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Waistcoat Wednesday: England fans prepare for semi with Gareth Southgate tribute

If it’s good enough for the England boss then the rest of us will definitely follow.
If it’s good enough for the England boss then the rest of us will definitely follow. If it’s good enough for the England boss then the rest of us will definitely follow.

Football fans are getting into the matchday spirit by donning waistcoats in tribute to England manager Gareth Southgate.

Now, as England prepare for the first World Cup semi-final since 1990 fans are showing off their versions of the M&S attire the England boss has been wearing throughout the tournament.

England manager Gareth Southgate
England manager Gareth Southgate (Owen Humphreys/PA)

The craze has united people who didn’t even consider themselves football fans a few weeks ago, buoyed by England’s progress in Russia.

And even those who didn’t own waistcoats.

In York, little 11-week-old Benjamin was resplendent in a mini waistcoat and knitted “tie”.

There’s even been waistcoats made into cakes in support of the charity Bloodwise UK, which funds research into blood cancer.

The charity is encouraging people getting in on the sartorial trend ahead of the game to make a donation.

Celebrities, writers, journalists and more are backing the national side by wearing a waistcoat.

Not everyone was quite backing Waistcoat Wednesday though. A typo in a few early tweets sent two phrases into Twitter’s top trends – Waistcoat Wednesday was joined, and surpassed, by Waistcoast Wednesday. Perhaps a breezier version.

Here’s to Waistcoat Sunday, right?