It took until the early '30s for a hood to be added
September 20, 2015 8:25 PM   Subscribe

 
Really fascinating, would have liked to see some more photos of people actually wearing them through the years. I wear one just about every day. I still call them "hooded sweatshirts" though, because "hoodies" just sounds too goofy to me and wasn't really something I heard in person 15ish years ago when I started wearing them all the time.
posted by dogwalker at 8:36 PM on September 20, 2015 [1 favorite]




This was really fun to listen to. Thanks for posting!
posted by peripathetic at 1:03 AM on September 21, 2015


Yeah, I grew up wearing them in the 70s (in California) but didn't hear the term "hoodie" until '98 or so, from a Long Islander (in Portland).

Don't have one now. Should remedy that.
posted by Joseph Gurl at 1:23 AM on September 21, 2015


The video is also hosted on YouTube.
posted by ob1quixote


Thank you, ob1quixote. I wanted to, uh, archive the video, but I'm not l33t enough to find a work around to swf. That's not a problem on You Tube.

As for hoodies, it's interesting how such a simple piece of athletic clothing can offer such a wide variety of options, lined or unlined, cotton or wool, working class brand or prestige label, cheap or outrageously overpriced, pull over or zippered. You can find (not surprisingly) a lot of information on them at Reddit.
posted by Beholder at 4:29 AM on September 21, 2015


Bookmarked to watch on my commute home tonight. However, the subject reminds me of my grandmother's term for "bad kids." She referred to them as hoods.
posted by COD at 5:25 AM on September 21, 2015


It's too bad they skipped over the history of the hood in Europe in the late middles ages to the renaissance, because it's actually pretty interesting. It was perhaps the hood's most important moment in the last 1000 years in the west.

My memory is a bit foggy on this, but IIRC, there was a huge papal debate around the 15th-16th century about hoods vs. hats. Some thought hoods were immoral, as they were 'hiding from god' and indicative of secrecy and plotting, while others saw hats as prideful displays. I think the debates lasted months, if not years, with the pope finally siding with hats over hoods, with the exception of monks, whose religious commitment overcame the implication of concealing themselves from divine eyes. Part of it was that hats had the benefit of establishing both occupation and social position easier than a hooded cloak, and had more versatility as it could be worn without significantly interfering with the rest of one's clothes. Helmets of soldiers certainly was a factor in this, as for centuries the kind of helmet one wore denoted a certain amount of rank or status, and closed-face helmets had been one of main reasons that heraldry became such a big thing as Europe was in the midst of the dark ages, as you needed a way to identify themselves to everyone else in combat since your face could not be seen.

It's odd to think that after that papal decision, hoods quickly fell out of fashion, and except for monks, people wearing hoods were perhaps seen with a similar amount of distaste that fedora hats are seen today when worn by anyone under 40 or so.

In related news, Antonio Banderas Is Going to Fashion School So He Can Bring Capes Back to Menswear
posted by chambers at 8:58 AM on September 21, 2015 [4 favorites]


I'd like to wear a hoodie. Man, that'd be sweet.
posted by Smedleyman at 2:58 PM on September 21, 2015 [1 favorite]


Given how fashion threads usually go here I'm surprised no east coaster has yet declared that no adult person should ever be within 15' of a hooded sweatshirt.
posted by flaterik at 3:56 PM on September 21, 2015


I fucking love hoodies. Love, love, love. Hoodies are like security blankets it's okay to wear in public. What's not to love?

I have been wearing hoodies since I was a gross little puberty sweaty mess, wandering the hallways of Murray Junior High, in my maroon, zip-front, Minnesota Gophers hoodie. I wore it every day, except the ones where my mother forcibly removed it from me to wash it, which was often very necessary since I was still pretty vague on the idea of deodorant at that age. I was a latch-key kid, and I wore my house key on a giant safety pin which I pinned inside the left front pocket of the hoodie until the fabric got too full of holes and I switched it to the right front pocket.

Oh, the hoodies I have loved. The pull-over turquoise and navy microstripe I wish I still had, super-soft red sand washed Gap hoodie, that funny black Hot Topic one with the random zippers, red over-stitching and thumb holes, the black long Prairie Underground knock-off I never get to wear because it's too hot here, my current Boden hoodie, lined in soft sweatshirt material, and yes, I'll count in my current coat love, my long parka with the giant hood lined in fake fur that I also never get to wear unless I want to be uncomfortably warm.
posted by Squeak Attack at 4:22 PM on September 21, 2015 [1 favorite]


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