Hoodie: how did workman’s clothing come to be in everyone’s closet?

Hoodie is the one piece of clothing that is definitely in everyone’s closet, especially after lockdown. Some can even boast their own collection of hooded sweatshirts, because each one is unique in its own way. But few people know what path the hoodie went through before hitting the store shelves.

Together with the stylist, we tell you what is special about hoodies and which ones are in trend now.

stylist

Don’t forget that first of all you should be comfortable in your hoodie, and fashion is not the main indicator.

History of the hoodie

This piece of clothing appeared in the 1930s thanks to Champion, which in those years was called Knickerbocker Knitting Mills. The hooded sweatshirts were designed for the comfort of workers who spent a lot of time in the freezing warehouses of New York City. Lumberjacks and farmers who had to work in freezing temperatures also added hoodies to their work closet.

Moreover, in the 30’s Champion brand cooperated with many American universities and sports schools, so it began to sew hoodies with the logos of educational institutions primarily for beginner soccer players, so they could train in any weather. But all students could buy a hoodie to show their belonging to a certain educational organization.

In the outfit of a professional athlete hoodie penetrated quite quickly. Athletes had to put on hoodies for warm-ups, wear them between practices and matches, and substitutes had to sit in them on the sidelines to stay warm. Elastic cuffs and a tapered bottom kept the cold air out, and the hood covered your face from wind and rain.

Who wore hoodies before?

By the 1970s, hoodies were popular in three different cultural activities: hip-hop, graffiti, and skateboarding.

There has always been a strong connection between rap and sports. For example, in New York City, breakdancers and hip-hop artists wore hoodies to keep warm before dancing or performing, which usually took place in outdoor venues.

Graffiti artists wore hoodies to stay undetected (graffiti art was banned in the States at the time) and warm because they had to create in different weather conditions.

Surfing was successful in Los Angeles until California was hit by a severe drought in 1976, which encouraged the development of skateboarding, or surfing on the ground. Authorities began to conserve water, so all the pools in backyards stood empty.

Because in some U.S. cities, local authorities prohibited skateboarding outside of designated areas, of which there were disastrously few, skateboarders sought other locations: pools and parking lots emptied of water. Wearing hoodies, they would sneak into illegal skate spots and perform tricks.

In 1976, the whole world started rooting for Rocky Balboa. This is the hero from the movie of the same name “Rocky”, the role played by Sylvester Stallone. Modest boxer in a shabby gray sweatshirt ran around Philadelphia, preparing for the fight. When the movie was released, Stallone fans began buying up gray hoodies and wore them daily.

What does the hoodie have to do with the underworld and the BLM movement?

It’s no secret that in the 90’s the world had crime problems and many rappers, including many rappers, were involved in criminal cases and their baggy hoodies became associated with crime. In the 2000s, malls in the UK banned bulky hoodies indoors to avoid shoplifting and to curb anti-social behavior.

But African-Americans noticed a deep racist undertone to this.

Things escalated 10 years later, in 2012, when unarmed 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was shot and killed on the grounds of the Florida home where his family lives. Martin’s killer was watch member George Zimmerman.

He tried to justify his actions by saying that he saw a man wearing a hoodie and thought he was suspicious. After Martin’s death and subsequent trial, the hoodies became a symbol of the Black Lives Matter movement. The Miami Heat basketball players and James LeBron came out to protest in the boy’s memory.

Why are hoodies so popular now?

The availability of hoodies in today’s world was largely influenced by Western hip-hop artists who released merch that consisted of hooded sweatshirts along with album releases, including. Kanye West, Travis Scott, Justin Bieber and Kid Cudi are the trendsetters of streetwear style that rappers from around the world look up to.

They wear hoodies both for recording a new single and for red carpets, putting comfort first. This appeals to a wide audience, who are ready to buy up hoodies from the artists’ personal production and from mass-markets.

Stylist

The hoodie has inherently entered our lives during quarantine. There is a perception that it helps to “hide”, to enter invisible mode. It seems to me that after the lockdown many people are weaned from society, everyone is in an “apartment” state. Now in a hoodie you can go out and about. And it has a place, because designers provide a wide choice from mass-market and ordinary monochrome options to luxury segment with complex embroidery and prints. I advise you to take a closer look at oversize with a minimalistic print: since it is topical now, you can wear it casually, be stylish and stay warm.