1980/81
Manufacturer – Umbro
Again very slight changes were made to the home kit with the socks changing permanently from red to white, however it felt like it was getting better and better with each tiny adjustment, and this masterpiece recently won the twitter poll for Saints greatest ever home strip.




1981 – 1983
Manufacturer – Adidas
In the first year of the all too short-lived Adidas contract, a new monochrome badge was incorporated into the left hand black stripe, just one of two on the home shirt. With black shorts paired with white, red or black socks, all branded with the world famous Adidas logo, the strip is now considered a classic. The away strip was a red shirt with white shorts, while the goalkeeper had a distinctive blue or yellow with black kit.







Buy the 1981-83 Away t-shirt here – https://www.stmirrencairters.com/listing/742796889/st-mirren-1981-away-retro-football-t

1983/84
Manufacturer – Adidas
Shirt Sponsor – Graham’s Buses
The kits were altered slightly for this campaign as the club agreed a shirt sponsor for the very first time, with Graham’s Buses, a local bus operator becoming the inaugural company on the Saints shirt, and a blow was struck for traditionalists. Saints have not appeared in any domestic match without a sponsor since.


Buy the 1984 away t-shirt here – https://www.stmirrencairters.com/listing/726364374/st-mirren-1984-away-retro-football-t
Buy the all black home 1984 training top here – https://www.stmirrencairters.com/listing/736966603/st-mirren-1983-style-retro-football-t
1984 – 1987
Manufacturer – Adidas
Shirt Sponsor – Graham’s Buses
After having the minimum and thickest style of stripes possible in their first home shirt, Adidas went in completely the opposite direction by opting for very thin pin stripes with silver shadow in between every second one. Black shorts and socks accompanied this and a new all red away shirt produced.
In the 1985 UEFA cup first round match against Slavia Prague in the old Czechoslovakia, Saints were forced into a late strip change, meaning they wore an unbranded blue and white pinstripe shirt, with Saints black shorts and socks. Other than newspaper reports, there is scant pictorial evidence of this and the match was not recorded for TV, but this oddity paved the way for a number of blue strips in the next decades.
For the 1987 Scottish Cup Final, Saints sponsorship with Graham’s Buses had ended with the final match of the league campaign the week before, and the club signed a two year deal with rival bus company Clydeside Scottish whose name was on the shirt, when the team played in all white.






Frank McGarvey against Slavia Prague in 1985 with the unbranded blue shirt, seen to the right.


1987 – 1989
Manufacturer – Matchwinner
Shirt Sponsor – Clydeside Scottish
With optimism as high as possible following the Scottish Cup win, Saints had changed kit supplier from world leader Adidas to little known Bolton based company Matchwinner. In the days long before kit releases, Saints opening fixture the following season was a home friendly against Southampton and this was the first opportunity for the fans to see the team since the Cup Final, and of course the new strip.
The team however ran out of the tunnel at Love Street to the utter bewilderment of the crowd, wearing the infamous ‘Bib’ strip, and the confusion soon turned to laughter. Although thicker than pinstripes, the new home shirt had multiple stripes, with the ones on the shoulders at a different angle to the main ones.
Taking around half the front of the jersey though was a white panel which went from lower chest to neck, hence the ‘bib’ nickname. The badge, manufactures logo and sponsor were all printed directly onto the white bib area, which in truth wasn’t a bad idea at all. Shorts were usually white, but black was also used on occasion.
The red away strip was a similar design, with the black and white stripes replaced with all red and a black stripe down each chest. The keepers strip was spared a bib though.
Through the years the infamous ‘bib’ has been looked upon more affectionately by some than the initial reaction, and is now something of a cult classic. The one thing that is certain is the fact it was a striking kit, if not pleasant on the eye.








1989-1991
Manufacturer – Matchwinner
Shirt Sponsor – Kelvin Homes
See the 1990-1999 section for this by clicking on the next button below.