Editing Luton Town F.C. (section)

==Club identity==
{{Commons|Luton Town F.C. kits}}
{{Football kit box
| align = right
| pattern_la =
| pattern_b = _vneckwhite
| pattern_ra =
| pattern_sh = _white_stripes
| pattern_so = _twostripes
| leftarm = FFFFFF
| body = FFFFFF
| rightarm = FFFFFF
| shorts = 000000
| socks = FFFFFF
| title = Luton first wore white and black between 1920 and 1973.
}}
[[File:LutonTownFCBadge1973-1987.png|thumb|upright|Luton Town badge, {{nowrap|1973–87}}|alt=See accompanying text]]

The club's nickname, "the Hatters", reflects Luton's historical connection with the [[Hatmaking|hat making]] trade, which has been prominent there since the 17th century.<ref>{{cite web |title=A history hat making in Luton |url=http://www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov.uk/webingres/luton/0.local/hat_plaiting.htm |work=Plaiting and Straw Hat Making |publisher=Luton Libraries |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130527182358/http://www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov.uk/webingres/luton/0.local/hat_plaiting.htm |archive-date=27 May 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Origins of Luton's Hat Industry |url=http://www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov.uk/webingres/luton/0.local/hat_origins_industry.htm |work=Plaiting and Straw Hat Making |publisher=Luton Libraries |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222030446/http://www.galaxy.bedfordshire.gov.uk/webingres/luton/0.local/hat_origins_industry.htm |archive-date=22 February 2012}}</ref> Supporters of the club are also called Hatters.<ref>{{cite book |first=Dean P. |last=Hayes |title=Completely Top Hatters! |year=2002 |publisher=Book Castle Publishing |location=Dunstable |isbn=978-1-903747-27-8 |page=123}}</ref>

The club is associated with two very different colour schemes—white and black (first permanently adopted in 1920), and orange, navy and white (first used in 1973, and worn by the team as of the [[2015–16 Luton Town F.C. season|2015–16 season]]). Luton mainly wore a combination of light blue and white before 1920, when white shirts and black shorts were first adopted. These colours were retained for over half a century, with the colour of the socks varying between white and black, until Luton changed to orange, navy and white at the start of the [[1973–74 in English football|1973–74 season]]. Luton began playing in white shirts, shorts and socks in 1979, with the orange and navy motif reduced to trim; navy shorts were adopted in 1984. This palette was retained until the [[1999–2000 Luton Town F.C. season|1999–2000 season]], when the team played in orange shirts and blue shorts. From 2000 to 2008, Luton returned to white shirts and black shorts; orange was included as trim until 2007. The white, navy and orange palette favoured in the 1980s was brought back in 2008, following the results of a club poll,<ref>{{cite web |title=One Day to Go!! |url=http://www.lutontown.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10372~1372290,00.html |publisher=Luton Town F.C. |date=22 August 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319081740/http://www.lutontown.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0%2C%2C10372~1372290%2C00.html |archive-date=19 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> but a year later the colours were changed yet again, this time to a predominantly orange strip with white shorts.<ref>{{cite web |title=Luton Town F.C. Home/Away |url=http://www.lutontown.co.uk/staticFiles/3d/3b/0,,10372~146237,00.pdf |publisher=Luton Town F.C. |date=27 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120319072839/http://www.lutontown.co.uk/staticFiles/3d/3b/0%2C%2C10372~146237%2C00.pdf |archive-date=19 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Navy shorts were readopted in 2011. Luton wore orange shirts, navy shorts and white socks during the [[2015–16 Luton Town F.C. season|2015–16 season]].<ref name=HFK/>

Luton Town have traditionally used the town's crest as its own in a manner similar to many other teams. The club's first badge was a white eight-pointed star, which was emblazoned across the team's shirts (then a deep [[cochineal]] red) in 1892. Four years later a crest comprising the club's initials intertwined was briefly adopted. The shirts were thereafter plain until 1933, when Luton first adopted a badge depicting a straw boater, which appeared on Luton shirts. The letters "LTFC" were added in 1935, and this basic design remained until 1947. The club then played without a badge until 1970, when the club began to wear the town crest regularly, having first done so in the 1959 FA Cup Final.<ref name=papbadge>{{cite book |title=The Hatters: Passion and Pride since 1885 |chapter=The Badge |year=2011 |publisher=Luton Town F.C. |location=Luton |page=112}}</ref>

In 1973, concurrently with the club's switch to the orange kit, a new badge was introduced featuring the new colours. The new emblem depicted a stylised orange football, bearing the letters "Lt", surrounded by the club's name in navy blue text.<ref name=papbadge/> In 1987, the club switched back to a derivative of the town emblem, with the shield portion of the heraldic crest becoming the team's badge; the only similarity with the previous design was the inclusion of the club name around the shield in navy blue. The "rainbow" badge, introduced in 1994, featured the town crest below an orange and blue bow which curved around to meet two footballs, positioned on either side of the shield, with the club name underneath.<ref name=papbadge/> This badge was used until 2005, when a replacement very similar to the 1987 version was adopted, featuring black text rather than blue and a straw boater in place of the outstretched arm depicted in the older design. The club's founding year, 1885, was added in 2008.<ref name=HFK/> The badge was altered once more during the [[2009–10 Luton Town F.C. season|2009–10]] pre-season, with the red of the town crest being replaced with orange to better reflect the club colours.<ref name=kit2011>{{cite web |title=Revealed: The New Crest |url=http://www.lutontown.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0,,10372~1735608,00.html |publisher=Luton Town F.C. |date=28 July 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120301145328/http://www.lutontown.co.uk/page/NewsDetail/0%2C%2C10372~1735608%2C00.html |archive-date=1 March 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

The club released the song "Hatters, Hatters", a collaboration between the Luton team and the Bedfordshire-based musical comedy group [[the Barron Knights]], in 1974.<ref>{{cite web |title=Miranda Hart after Eric Impersonators |url=http://www.lutontown.co.uk/news/article/miranda-hart-coming-to-kenilworth-road-531301.aspx |publisher=Luton Town F.C. |date=7 December 2012 |access-date=28 October 2014 |archive-date=22 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141222205949/http://www.lutontown.co.uk/news/article/miranda-hart-coming-to-kenilworth-road-531301.aspx |url-status=live }}</ref> Eight years later another song featuring vocals by the Luton players, "We're Luton Town", was released to celebrate the club's promotion to the First Division.<ref>{{cite AV media notes |title=We're Luton Town |type=vinyl record |others=Luton Town Football Club |publisher=Artesian Records |year=1982 |id=ARC 314 A}}</ref>