Meet The Threaded Pass
The Threaded Pass are relative newcomers to the shirt space. The two friends behind the shirts, Liam and Joe, have an uncanny knack of sourcing some of the most interesting shirts you're likely to find. They also have a deep love of classic football shirts, which shows in everything they do. From how they uncover, share and photograph their finds, you know there's so much care go into what they do. It's why we're thrilled to have them as suppliers on the Showboat marketplace. We sat down with Liam and Joe to talk all things shirt related recently.
Can you explain how you first got into shirt collecting and selling? How did The Threaded Pass come about
Liam:
I’ve always loved football shirts. My first real grail was when my brother went to Japan in 2007 and bought me an FC Tokyo shirt for my birthday, and I lived in it. I loved CFS at university, and then a good mate of mine worked there a few years back, which I was pretty jealous of, to be fair, but he did manage to nab me a few quality bits that properly reignited the passion. I started buying shirts and training gear purely because I liked them. My partner eventually said I should probably sell a few I wasn’t wearing anymore and… here we are. She was onto a good idea!
I know Joe from university, and we’ve always shared a similar appreciation for football culture and kits. After a few months of casually buying and selling, it naturally grew into something more social, which is where The Threaded Pass really started to take shape. We started to post online more as well as selling bits.
The Threaded Pass feels very curated. Where does that come from?
Liam:
A lot of my interest has always been in the slightly more unusual stuff. Tournament merch, training gear, odd releases you don’t see every day. Shirts are the bread and butter, but it’s those pieces that really stand out and give the page its personality.
From a social point of view, we want the page to feel considered. Not just endless product shots, but something that champions great shirts, great photography, and the stories behind them. Ideally, when someone lands on the page or sees a post, they take a bit of enjoyment or inspiration from it, even if they’re not buying anything. The goal isn’t to make tonnes of money; it’s just to enjoy what we’re doing.
How did you build a reliable supply network?
Liam:
To be honest, I haven’t really cracked that yet. Most of it is just pure graft. Vinted, eBay, endless scrolling! There are a couple of other sellers I’ll sometimes buy from, but it’s mainly just time spent trawling. It’s a tough space to navigate because you hear about so many scams, which definitely makes you cautious. The main thing for us is keeping things moving and making sure people get what they’re after at a fair price.
How does your personal taste align with what sells?
Joe:
Every shirt you pick up will be wanted by someone, somewhere. Fans of clubs that have suffered relegation after relegation, administration, pure misery, will still be desperately searching for that one away shirt from 1990 or 2005 because it looks unbelievable and they know it’ll get attention when they wear it to the pub on matchday. That’s what it’s all about.
Even when we’re creating content, we might not have a personal connection to a club at first. But once you dive into the season, the players who wore it, the context around that year, you start to feel something towards it, even as a neutral. Football shirts almost sell themselves now, so our role is really about connecting with other fans and collectors.
For example, we once had a Scarborough home shirt from 98/99, and it was an absolute beauty. The number of people who genuinely care about Scarborough FC might be smaller, but I think that made us love it even more!
How many shirts are in your personal collection? What’s your favourite?
Joe:
It’s still my Palermo 1991/92 shirt, which you can find on our Instagram. I probably paid a bit too much for it, but I spotted it in a shirt shop in southern Italy and there was no way I was coming home without it.
Liam:
I’ve recently sold a few, as I’m on an extended break in South East Asia, so I couldn’t give an exact number, but I reckon it’s around the 50–60 mark. I’ve mostly kept sweatshirts, tournament merch, and training gear, as that’s what I wear more regularly than shirts.
That being said, my favourite is likely my 2005/06 Burton Albion home shirt, special FA Cup edition. It was my first Brewers game, and I was over the moon to pick it up, with the iconic Paddy Power across the middle.
Is there still a holy grail you’re chasing?
Joe:
It has to be J-League or MLS. European clubs still haven’t quite been brave enough to have fun with kit design in the way Japanese and US teams were in the 90s, which is a shame, but also what makes those shirts so special. If anyone’s got any 90s match-worn shirts or training gear, feel free to drop us a message.
And, of course, anything Burton or Huddersfield Town related for our respective allegiances!
Finally… why have you partnered with us at Showboat?
Liam:
We've been chatting with the Showboat guys for a while now about the shirt game, its direction, and the issues that buyers and sellers need addressed. Everything Showboat are trying to build feels like exactly what this community has been missing. A proper hub for passionate collectors, but with a modern edge. We're buzzing to be part of it.
More from The Supply
→ Read our interview with Granny's Football Store
→ Read our interview with Retro Football Shirts
→ Read our interview with Squadra
→ Read our interview with Football Finery
→ Read our interview with NI Clasico
→ Explore shirts from the best suppliers in the UK on the Showboat Marketplace.
