Do I Want a Hoodie?

I bought my first hoodie when I was 11 and entering my seminal grebo phase. I felt like a serious (albeit harmless, 11-year-old) rebel walking around in my black, oversized Linkin Park hoodie, probably paired with huge corduroy loons and a bandana in my hair. It was extremely fetching, especially when accented with the black eye shadow I later took to wearing. But hoodies soon became the mark of the type of teenagers that petrified the Tories and then soon after that they dissolved into ubiquity and I never rekindled my love for them. Until now.

Over the past few weeks I've found myself hankering after a hoodie. But do I actually want one or has their presence on the catwalk and the torsos of fashion's coolest just tricked me into thinking I do?


Images: Pop Sugar, The Telegraph

Images: Vogue


It's not a new trend. Kanye has rinsed the oversized hoodie with every passing Yeezy season, Vetements have had the audacity to charge £500 plus for theirs and it's become the uniform of choice for every off-duty model. From Lacoste to Marc Jacobs and Ashley Williams, they've been very much present on the SS17 catwalks and they are most definitely an established trend way beyond fashion's inner circle. But still, despite the fact that they may well be already 'done', there's something so appealing about a hood peaking over the collar of a trench or the slouchy proportions dressing down a pair of tailored flares.

The only thing is, I never wear sportswear. I used to wear trainers almost every day and had a growing selection of vintage Adidas but now trainers only make an appearance at the gym and the Adidas collection has become my lougewear. Surely, then, it's fashion working its magic. The same magic that makes us want to throw away our wardrobes and start again every season. (Either that or it's my predilection for all things cosy because don't they look so impossibly cosy when they're tucked up around someone's ears and pulled down over their hands?) 

So if I succumb to fashion's spell, how will I wear my hoodie? Well, definitely not on its own with bare legs for starters. That look is best left to Rihanna with her infinite confidence, seriously great legs and eternal close proximity to a warm, chauffeur driven car. As I alluded to before, it's the contrast that I like, so I won't be going full sportswear or full Yeezy, instead, I'll be layering mine over shirts or under blazers and tailored coats. And if I had an uncapped budget this is what that would look like...


L: Hoodie: Topshop, Shirt: Marni, Skirt: Gucci, Bag: Mark Cross, Boots: Alexandre Birman | R Suit: J Crew, Hoodie: Off-White, Bag & Shoes: Stella McCartney