nike lets a good initial concept slip through their fingers. 

Normally I'd agree with you about the striping but this is pretty much a modernized version of the fauxback they wore in 1994. Not much else the Swooshies could do with this.

[FinsUp1214]

That uniform and the one that came after it were what got me into uniforms in the first place, so for nostalgic reasons, I’m thrilled to see it again. Yeah, it’s not perfect (honestly the only change I’d make is to make the pants stripe red-white-red and boom, fixed), but I’m perfectly fine with it for historical accuracy’s sake. 

[Carolingian Steamroller]

12 minutes ago, BJ Sands said:

Normally I'd agree with you about the striping but this is pretty much a modernized version of the fauxback they wore in 1994. Not much else the Swooshies could do with this.

 

Further the fauxback is explicitly based on the 1955 Uniforms. The 1994 throwback program always kept the same helmet shell. 

 

[hawk36]

21 minutes ago, BJ Sands said:

Normally I'd agree with you about the striping but this is pretty much a modernized version of the fauxback they wore in 1994. Not much else the Swooshies could do with this.

Fair point. I guess if you are going to do a fauxback this makes sense. 

[kabbey520]

Love em! Wish we had a red jersey too though. Hopefully we never see the all black again.

 

Go Niners!

[leopard88]

1 hour ago, Carolingian Steamroller said:

 

Further the fauxback is explicitly based on the 1955 Uniforms. The 1994 throwback program always kept the same helmet shell. 

 

 

So it's a throwback to a fauxback.

[Brave-Bird 08]

If color rush is no longer mandated, why the hell are teams choosing to go with white socks? Ruins the entire thing...

[Ferdinand Cesarano]

 

Terrible.

With the exception of the New York Rangers and the Los Angeles Lakers, drop shadows are always bad.

[Chromatic]

Meh, it’s fine. Honestly if the 49ers could fix their sleeve stripes on their current home and away they’d be the best looking team in football.

 

These are fine for a once or twice a year throwback but I’m not that keen on them, mostly due to how terrible the dropshadows are.

[Red Wolf]

Why can they pull off three stripes on this but not on the standard uniforms? Honestly, I think I like the change to the two stripes in the regular uniforms better, but I’m still annoyed that they seemed to act like it wasn’t possible to pull that off. 

 

Before color rush stopped being mandatory, I posted in one of these threads somewhere that the Niners should have gone with this exact look. So whoever saw my post in whichever thread that was, you’re welcome. I don’t need credit but I’ll take it if you want to give it out. 

[Gothamite]

1 minute ago, Red Wolf said:

Why can they pull off three stripes on this but not on the standard uniforms?

 

Wait until we see the linemen before you say that,

[Bathysphere]

1 hour ago, Gothamite said:

 

Wait until we see the linemen before you say that,

Big Joe Staley and Solomon Thomas have no issues.