# Brit Dopers, what are Chavs and why do they wear Burberry? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 13, 2006, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-what-are-chavs-and-why-do-they-wear-burberry/384037 "2006-12-13T23:37:12Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sonia\_Montdore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Sonia\_Montdore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sonia_Montdore)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 11:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-what-are-chavs-and-why-do-they-wear-burberry/384037/1 "2006-12-13T23:37:12Z")
UK Dopers, what’s a Chav? Why do Chavs wear Burberry? ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 11:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-what-are-chavs-and-why-do-they-wear-burberry/384037/2 "2006-12-13T23:46:20Z")
[http://www.chavscum.co.uk/](http://www.chavscum.co.uk/) is a good introduction to the complex social phenomenon which is the chav. AFAIK, Burberry (or cheap copies) became part of the uniform of various groups of football hooligans, and from there spread to general popularity among a wider group. And no self-respecting chav wears it anymore. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 13, 2006, 11:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-what-are-chavs-and-why-do-they-wear-burberry/384037/3 "2006-12-13T23:52:34Z")
Chavscum gives the definition of the chav. I’m not entirely sure about the Burberry connection, but what I’ve heard is: 1. Football hooligans + CCTV cameras =\> baseball caps with the peak over the face to avoid identification. 2. Burberry, a “classy” marque in chav terms starts making baseball caps =\> Chavs wearing them as a form of “bling”. 3. The fashion takes off. Asian sweatshops start copying Burberry. 4. Burberry tartan explosion, with chav cars, babies, and entire shellsuits covered in the stuff. 5. Burberry the company denies all knowledge and redesigns its tartan. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-what-are-chavs-and-why-do-they-wear-burberry/384037/4 "2006-12-14T00:00:24Z")
I cracked up the first time I saw a picture of a group of chavs. I have never seen a goofier looking group of hooligans in my life. I would love to see what would happen if you dropped a load of them down in Compton (Boys N the Hood). ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 12:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-what-are-chavs-and-why-do-they-wear-burberry/384037/5 "2006-12-14T00:02:58Z")
[QUOTE=Shagnasty] I would love to see what would happen if you dropped a load of them down in Compton (Boys N the Hood). [/QUOTE] _‘Huh? Hoola-something’_ - Bill Hicks ---
**Author:** ![Sonia\_Montdore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/90ced4/32.png) [@Sonia\_Montdore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sonia_Montdore)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-what-are-chavs-and-why-do-they-wear-burberry/384037/6 "2006-12-14T02:29:53Z")
Thanks, **GorillaMan** and **jjim** fo your excellent explanations of a puzzling fad. ---
**Author:** ![Racer1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee59a6/32.png) [@Racer1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Racer1)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 10:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-what-are-chavs-and-why-do-they-wear-burberry/384037/7 "2006-12-14T10:52:23Z")
For background - The reason football hooligans (different to chavs, though there’s probably overlap) originally started wearing Burberry and designer clothes is that the police would, not unreasonably, target large groups of guys wandering about shouting in their team’s shirts/colours. For a while, at least, they got around this by wearing the designer clothes as a disguise (because no common hooligan would be wearing that, right?). Then the police wised up again and it turned into more of a street fashion, which chavs then adopted. Now no normal people really wear it and poor Burberry lose out from negative associations. I think Burberry were unfortunate because their tartan was distinct from a distance, showing the police how well-to-do the guys were, and that was kind of the point. Probably didn’t help that they’re a UK company and many football hooligans had a stupid sense of mis-placed patriotism too. ---
**Author:** ![GorillaMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/50afbb/32.png) [@GorillaMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GorillaMan)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-what-are-chavs-and-why-do-they-wear-burberry/384037/8 "2006-12-14T11:40:57Z")
[QUOTE=Racer1] For background - The reason football hooligans (different to chavs, though there’s probably overlap) originally started wearing Burberry and designer clothes is that the police would, not unreasonably, target large groups of guys wandering about shouting in their team’s shirts/colours. For a while, at least, they got around this by wearing the designer clothes as a disguise (because no common hooligan would be wearing that, right?). Then the police wised up again and it turned into more of a street fashion, which chavs then adopted. Now no normal people really wear it and poor Burberry lose out from negative associations. [/QUOTE] Quite correct…and the consequence for football fans was that wearing colours marks you out as someone who’s there for the match, and _not_ doing so can suggest you’re looking for trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 12:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-what-are-chavs-and-why-do-they-wear-burberry/384037/9 "2006-12-14T12:11:25Z")
According to a particularly ban worthy rant on another board, Chavs wear Burberry because it’s the only Designer Label they can afford to buy. IOW Chavs are poor people who try to look rich by wearing [cheap] Designer clothing and tons of bling… ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-what-are-chavs-and-why-do-they-wear-burberry/384037/10 "2006-12-14T12:40:48Z")
I’m still not sure I entirely understand this. Maybe it’s my age but… Bling as I understand it is excessive and oversized jewelry worn mainly by African Americans to show off their wealth. Burberry is a company which specializes in plaid apparel. So we have a bunch of British honkies running around wearing plaid and oversized African American bling? And they think this makes them blend in somehow? ---
**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-what-are-chavs-and-why-do-they-wear-burberry/384037/11 "2006-12-14T13:01:11Z")
[QUOTE=levdrakon] So we have a bunch of British honkies running around wearing plaid and oversized African American bling? And they think this makes them blend in somehow? [/QUOTE] No, it’s worse, they think it makes them look cool. (BTW, I don’t know if it’s the same across the pond, but bling has become a term that’s applied to anything kind of apparel or accessory that overtly flashy and tasteless, not just chunky jewelry, so Burberry check is now bling). ---
**Author:** ![you\_with\_the\_face](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/ecccb3/32.png) [@you\_with\_the\_face](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/you_with_the_face)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 2:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-what-are-chavs-and-why-do-they-wear-burberry/384037/12 "2006-12-14T14:10:40Z")
[QUOTE=levdrakon] So we have a bunch of British honkies running around wearing plaid and oversized African American bling? [/QUOTE] Why would you consider it “oversized African American bling”, as opposed to just oversized bling? The one thing the urban UK blingsters and the urban American blingsters have in common is their low socioeconomic status. The race thing is incidental. Inner city poor American whites are bling afficionados, too. ---
**Author:** ![Wee\_Bairn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/90db22/32.png) [@Wee\_Bairn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wee_Bairn)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-what-are-chavs-and-why-do-they-wear-burberry/384037/13 "2006-12-14T14:28:17Z")
Going strictly on US terms of bling = oversized jewelry, I do not see where it has spread in large numbers to US whites of any status. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-what-are-chavs-and-why-do-they-wear-burberry/384037/14 "2006-12-14T15:34:48Z")
When I used the word “bling” I meant it in a general “ostentatious apparel” sense, rather than specifically jewellery. Sorry to confuse. ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 7:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-what-are-chavs-and-why-do-they-wear-burberry/384037/15 "2006-12-14T19:49:46Z")
[QUOTE=Lobelia Overhill] According to a particularly ban worthy rant on another board, Chavs wear Burberry because it’s the only Designer Label they can afford to buy. IOW Chavs are poor people who try to look rich by wearing [cheap] Designer clothing and tons of bling… [/QUOTE] Burberry is cheap? What on earth do you buy? They charge over a hundred quid for a scarf and [$1800 for a raincoat](http://www.amazon.com/Burberry-Womens-Length-Cashmere-Trenchcoat/dp/B000H6JFGC/sr=1-3/qid=1166125281/ref=sr_1_3/104-1974871-1546325?ie=UTF8&s=apparel) (well, $2600 RRP). The problem Burberry have is that any textile mill in the far east can set up a loom to knock off a few hundred metres of pretty authentic-looking burberry check at no more cost than making any other fabric, ship it to the nearest sweatshop and sew it into whatever they want. It is, after all, just an arrangement of coloured threads, which is even cheaper than stitching on special logos, buttons or whatever. ---
**Author:** ![levdrakon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@levdrakon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/levdrakon)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 7:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-what-are-chavs-and-why-do-they-wear-burberry/384037/16 "2006-12-14T19:52:18Z")
[QUOTE=you with the face] Why would you consider it “oversized African American bling”, as opposed to just oversized bling? The one thing the urban UK blingsters and the urban American blingsters have in common is their low socioeconomic status. The race thing is incidental. Inner city poor American whites are bling afficionados, too. [/QUOTE] Well, you learn something new everyday, especially around here. Not surprisingly, Wikipedia has an article on [bling bling](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bling), and that article links to an entry on chav. ---
**Author:** ![Rigamarole](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/77aa72/32.png) [@Rigamarole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rigamarole)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-what-are-chavs-and-why-do-they-wear-burberry/384037/17 "2006-12-14T20:03:03Z")
[QUOTE=Wee Bairn] Going strictly on US terms of bling = oversized jewelry, I do not see where it has spread in large numbers to US whites of any status. [/QUOTE] Clearly, you’ve never heard of [The Icy Hot Stuntaz](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Icy_hot_Stuntaz.jpg). ---
**Author:** ![casdave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c6cbf5/32.png) [@casdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/casdave)\ **Post date:** [December 14, 2006, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-what-are-chavs-and-why-do-they-wear-burberry/384037/18 "2006-12-14T21:48:19Z")
[http://www.le.ac.uk/footballresearch/resources/factsheets/fs1.html](http://www.le.ac.uk/footballresearch/resources/factsheets/fs1.html) Cover the subject rather well. It does miss out on the socio-economic level of football thugs, as there are plenty of middle manager types and upwardly thrusting things that have been convicted of some of the most serious outbreaks of mass disorder. I personally thik its because when you are out with you own crowdm in a differant town, you feel like no-one knows you, therefore you can do what you like and you will not be identified. This is a seriously mistaken view, as is the false feeling of group power that they feel, the feeling of seeming invulnerability. ---
**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\ **Post date:** [December 15, 2006, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-what-are-chavs-and-why-do-they-wear-burberry/384037/19 "2006-12-15T16:59:07Z")
[QUOTE=slaphead] Burberry is cheap? What on earth do you buy? They charge over a hundred quid for a scarf and [$1800 for a raincoat](http://www.amazon.com/Burberry-Womens-Length-Cashmere-Trenchcoat/dp/B000H6JFGC/sr=1-3/qid=1166125281/ref=sr_1_3/104-1974871-1546325?ie=UTF8&s=apparel) (well, $2600 RRP). [/QUOTE] Well I was led to believe, from said ranting post about the value of the chavette’s outfit (my jacket cost more than your entire family’s wardrobe!!) that Burberry was cheap. They sell Burberry handbags and watches and the like in the discount shop here. :dubious: ---
**Author:** ![slaphead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9bcb4/32.png) [@slaphead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slaphead)\ **Post date:** [December 17, 2006, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-what-are-chavs-and-why-do-they-wear-burberry/384037/20 "2006-12-17T13:53:48Z")
[QUOTE=Lobelia Overhill] They sell Burberry handbags and watches and the like in the discount shop here. :dubious: [/QUOTE] Well, I’m sure any brand is cheap-ish if you manage to find an outlet store selling all the stuff they couldn’t pass on at full price. I remember poking my nose into the Burberry shop outside Harrods - some of their stuff without the check-of-death is actually quite nice, but when I saw the price tags I had to leave before I burst into hysterical laughter. £150 for a leather wallet? Dang. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/brit-dopers-what-are-chavs-and-why-do-they-wear-burberry/384037.md?page=2)