The Art of The Perfect Hoodie
“The hooded pullover is a utilitarian garment that originated in the 1930s in the US for workers in cold New York warehouses. The earliest clothing style was first produced by Champion in the 1930s in Rochester and marketed to laborers working in freezing temperatures in upstate New York.
The hoodie became popular in the 1970s, with several factors contributing to its success. Hip hop culture developed in New York City around this time and high fashion also took off during this era, as Norma Kamali and other high-profile designers embraced and glamorized the new clothing.
Rocky
Most critical to the hoodie's popularity during this time was its iconic appearance in the blockbuster Rocky film. The rise of hoodies with university logos began around this time.
By the 1990s, the hoodie had evolved into a symbol of isolation, a statement of academic spirit, and several fashion collections. The association with ravers in the UK developed around this time, as their popularity rose with that specific demographic. Young men, often skateboarders or surfers, sported the hoodie and spread the trend across the western part of the United States, most significantly in California.” Wikipedia
I was born in 1996 to two creative parents who dropped out of art school at Arizona State University (My mom went back and got her degree; S/O mom).
My dad, skating in the 1980s
Before I was born, my dad was heavily involved with graphic design, the SoCal punk music scene, and skating in Arizona and California with the likes of Kevin Staab and Tony Hawk.
Cameos by The Dead Kennedys, Minor Threat and 1985 Chicago Air Jordan 1s
The overlap of skating and music carried into the rise of snowboarding in the next decade. Kevin and my dad started 90 Clothing - a skate and snowboard brand that was battling Burton for the market share of extreme sports.
Kevin Staab and my dad in the 1980s
Kevin was the athlete and influencer, and my dad did all of the design work.
It’s a longer story, but 90 clothing was dissolved right as they were blowing up - shortly before I was born. But what that meant for me was that my house was full of vintage snowboard gear, samples from manufacturers, screenprint supplies and art prints. I was raised with an exposure to art, design and apparel manufacturing.
Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, Temple of The Dog and Audioslave in 90 Clothing
Fast Forward 21 years to 2017 - I dropped out of college at Colorado State University and began working as Head of Marketing and Content Creation for a menswear startup in Denver Colorado. I was asked to go to the Agenda Las Vegas tradeshow with our manager to source our collection for the next year. This is where I discovered The Art of The Hoodie.
Most hoodies, since the inception of the Champion hooded crewneck, are light 200 GSM (grams per square meter) to midweight 340 GSM fleece. But we would walk by collections of luxury brands like Amiri, Rhude, For Those Who Sin, Saint Laurent and Fear of God and I noticed that their hoodies used a different material: Heavyweight (350-500GSM) French Terry.
Fleece and French terry are both fabrics that are warmer than t-shirts or workout clothes, but they have several differences:
Warmth
Fleece is good at heat retention but horrible with breathability, and not very durable. That’s why you always end up taking them off during a workout and getting rid of them in a year or two when they have shrunk 2 sizes after washing. Fleece is better for colder weather and insulation, while French terry is better for mild to cool weather. French terry is naturally temperature regulating - it stays cool in a late spring breeze and keeps you warm in Mountain snow. It’s a superior layering fabric because it has more temperature flexibility.
RTO layering our hoodie with a Shearling jacket
Breathability
French terry is more breathable than fleece, which can feel warm when you’re cold, cooler while you’re moving and suitable for more temperatures. It also means that the hoodie can be sewn with heavier fabric for more comfort and drape, while still maintaining temperature regulating qualities.
Texture
French terry is smooth on the outside and has a looped, soft interior. It maintains it’s form longer over time because it is a simpler process that keeps individual weaves intact - while fleece is fuzzy and subject to pilling because of the cutting process involved with making the fuzz.
Versatility
French terry is versatile for many garments, including sweatshirts, hoodies, joggers, and casual dresses. Fleece is commonly used for jackets, vests, blankets, and heavy-duty outdoor gear.
Durability
French terry is more durable than fleece and tends to have a longer lifespan.
Care and maintenance
Both French terry and fleece are easy to care for, usually machine washable, and maintain their shape and softness over time.
With this in mind, I set out to find the perfect hoodie. I spent thousands of dollars buying hoodies from brands like Represent, Mr. Completely, For Those Who Sin, Rhude and even “luxury” blanks from the likes of Rue Porter. At the end of my 1-2 year long escapade, I found what makes the perfect hoodie:
Heavyweight French Terry (400+ GSM) (I’m partial to black with distressed graphics)
Relaxed, oversized Drop Shoulder
Extra long, stacking sleeves
Strong cuffs on the wrist
Looser cuff at the waist to prevent the ride up feeling when raising your arms.
Weight Discrepancies: A Large fleece sample hoodie weighs 610g while our Large Heavyweight French Terry hoodie weighs 942g
I settled on a $440 Rhude hoodie. I wore it in all Colorado seasons, on the motorcycle and to fancy dinners, I wore it until the cuffs started to fray. Since I found this hoodie it has been a goal of mine to achieve the same effect with my friends and now the audience of Dirty X.
My girlfriend ended up…..obtaining… the grail hoodie from me, which lit even more of a fire to re create the perfect hoodie in-house through Dirty X.
The problem is, all wholesale blanks with these features are very expensive and with graphics applied and an attempt to make any sort of profit, it would be $150+ to the consumer. Well, we know our audience - I’m a lowly (tabbed, *cough*) E4 myself, and I know the struggle. So we have mostly stuck with shirts for the time being.
That is, until my dad found a wholesaler with the exact blank we needed. (It all comes full circle, I suppose.)
My dad and Kevin in 2023
I wore it for a week on leave and decided we needed to bring them in to use for Dirty X. You don’t know what you don’t know, so I plead my case to the Dirty Boys and my homies at work and everyone started to understand the vision.
Coincidentally, our supplier was having a Black Friday sale and we were able to get our first run of hoodies even cheaper than expected, so we can pass the savings on to you.
Heavyweight Cowboy Killer Hoodie
Heavyweight Skate Hoodie
Heavyweight Metal Hoodie
Heavyweight Wicked Hoodie
I enjoy my work, it’s difficult and fulfilling. In my free time I enjoy design and creation and I enjoy helping our illustrator (who’s also a sniper) “S” get his work out there on garments sent around the country (and globe). But I LOVE to share the experience of two things in this life: photographing with Leica M cameras and wearing a perfect hoodie. I can’t buy you all a $2,000-10,000 camera, but I think we just made you the perfect hoodie for under $100. I can’t wait to hear your feedback.
Our Heavyweight French Terry Hoodies drop this Friday, Dec 13
By K
LAMG Gunner, Photographer and Creative Director
