Cult of the Well-Worn Hoodie

Bubble Jackets are so 90’s. If you want to really close out this decade in style, you should be dressed like you’re waiting to hop aboard one of Richard Branson’s space cruisers. Luckily Jonah Smith and Palmer West have got you covered (so long as you can pony up the $300 for their wares).

The Aether Apparel Space Hoodie is a high-tech looking  jacket/hoodie with an ultralight Primaloft fill and a Riri waterproof zipper which makes it great for wet or dry weather. Suitable for layering, it also has a neat cut, so it won’t hang baggy as a solo piece over your favorite t-shirt.

Rumor has it that the pair of Hollywood producers who own the company dreamed up their designs as a more stylish alternative to the bulky outerwear of their contemporaries while out on the slopes one day. And though a bit on the pricey side, the multiple colors (black, blue and grey) and high-quality construction, paired with the design that is stylish in it’s own right rather than bouncing on a current trend, means that the Space Hoodie could easily become your go-to hoodie for years to come. Whether you’re chatting up your ski instructor or just making an early-morning winter run to the coffee shop.

Looking for a holiday present for your favorite type geek or font freak? Everyone knows that dressing down is the new dressing up at any agency outside of Sterling Cooper, and the typography hoodies being sold in the merch section of Veer are sure to bring a smile to the face of any Quark jockey worth their salt.

Veer is a creative agency with a knack for designing good-looking merchandise that is also exceedingly clever, like the $59 Typography hoodie that is sure to garner a second (and third) look.

Maybe more clever (and appropriate for Halloween) is the Extra Black hoodie, which also sells for $59 and glorifies some of the darker terminology used in typesetting. The dagger at the end provides a nice punctuation, as does the black-on-black design set in Univers Extra Black.

And if your not really feeling in need of a hood, the Kern zip-up is sure to get a chuckle from anyone in on the joke.

Ever come home to find a furball curled up inside of your favorite hoodie? Well now your cat can have a hoodie of its own; assuming you can pry the ball of yarn away from her for long enough to knit this cat hoodie pattern from Craft Leftovers. The pattern was originally inspired by Rap Cat, the hip hop feline mascot featured in Checkers commercials.

I’m most impressed that the Maine Coon took so well to being dressed. If I attempted the same I’d be typing through some stitches – and not the laughing kind.

There’s few things better than a custom screen-printed piece of clothing.  But for those times when you’re not feeling so DIY, there’s no shame in rocking some threads that were done for you. Especially when done by a pair of great artists like Jessica Lynch and Arlo Rumpff.

Going by the pseudonym Slow Loris and operating out of an island studio, the duo’s Etsy shop, Slowshirts, is full of some stylish hoodies screen-printed from hand drawings done in ink or cut directly from film using an X-acto knife. I’m particularly fond of the limited edition bike hoodie featured above, with a print on the front and running down both sleeves listed at $38 USD.

And for those of you who haven’t seen the video referenced in the post’s title, possibly one of the greatest (non-hoodie-related) videos on the internet, enjoy.

I personally love the idea of upcycling – converting an item that would normally have been destined for the trash into something of even more value in its second life. So when somebody takes that concept and applies it to hoodies, well sir, that’s right up my alley.

Etsy seller Calico Chameleon has a shop full of stitched-together felted fabrics for men, women and children that look amazing. With colors and a kangaroo pouch that look like they were inspired by a Crockett Johnson painting, the hoodies are as stylish as they are playful.

Prices run a reasonable $50-65 USD, and the straight-from-a-fairytale pieces can also be made-to-order.

Ever since Zoey rocked a pink hoodie in Left 4 Dead, zombie-themed hoodies have exploded all over October.

First up is the Thinkgeek Zombie Brains Hoodie. Now some might sneer at an all-over print hoodie, but then the backside of this bad boy is going to sneer right back at you. And inside the hood is some silk-screened grey matter in a bright fleshy pink.

Skate-brand Etnies has a pair of full-zip zombie hoodies that are more campy than creepy, especially the white version with a bowtie-wearing shambler.

If you haven’t had your fill of spooky streetwear, you can get the more direct “I *heart* Brains” hoodie from the awesome Washington shop Merch-Bot (heart and brains? I guess a zombie’s gotta have options).

And, lest we forget, as we pump them full of buckshot and pummel them with pitchforks, Zombies were people too.