For the first time since 1990, Bolton Wanderers fans will have to live without the word "Reebok" taking its once rightful place in any official club lexicon. After 24 years, the company that once held the role of shirt, technical, and stadium sponsor has vacated the premises, having been replaced by FibrLec, Macron, and Macron again, respectively.
The Trotters had spent the last two years with kits from adidas but for the next four, they will have match and training kits made by Macron. The Italian brand's first effort was unveiled to the public on Friday afternoon and it appears to have checked many of the boxes on the fans' collective wishlist.
The new home shirt is completely white in a twist that is, well, not one. The real touches of class with this one, however, are in the details. The kit borrows the collared template that Napoli used in the 2012/13 season on their home and away kits and while it is a bit of a shame to see Macron use a template that's two years old at this point, it does have a surprising air of freshness to it.
Like Napoli's kits, Bolton Wanderers get a polo collar on their home shirt for the first time since the 1995-1997 Reebok kits that they first wore nearly 20 years ago. The new collar folds over a wide navy blue neckline that has a sharp cut down towards the chest and features a little bit of red stitching a la Aston Villa's new home kit for an added touch of class. The collar features a thin white and navy blue stripe pattern that runs the entire way across it.
That stripe pattern is continued on the sleeve cuffs to form a relatively thick band on both arms. Bolton's new-as-of-2013 crest appears on the left side of the chest while the Macron logo is in the right and on both shoulders. The shirt sponsor's logo is one-color so as not to take away from the rest of the design.
The home shirt features the club's classic elephant on the back, at the base of the neck, with the town motto of "Supera Moras underneath it. There is also an embossed Lancashire Rose and 1877 (the club's founding year) on the back.
The new shirt is paired with navy blue shorts as per tradition despite the fact that many fans had called for an all-white kit a la Real Madrid. The kit is completed by white socks that feature navy blue hoops midway through their length.