Longtime fan Dave Schade loves the look of the

' new Major League Soccer jerseys and enthusiastically purchased three jerseys at the team's sales kiosk inside the Lloyd Center Tuesday afternoon.

"They're reminiscent of the old jerseys. They have the same basic color schemes as the old teams. I really like the little things on (the jersey) that remind me of the team's history," said Schade, a 64-year-old retired pharmaceutical salesman and Timbers season-ticket holder. "But you can see that it's new and different. I like (the jersey) a lot."

Schade is one of many Timbers fans who have purchased the

. Anecdotal information indicates sales of the new jersey is high.

"We've been pretty busy this week," Aileen Fajardo, an Adidas sales associate at the kiosk, said Thursday. "People really like the design."

The new jersey, designed by Adidas in preparation for the Timbers joining MLS, is unlike any jersey that currently exists in the league. Some of the jersey's uniqueness comes from its split-jersey colors of green, varied acknowledgments to the Timbers' history and futuristic look.

"The jersey is by far the best-selling item at our

said Chris Metz, a spokesman for the Timbers.

The design is proving to be so popular among fans that if sales continue at the current pace, the jersey could rank among the most popular in the league.

Maria Beeler, Adidas apparel designer for MLS and the driving force behind the look of the jersey, said the entire process to develop the jersey took nearly two years. Beeler learned about extensive research into the Timbers' history, drew inspiration from Oregon's forests and waterfalls, met and talked to former Timber players and current staff along with listening to feedback from members of the Timbers Army.

The general consensus was everyone at Adidas and those associated with the Timbers wanted a bold statement from the new jersey.

"We didn't want to copycat and replicate something that's already been seen in the league. We always want to have something new or with a new twist," said Beeler, a 27-year-old native Oregonian. "And (the Timbers) wanted a new look that also paid homage to the team's history."

The design team knew green would be the primary color after researching previous jerseys, but what shade of green? Drawing inspiration from Oregon forests, the group determined three shades of green were needed. The two dominant shades of green were the catalyst for the split-jersey look.

"We thought, 'Let's have Portland own the greens,' " said Beeler, who has been at adidas for 41/2 years. "We drew out three greens that we thought worked really well. The Timbers are the green team now."

The third shade is the moss green color for the trim. That particular color of green generated plenty of talk about the Timbers' archrival, the Seattle Sounders.

"We definitely don't want to look like Seattle, but you must remember that the vibrant yellow has been in the club's badge and part of the club's color palette for years," said Timbers owner Merritt Paulson. "It's not something we wanted to feature, but it works in complementing that color in our primary logo."

No one questioned the roots of the bold shades of red on the Timbers' alternate jerseys. Those reds grew from the design team's desire to honor Portland's "Rose City" heritage.

"It was something completely different that what we've done before with MLS jerseys," said Antonio Zea, director of soccer at Adidas. "We went totally out of the box with those (alternate jerseys)."

The motivation behind the alternative jersey was the ambition of creating a clear distinction between the primary and alternate jerseys.

"A lot of teams' alternate jersey are pretty much the same as the primary jersey," Beeler said. "We are trying more and more to get the teams to change it up."

What's striking about both jerseys are the clever ways the design team managed to include the city of Portland and the Timbers' history on the jerseys.

The "Rising Sun" flag embossed on the back of the primary jersey and "No Pity" jocktag is a salute to the Timbers Army. The two-tone chevron pattern that separates the colors reflect part of the team logo and its history. The axe logo on the back on the neck represents logging in the Northwest.

In additions to the shades of red, the alternate jersey carries a two-tone thorn pattern that separates the colors, a thorn pattern around the inside of the collar, the words "Rose City" on the back of the jersey and a badge depicting a budding rose inside a ball.

"The rose ball is kind of acting as a secondary logo for the team. We haven't done with a team before," Beeler said. "This was all personalized and customized for Portland."

Zea said the design team spent no more time on Portland's jersey than they would for any other MLS team. But the Timbers' design was closer to their collective hearts. The North American headquarters of the company is located in Portland and the group was designing the inaugural MLS jersey for the hometown team.

"It's very nice to say that we put the Timbers on the same level with international teams like Real Madrid," Zea said. "We really wanted to build in the details and the identity. What we're trying to do is not forget there is tradition and heritage, but also to be innovative and think of new things."

The close proximity between the Adidas campus and the Timbers' offices allowed for increased communication. The constant back and forth led to twelve prototypes and nearly 60 different iterations of the jersey before the final one was launched.

"There was a ton of back and forth," Paulson said. "They probably wanted to block my name from their e-mail lists."

With all the care, communication and concern to produce a striking product, Beeler, the design team and the Timbers hope they have come up with a winner in terms of design and popularity.

"I feel very good about what (the jerseys) look like and the stories behind them," Beeler said. "Having lived in Portland my whole life, to work on the jerseys for the Timbers was very inspiring. And it was fun."

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