Cult of the Well-Worn Hoodie

Nigo (née Tomoaki Nagao) loves himself some classic superheroes, and this fall he’s expressing that love in hoodie form.

Collaborating with DC comics, Bape is bringing out this Batman hoodie; patterned after the old-school Adam West style threads and with a pointy-eared cowl hood that zips up enough to keep your face just barely exposed on any midnight crime-fighting runs. The collection also includes Superman and the Flash non-hooded sweatshirts, and each of the three comes paired with a little plastic sidekick toy molded to represent the appropriate superhero.

Being a Marvel guy myself, I’m partial to the Anticon Hoodie. Perhaps because it reminds me of Peter Parker’s first wrestling costume.

The French-designed Anticon hoodie went on sale to the public in October 2005, and is available in four colors (and all the expected sizes) from their online store for 85.00 €, or around $115. The Bape hoodie and sweatshirts are expected to retail for $439 and $351 respectively when they hit store shelves in Autumn.

Clear skies signaled the end of summer here in New York - the perfect accompaniment to parades, barbecues and long drives back from the shore. But the interminably sunny skies would hardly deter me from throwing an Imaginary Foundation Cloud Hoodie over my shoulders once the evening chill starts to come on.

The Imaginary Foundation, whose tagline is “Somewhere something incredible is waiting to be known,” are a Swiss collective whose leader is the progeny of a Dadaist movement founder. In addition to hoodies, their output includes t-shirts and art prints, with visuals often resembling a mash-up of Magritte and Monty Python.

The Cloud Hoodie is an 80/20 heavyweight fleece, and available for purchase from their online store for $100.

Wow, two threads referencing the Beastie Boys in one week!

Ever held the perfect hoodie design in your minds’ eye, spending weeks scoping out storefronts and hitting up Google, trying to find it but coming up empty-handed? Maybe it’s time to get stichin’!

Designing your own hoodie is probably easier than you think, courtesy of some great tutorials online.

First up, ThreadBanger, the network for DIY fashion, has a video tutorial on how to turn an old band t-shirt into a custom vintage hoodie. Curbly as the text run-down, in case you’re having trouble watching the video or want to print out some instructions for post-viewing sewing.

If you prefer hook and yarn to thread and needle, Knitty has a hooded cardigan pattern that is perfect for the cooler weather. The design is by Jodi Green.

If you have any success with these patterns, or know of any more worth sharing, post them in the comments.

You love your hoodies. Shouldn’t your furniture enjoy that same level of comfort?

Originating from a 2003 Campana brothers workshop with the themes “containment” and “constructing from deconstruction”, the Hood Chair by Swedish firm BRDA - Broberg & Ridderstråle Design & Architecture - plays upon the different visual appearances furniture takes on when in use, such as the look of a chair when someone “claims” it by laying their jacket or hoodie over the back.

BRDA does some fantastic conceptual design, though I could find no indication that this chair is currently for sale. It would make a great addition to any apartment, though I wouldn’t act too surprised when your cat claims the hood as her own space.

Deviating only slightly from the recent batch of animal-themed hoodies, I’d like to introduce you to an imaginary monster friend, Plumkin.

I might be stretching the definition of a hoodie a bit here, but this design by Jessica Ding of JackalHaert Productions was too cool to pass by. The Plumkin “Eatchu Hood” is a one-of-a-kind design, falling just past the shoulders when worn as a hood, and with built-in snaps to double as a muffler.

Plumkin looks like he might have escaped from a Maurice Sendak story to chomp on your noggin; the whimsical style is sure to draw attention wherever you wear it.

The hood is available on Etsy for$27 (JackalHaert hoods normally run $30), though other hoods can be made to order or customized by the designer, who can be contacted at ryashademon@yahoo.com.

Fifty 24SF has a pair of ultra-stylish all-over print hoodie, inspired by the sights (and attitude) of the city.

First is the Truce Des Brownsville light grey hoodie (as listed - it looks blue to me too), screened with several dozen downtown Brooklyn icons, indicators and logos:

Second is the dark grey Truce Des The Shore, which evokes Cony Island in it’s carnival design, and is reminiscent of one of those old newspaper-printed tablecloths you might find in a homey Brooklyn diner.

Both are available for $80, in adult sizes small through XL in the Giant Robot online store.

I cant help thinking that if Swan, Ajax and Cleon were around today, they might be rockin’ one of these hoods. You know, once the whole leather vest thing fell out of fashion.

Keep your laptop cozy while traveling with this Instructable, where user TabLeft shows you how to create a laptop sleeve from an old hoodie, requiring only basic sewing skills.

With Neoprene laptop sleeves running around $20, if you’ve got an old hoodie you can’t bear to part with, this is a great way to keep it in service and protect your TiBook from any devastating dings in the process.

If you put one together, post in the comments with photos or tips!

Making the transition from aquatic life to land animals, this has to be one of my favorite hoodies yet.

The Rocket World limited edition Creature Hoodie, designed by Patrick York Ma, is made of Polartec Thermal Pro fabric and designed, quite clearly, to make you look like a bear.

More specifically, the design is patterned after Titus, a member of Rocketworld’s Insurgents Wilderness Gruppo. The hoodie comes in sizes from XX-Small to X-Large, and while the $160 price tag might seem a little steep, it’s worth noting that Ma donates a portion of the proceeds of every sale to one of several select non-profit wildlife organizations.

The creature hoodie is loaded with pockets for iPods and pens, and can come customized with any of 10 different patches and enamel pins. In addition to the sweatshirt, your purchase includes a limited edition I.W.G. mini figure – Terminator Septimius.

I would be sold by the ear-adorned hood alone, but if you examine the photographs closely you’ll notice that the sleeve openings also have 4 Gloomy bear style claws at the end. That’s attention to detail!

The creature hoodie is available for purchase from the Rocketworld web site, or from one of the seven specialty retail stores listed on their site.

Looks like we’ve fished up another squid.

While doing some surfing around the web, I came across this Angry Squid hoodie for sale by Mule Design, a great little creative agency with a super sense of humor.

The hoodie is for sale and will run you $35 in their online store.

It’s a shame that the King of Games’ Game & Watch: Octopus design doesn’t come in hoodie form.

And in case you were wondering, the correct pluralization is octopuses.

Just in time for back-to-school, or the start of the chilly season here in New York, GAMA-GO (the collective run by Tim Biskup, Chris Edmundson, & Greg Long) has an awesome-looking 100% Cotton Giant Squid Hoodie.

The design is screen-printed with a red-lined hood interior and drawstrings that resemble the tentacles of the cephalopod hanging out on your right sleeve.

$78 in limited quantities, the GAMA-GO online shop is taking pre-orders that will be shipped on September 21st.