Nostalgic for crewneck sweatshirts.

Whether it's your alma mater, or just plain classic, the crewneck sweatshirt deserves many-a-place in your closet.

Sep 08, 2023

Above from left: Ice Cube in Boyz n the Hood (1991), Olivia Newton-John & John Travolta in Grease (1978), Lindsay Lohan squared in The Parent Trap (1998), Jennifer Beals in Flash Dance (1983)

Given I’m traveling back to New York this weekend (still looking for apartments, so the suitcase saga continues), I felt there was no time like the present to review crew neck sweatshirts. Sure, maybe I wouldn’t board a plane in all the outfits I’m sharing with you this week, but definitely some…After all, I’m sure we can agree that it’s not good citizen behavior to wear sandals or shorts on a plane. And while I may romanticize the travel outfits of yore, I think, given the luxury of being in transit has all but disappeared compared with the 1950s golden age of plane travel, some amount of comfort is necessary.

Per usual for this newsletter, I am *once again* suggesting you explore the items of your closet in new ways. I’ve enjoyed styling the sweatshirts I’ve collected during the past 3+ months, plus my alma mater, Oregon State University, one I packed with me. With the inspiration of traveling, I still wanted to try out a less workout / cozy time approach to the sweatshirt.

After conducting my usual research, I concluded that sweatshirts are deeply Americana. Whether it’s John Travolta in Grease wearing a full sweatsuit, or Princess Di inspired by American style while sporting a HARVARD mock-neck sweatshirt, the workout-originated item that is the sweatshirt feels eternally American. (I’m not even getting into the hoodie this time around, because of how broadly culturally significant the sweatshirt is)!

Last week in Oregon :( Above: 1) I’m wearing thrifted OSU crew w/ chambray button-down & Marc Jacobs shorts; 2) my take on Princess Di’s crew neck + blazer outfit (below) w/ what’s available to me: a thrifted embroidered Oregon Shakespeare Festival w/ thrifted Wranglers & second hand MaxMara blazer + second hand Donald J Pliner western mules

Cut-and-sew knits versus sweater knit

Sweatshirts fall under the simplest category of garment manufacturing: cut-and-sew: knits. This means the fabric is not woven, but knitted on a machine and the individual component pieces of the garment (i.e. sleeve piece, front body, back body, etc.) are cut out of the fabric and sewn together. Remember CRACD’s discussion on knitwear, interviewing Sue? Conversely to sweatshirts, with sweaters, the individual component pieces of a sweater are knitted from yarns. While you can *sometimes* find the cheaper cut-and-sew garment construction (overlocked seams inside) on a sweater, a sweater is still composed of knitted yarns, not cut out from a fabric, no matter the garment construction. [And, completely separate, woven garments require altogether different seams, machines, fitting and construction (technically under the cut-and-sew: wovens umbrella; or just “wovens” for short)]. Moral of the story between a cut-and-sew knit and sweater knit: you can’t buy sweater knit as a fabric; the yarns are knitted to make up the sweater itself; whereas a sweatshirt’s component parts are cut out of an existing knit fabric. So, next time your dad mixes up “sweater” with “sweatshirt” you know what to tell him: sweaters are made from knitted yarns; sweatshirts are cut-and-sewn together from machine-knitted fabric, DAD!

Above: I’m wearing 3) thrifted plain crew sweatshirt w/ thrifted lace bloomers, 4) thrifted Gildan tie dye crew sweatshirt w/ a handmade knitted sweater shawl overtop & thrifted Dickies

On Fabric…

This week I’m wearing all fleece-back jersey knit fabric sweatshirts; most often this fabric is made from 50/50 cotton/poly, although you can sometimes find the more expensive and desirable 100% cotton. Jersey knit is the most typical cut-and-sew fabric—most likely every t-shirt you own is a jersey knit fabric—just look for the tiny “v”s on the front. One of the neat things about jersey knit fabric is its ability to be one knit construction on the front side, and another on the back side—hence the term “fleece-back”. I also love a terry-back jersey (you’ll see the loops on the backside on the fabric that look like a towel). Terry sweatshirts are great for spring/summer and have a unique hand feel that’s a little crunchy to the touch, in a great way.

On manufacturing…

Since sweatshirts, based on their silhouette and fabrication, require more straightforward, simplified garment construction when compared with wovens, the price variation is most often due to branding and fabric. I struggle to buy super expensive sweatshirts myself so I’ve offered the usual vintage/second hand options in the shopping links this post. However I did hear a rumor once that The Row ladies (you may have heard of Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen lol) were the first to do a French seam (that’s a more laborious and lovely clean finish technique, typically used only on wovens) on a T-shirt. There are of course some other, more standard quality signifiers that wear nicely and make some sweatshirts more cream of the crop..

You will sometimes find a back neck facing (this will look like a half moon shape, double layered at the beck neck of the garment); this is mostly for hanger appeal but I like it for the stitching on the outside and label durability. A back neck binding may sometimes be used, and it protects the neckline seam and adds hanger appeal. Also, if you see a nice contrast rib knit fabric trim at the neckline & cuffs, that’s a quality signifier. And any unique stitching and unusual fit or detail will add cost: i.e. the “V” at the neckline of a lot of crew necks.

Princess Diana with various “street style” outfits, utilizing the sweatshirt at its best

Finding your right fit

If you want a Princess Di loose hem fit, definitely size up and shop men’s. Getting the sweep measurement from the seller is always a good call for anything that covers your hip area to be sure the garment doesn’t “cup” your hips and has lots of room/ease. Overall I find a drop shoulder silhouette to be a great oversized option for a crew neck sweatshirt.

Please enjoy the below links and know that you can always type “vintage made in USA sweatshirt” into eBay, Poshmark, etc. + whatever more specific wording you want for college, sports team, etc. for which you’re looking. Russell athletics, Fruit of the Loom, Jerzees, Gildan and Champion all used to make in USA and have a plethora of great options.

Below: Reusing Lily-Rose Depp & her girlfriend 070 shake street style b/c of Lily’s great crew neck outfit

Happy comfy sweatshirt-styling—see you next week from NYC. xo Hannah