The best Aston Villa shirts ever made

Aston Villa have given us some of the most iconic kits in English football history. From European Cup glory to that absolutely wild 1993-95 away shirt that looks like it was designed by a very confident nine-year-old - the Villa wardrobe is deep, eclectic, and endlessly debatable.

We've sold over 50 Aston Villa shirts at Football Shirt Collective over the years, and to mark the occasion, we asked some of the most knowledgeable Villa obsessives around - from dedicated fan podcasters to collectors who've been flipping shirts since before eBay existed - to tell us their favourite ever kit. Their answers are below.

Fair warning: there's a Hummel shirt, a bittersweet Downing tribute, and a very good story involving a Curly Wurly.

Browse our collection of authentic Aston Villa shirts here.

So what are the the best ever Aston Villa shirts?

1987 Aston Villa shirt by hummel

"My first shirt was the 1987-88 Aston Villa home shirt made by Hummel. It was an absolute belter. I had it for Christmas. Full kit. I was allowed to be a full-kit wanker because I was eight. I drew an '8' on the back (for David Platt) with a marker pen." - Rob Warner

Hummel's brief but brilliant spell making Villa kits produced one of the finest shirts the club has ever worn. The chevrons on the sleeves, the bold claret and blue - it's everything you want from a late-80s football shirt.

1980-81 Aston Villa Home Shirt

"I swapped it at school for a Curly Wurly and a Mars bar... He proposed the swap, which must go down as one of my better business ventures!" - My Old Man Said

A Villa home shirt swapped for two chocolate bars. The kid in question turned out to be a Liverpool fan - which explains everything. This era of Villa kit carries serious weight: Ron Saunders's side were about to become Football League champions in 1981, one year before lifting the European Cup. 

1993-95 Aston Villa away shirt Asics 

"It is my favourite ever shirt, partly because of the memories it holds, but also the bordering-on-ridiculous colour scheme. It is so odd, it's almost garish. The green and black vertical stripes (with red pinstripes thrown in for extra pizazz) give the impression it was designed by a child who won some kind of kit-designing competition – yet somehow it works." - Joshua Prior

"My first official shirt arrived on my ninth birthday when my parents got me that hideous/glorious green-black-red Aston Villa away kit. I loved it. It had my name and number 9 on the back, and was convinced that it was my ticket into the first team." - Stevie Green

Where to even start. Green and black vertical stripes. Red pinstripes. A Müller yoghurt sponsor. The 1994 Coca-Cola Cup Winners badge above the crest. This shirt should not work and yet it absolutely does. The fact that Joshua has a version with 7 HOUGHTON on the back and refuses to sell it tells you everything. One of the most collectible Villa shirts in existence - and our data backs that up.

1993-94 Aston Villa Home Shirt (Asics)

"First football shirt was Aston Villa's 1993/94 home shirt made by Asics. It had a buttoned up collar and Whitehouse 9 on the back. Dean Saunders was my idol so there was no other choice for me." - Matt Whitehouse

The Asics home to the away shirt's madness. Cleaner, classier, with that distinctive button collar that defined early-90s football fashion. Dean Saunders was a brilliant Villa striker - 22 goals in his first season - and this shirt captures exactly that period when Villa were genuinely competing at the top of English football.

1996-97 Aston Villa Away Shirt (Reebok)

"One summer day, I won a bet with my English coach and he gave me the shirt off his back, a 1996 Aston Villa x Reebok away shirt. Though it was far too big for me when I was a kid, I can finally wear it now." - Andrew Helms

A shirt won in a bet with an expat football coach at an American summer camp. You genuinely couldn't make it up. The mid-90s Reebok Villa shirts are criminally underrated - bold, distinctive design, and associated with a Villa side that were still competing for major honours. The fact that Andrew has held onto it for years until it finally fits is the kind of collector story we love.

1990 Aston Villa home shirt by Umbro

The Umbro logo, button up collar, amazing crest and Mita Copiers sponsor.  This is Umbro at its peak.  So much detail and worn by so many legends.  This is our best selling vintage Villa shirt.

1982-83 Aston Villa European Cup Kit

The actual shirt worn in Rotterdam as Villa defeated Bayern Munich. Context makes this one of the rarest and most significant in the club's history.

Aston Villa shirt orders by country

Villa's fanbase stretches well beyond the Midlands. Here's where our orders have come from:

Why buy your authentic Aston Villa shirts from Football Shirt Collective?

There are a lot of places to buy vintage Villa shirts. Most of them will sell you a replica without telling you. We won't.

Every single shirt we sell is guaranteed authentic - no replicas, no fakes, ever. We've spent years building the knowledge to verify every shirt that comes through the door, and our 4.7 Trustpilot score (from over 500 five-star reviews) is the result of that commitment.

Each shirt comes with 10+ photos so you know exactly what you're getting before you buy. And unlike eBay, if something isn't right, you're dealing with people who actually care about getting it right.

Browse our collection of authentic Aston Villa shirts here.