Unmasking the Hoodie
I went to my husband's family farm in England for Easter weekend and we had some friends to stay. One of them follows my blog and asked what my next theme was, and I told her it would be the evolution of hooded sweatshirts. She didn't get how they fit into the Men's Vogue worldview. Elaborating on what I had already begun to uncover in my research, she explained that in England hooded sweatshirts, especially when worn with the hood up, had downgraded from urban or athletic streetwear to an active display of aggression and malice. So much so that if she saw a guy walking down the sidewalk with his hood up, she would steer clear and cross the street. Furthermore, many malls across the country have banned hooded customers from the premises, since thieves were using their hoods to mask their identity from security cameras.
From my perspective, it seems the opposite has happened in America. Here, hoodies have migrated from sportswear and inner-city status symbol all the way up to standard "well-dressed white guy" fare. I see guys using hoodies to add a bit of street cred to an otherwise too formal, too serious blazer and button-down-shirt look. Others wear them merely to keep warm -- a more casual incarnation of the wool scarf. My friend Josh, who is a writer, almost always wears some kind of sweatshirt with his tweed blazer, well-loved Levi's, and wingtip shoes. If he's going out to dinner with a friend or to lunch with an editor he'll wear a crew neck sweatshirt with his everyday look, but for the weekend he dresses the whole look down with a hoodie. If only everyone had such a simple formula for getting dressed.
Heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali trains for his title defense match against Sonny Liston in a hooded sweatshirt. (Ali won the match with a first round knock out that came to be known as "the Phantom Punch" in one of the most controversial fights in boxing history.) It's hard to believe this classic athletic look would be outlawed today in England. Lewiston, Maine, 1965. (Image: Getty)
Sylvester Stallone's Rocky is largely credited with bringing the hoodie look into the mainstream. 1976. (Image: Getty)
In the seventies, the hoodie also started to show up in urban projects as "streetwear." The hat over the hoodie is a fantastic show of precocious style. 1975. (Image: Getty)
The third wave of hoodie influence in the seventies was the music scene. Here the hoodies are worn by Blondie members Debbie Harry and Chris Stein. I love how she makes hers look glamorous while his still looks sporty. 1978. (Image: Corbis)
Of all the rapper styles we've seen over the years, I still think that Run DMC did it best. 1980s. (Image: Corbis)
I like Wynton Marsalis's mix of the tweed hat with the hooded sweatshirt. By the way, remember Champion sweatshirts? They were big when I was in high school. 1988. (Image: Corbis)
This is my favorite contemporary hoodie look, worn by Canadian actor Luke Kirby (who's he?). I love that he wears it under a formal blazer. Toronto Film Festival, Toronto, September 2003. (Image: Getty)
My fave, Nick Cannon, sits for a photo shoot in what looks like a "designer" hoodie. 2006. (Image: Getty)
Two hooded guys hang out on the streets in Bristol, England, one of the 40 areas declared as "Respect Zones" in the UK because of high levels of deprivation and antisocial behavior, 2007. (Image: Getty)
I've never seen a snap-up hoodie. I like it. This guys incorporates a little bit of everything -- street, sports and traditional menswear -- into his look, and miraculously it all comes together.
More and more I'm seeing normal guys on the street -- not rappers or musicians or professional athletes -- incorporate a hooded sweatshirt into their everyday clothes. East 13th Street, NYC, January 2008.
I've also noticed, and observed from my own experience, that a hoodie is a great substitute for a scarf to keep you warm in winter, as this guy does here. Spring Street, NYC, February 2008.
Ethan Hawke, seen here in the West Village, dresses his hoodie up with a corduroy blazer while his son keeps his sporty with a varsity jacket. NYC, March 2008. (Image: Getty)
My friend Josh, mentioned above, in his daily uniform. East 27th Street, NYC, March 2008.
Your friend is right about hoodies here - though I find it a gross invasion of personal freedom that members of government should brand everyone who wears a garment in that way. (not to mention the fact that places where Hoodies are banned still allow Burqas!) I think they're great because they manage to be functional and versatile without losing their aesthetic appeal.
I think hoodies are pretty much a New York fashion thing. New Yorkers are cool, but somehow they analyze things oo much to a point where they evolve things that are only in their little circle, and they lose the rest of us, Somewhere U.S.A. people.
and..."I DESPISE that he wears it under a formal blazer."
It's clear to me that this will undoubtedly be the "dated look" of this decade when we see this picture 15 years from now. Blazers and Hoodies don't mix.
Now the tie and the jean jacket, I can see that.
Can anyone tell me when the term "Hoodie" became the norm? It's always just been a hooded sweat-shirt
to me. I was told that "hoodie" was more about the wanna be tough guys wanna be that might wear them. Although I'm a tough guy-I must confess that I own at least 10 of them it's a hard habit to break. Oh and Josh is the man. Makes me think of Joe Jackson in 1986.