I bet most of us have worn sweatshirts, and/or are wearing them today. Most of my clients and friends across all ages wear them too. Note that I am not talking about hoodies, but rather the crew neck, boat neck, and occasionally funnel neck sweatshirt variety. Sweatshirts are made of fleece, French terry, or rugby jersey, and can vary in weight. Lengths and silhouettes vary too. Fits are fluid, very fluid, or oversized. Some silhouettes are welted and some are not. Some have design details like ruffles, side slits, puffy sleeves, zippers, and fabric inserts. Most sweatshirts have long sleeves, but some have short sleeves. Sweatshirt colours, patterns, embellishments, and slogan options are endless. Here are some examples.
The on-trend idea is to wear a sweatshirt like you would a regular pullover or sweater. That means with bottoms like casual jeans, shorts, joggers, leggings, utility pants, and chinos, or dressier pants, cropped pants, and skirts. It’s natural to leave sweatshirts untucked, but they can look great semi-tucked and tucked into bottoms too. You can layer them over tees, shirts and blouses, and wear them under roomier toppers.
The appeal of the sweatshirt is manifold. They are comfortable and easy-to-fit options that launder well. Sweatshirts can dress down dressier bottoms and footwear. You can create interesting outfit juxtapositions with sweatshirts. They add a cosy and soft integrity to hard-edged leather bottoms, and the like. Sweatshirts that are cotton-rich are also easier to tolerate against the skin than wool and wool blends.
I have many sweatshirts, and love them all. They remind me of the ‘80s and ‘90s, which is a good thing! I have different groups of sweatshirts with very specific purposes, and some are not worn in public. My lounging sweatshirts do not go outside. I wear those first thing in the morning and last thing at night with lounge pants instead of a robe. My yoga sweatshirts are worn for yoga, and sometimes I lounge in them too. They can be worn in public. And last, I have a few fashion sweatshirts – for lack of a better way of describing them – that I combine with casual and dressy jeans, skirts and pants. The collection shows my current fashion sweatshirts, and I am open to getting more.
I like the way a crisp fashion sweatshirt with a super neat and tidy neckline can dress down my dressier pants and skirts. I find them extremely comfortable, modern, and quite flattering in the right fluid fit. I also like to wear them with jeans and chinos. That said, I am careful that I don’t feel too casual or juvenile when I wear a sweatshirt. There is something about having very short hair that can make me feel off when I wear fashion sweatshirts with jeans and sneakers. So I add pearls for a dose of glam and pretty, and keep my jeans white and dark blue. Wearing dressier boots instead of sneakers helps too. When I wear fashion sweatshirts with dressier pants and skirts, I feel ‘right’ right away.
Over to you. Do you wear sweatshirts?
