‘Ten Years Ahead of His Time’: The East End Elegance of Martin Peters

Abstract

Martin Peters was a successful footballer whose public persona matched the way he played the game, without fuss or fanfare. A key English player of the 1960s, he does not usually feature in discussions about the connection between fashion and football in that decade. The focus is usually placed on players with celebrity status, especially George Best. This paper, working at the intersection of sport and fashion history and cultural studies, broadens the discussion by giving consideration to the non-celebrity-type player. This is done via an examination of the off-field dress and style of Martin Peters. The case is made, from studying the sartorial presentation of Peters, that we can recognize a connection between the player and other young men who favoured a low-key identification with the Mod culture of the time. This position supports a shift within the cultural historical study of British youth and masculine identity from the spectacular to the unspectacular.