Hoodie recommend'ns please

[Britalian]

I'm looking for my first 'hoodie' for the coming autumn/fall.
I'll be in London next week so will have all the brand choice available, pretty much...
So, I'd welcome some suggestions: dark-ish colours - browns/blues/greys - in mid-weight fabrics.
Preferably in a slim-ish cut, and fairy durable; none of this pilling after a few wears...
think that about covers it...

oh, not too bothered by designer names but if a mid-priced one comes from a designer, ok.

 

[LA Guy]

Originally Posted by Britalian

I'm looking for my first 'hoodie' for the coming autumn/fall.
I'll be in London next week so will have all the brand choice available, pretty much...
So, I'd welcome some suggestions: dark-ish colours - browns/blues/greys - in mid-weight fabrics.
Preferably in a slim-ish cut, and fairy durable; none of this pilling after a few wears...
think that about covers it...

oh, not too bothered by designer names but if a mid-priced one comes from a designer, ok.

Best bang for your buck will be the new W+H hoodies. About $160 USD, and they hang in there design and quality wise with pretty much anything I've seen.

Or

 

[BubblyMasquerade]

Originally Posted by LA Guy

Best bang for your buck will be the new W+H hoodies. About $160 USD, and they hang in there design and quality wise with pretty much anything I've seen.

Or

Best Bang for you buck?

$160 for a hoody is already bordering on ludicrous and while they may be good, they are worth no where near that kinda of crap markup. American Apparel thermal lined hoodies are my recommendation, even if they break down in 2 years or whatever you've still saved a ******* 120 bucks.

 

[LA Guy]

Originally Posted by BubblyMasquerade

Best Bang for you buck?

$160 for a hoody is already bordering on ludicrous and while they may be good, they are worth no where near that kinda of crap markup. American Apparel thermal lined hoodies are my recommendation, even if they break down in 2 years or whatever you've still saved a ******* 120 bucks.

I have American Apparel hoodies as well. At $54 (for the thermal lined kind - the non-thermal lined $40 hoodies are not that great), they are a good deal. However, W+H hoodies are far superior. The materials are much better, the construction methods used are much more expensive and durable (for example, all the stitching is flatfelled, rather than lockstitched - this takes up far more thread, and is technically more difficult, but also makes the seams far less likely to break), and the trims are top notch. The riri zippers used cost about $14 apiece. (I believe that they may be using Lampo these days, which are slightly cheaper.) The stock YKK zippers that they use on an AA zipper cost less than 20x that. Britalian also asked for a form fitting hoodie. W+H (formerly Spruce) hoodies are much more form fitting than AA ones - i.e., they have a higher and tighter arm hole, and more form fitting arms. Also, W+H hoodies do not, in general, have the color fading and shrinkage problems that AA hoodies have.

Yes, $160 is a fair bit for a hoodie, but in this case you get what you pay for. The price for CYC (non-zip) manufactured sweatshirts are in the range of $40, with a minimum of 500 per color. That is not the retail price. That is the cost per piece to other brands who then put graphics on it, wash it, and otherwise process it, so the wholesale price is significantly higher when it goes to retailers, who generally multiply that by 2.2. That is the price of other designer sweatshirts you normally buy.

American Apparel hoodies (the $40 kind, the $54 kind are not available except at AA stores, AFAIK) wholesale in the range of $10-13, depending on the quantity you buy. So do Lees 50/50s. And those retail for even less than AA, about $30. And they are more durable too.

Please don't be one of those guys who says "Dude, there is no way a shirt should cost $300. You can get van Heusen shirts for like, $30, man." That type of blanket statement is ignorant and irritating. There are material differences between, say, a Borrelli shirt and a van Heusen shirt. Whether those differences are worth the extra $270 to you is another matter altogether, and is a matter of opinion rather than fact. The same goes for pretty much any type of garment these days.

 

[whodini]

For my money, my Neighborhoodie has been my favorite hoodie I've ever owned. It's an AA california (non-lined) and slim fitting. I think it's all about what you go for. Living in a place like LA or some place tropical like where I am now I don't need something super warm, plus the more material, the bulkier it will look. Thus, my hoodie is warm enough to wear when it's a bit chilly but cool enough that I can wear it and not be concerned it's not cold enough to wear.

The hoodie is pretty standard quality and I'm not afraid of it falling apart any time soon. My only complaint is that the zipper gives it a slightly odd fit towards the bottom, sort of like an outward bulge, but that goes with the territory of using a lighter material.

So AA's my vote.

 

[BubblyMasquerade]

Originally Posted by LA Guy

I have American Apparel hoodies as well. At $54 (for the thermal lined kind - the non-thermal lined $40 hoodies are not that great), they are a good deal. However, W+H hoodies are far superior. The materials are much better, the construction methods used are much more expensive and durable (for example, all the stitching is flatfelled, rather than lockstitched - this takes up far more thread, and is technically more difficult, but also makes the seams far less likely to break), and the trims are top notch. The riri zippers used cost about $14 apiece. (I believe that they may be using Lampo these days, which are slightly cheaper.) The stock YKK zippers that they use on an AA zipper cost less than 20x that. Britalian also asked for a form fitting hoodie. W+H (formerly Spruce) hoodies are much more form fitting than AA ones - i.e., they have a higher and tighter arm hole, and more form fitting arms. Also, W+H hoodies do not, in general, have the color fading and shrinkage problems that AA hoodies have.

Yes, $160 is a fair bit for a hoodie, but in this case you get what you pay for. The price for CYC (non-zip) manufactured sweatshirts are in the range of $40, with a minimum of 500 per color. That is not the retail price. That is the cost per piece to other brands who then put graphics on it, wash it, and otherwise process it, so the wholesale price is significantly higher when it goes to retailers, who generally multiply that by 2.2. That is the price of other designer sweatshirts you normally buy.

American Apparel hoodies (the $40 kind, the $54 kind are not available except at AA stores, AFAIK) wholesale in the range of $10-13, depending on the quantity you buy. So do Lees 50/50s. And those retail for even less than AA, about $30. And they are more durable too.

Please don't be one of those guys who says "Dude, there is no way a shirt should cost $300. You can get van Heusen shirts for like, $30, man." That type of blanket statement is ignorant and irritating. There are material differences between, say, a Borrelli shirt and a van Heusen shirt. Whether those differences are worth the extra $270 to you is another matter altogether, and is a matter of opinion rather than fact. The same goes for pretty much any type of garment these days.

You're absolutely right, but I'm just giving the dude my opinion. Cheers.

 

[Manny Calavera]

I'll have to second W&H and throw out Loopwheeler. Just as or even more expensive than W&H, but I like my LW infinitely better than my Spruce. Doesn't have a fancy riri zipper tough.

By the way: is Spruce completely phased out now?

 

[Arethusa]

I believe so, but you can still find deadstock. Hell, I've got two small hoodies I never wore that I've been meaning to get around to putting up here.

 

[Manny Calavera]

Originally Posted by whodini

For my money, my Neighborhoodie has been my favorite hoodie I've ever owned.

Yay! Somehow missed this the first time around. Danny and co. are some of the coolest people. If you're interested in getting an AA hoodie, definitely check out what Neighborhoodies has to offer (used to do customs, haven't checked in awhile).

 

[whodini]

Originally Posted by jonglover

Yay! Somehow missed this the first time around. Danny and co. are some of the coolest people. If you're interested in getting an AA hoodie, definitely check out what Neighborhoodies has to offer (used to do customs, haven't checked in awhile).
That's all neighborhoodies does at all: custom products (hoodies, t-shirts, undies, etc). If you're looking for a cheaper/plain AA hoodie, check with the SF B&S forum. One of the dudes sells them at wholesale.

 

[Antler4641]

Originally Posted by LA Guy

I have American Apparel hoodies as well. At $54 (for the thermal lined kind - the non-thermal lined $40 hoodies are not that great), they are a good deal. However, W+H hoodies are far superior. The materials are much better, the construction methods used are much more expensive and durable (for example, all the stitching is flatfelled, rather than lockstitched - this takes up far more thread, and is technically more difficult, but also makes the seams far less likely to break), and the trims are top notch. The riri zippers used cost about $14 apiece. (I believe that they may be using Lampo these days, which are slightly cheaper.) The stock YKK zippers that they use on an AA zipper cost less than 20x that. Britalian also asked for a form fitting hoodie. W+H (formerly Spruce) hoodies are much more form fitting than AA ones - i.e., they have a higher and tighter arm hole, and more form fitting arms. Also, W+H hoodies do not, in general, have the color fading and shrinkage problems that AA hoodies have.

Yes, $160 is a fair bit for a hoodie, but in this case you get what you pay for. The price for CYC (non-zip) manufactured sweatshirts are in the range of $40, with a minimum of 500 per color. That is not the retail price. That is the cost per piece to other brands who then put graphics on it, wash it, and otherwise process it, so the wholesale price is significantly higher when it goes to retailers, who generally multiply that by 2.2. That is the price of other designer sweatshirts you normally buy.

American Apparel hoodies (the $40 kind, the $54 kind are not available except at AA stores, AFAIK) wholesale in the range of $10-13, depending on the quantity you buy. So do Lees 50/50s. And those retail for even less than AA, about $30. And they are more durable too.

Please don't be one of those guys who says "Dude, there is no way a shirt should cost $300. You can get van Heusen shirts for like, $30, man." That type of blanket statement is ignorant and irritating. There are material differences between, say, a Borrelli shirt and a van Heusen shirt. Whether those differences are worth the extra $270 to you is another matter altogether, and is a matter of opinion rather than fact. The same goes for pretty much any type of garment these days.

Has cyc/spruce/w&h released any information about their new line yet? Any idea when it's coming out?

I'm also in the market for a hoodie, and right now I'm trying to figure out if I'd be able to take the embroidery off the Penguin sweatshirts. They seem to fit well, I like the material more than the AA ones, and aside from the logo, they are pretty basic. I'd definitely like to see what CYC is working on, though.

 

[xcoldricex]

wait i missed something. spruce is done for?

spruce and w+h were totally different, are they just sharing the same name now or is it all going to be w+h's style with no spruce basics?

i'll put my two cents in and give more support for loopwheeler, w+h, spruce. maybe i'll get a new zipper for my loopwheeler to pimp it out. haha.

 

[Antler4641]

Originally Posted by xcoldricex

wait i missed something. spruce is done for?

spruce and w+h were totally different, are they just sharing the same name now or is it all going to be w+h's style with no spruce basics?

i'll put my two cents in and give more support for loopwheeler, w+h, spruce. maybe i'll get a new zipper for my loopwheeler to pimp it out. haha.

Your slimmer fitting loopwheeler hoodie had a double zipper, right? I'm thinking of getting one of those as soon as the store has more and I can find someone to ship it to me. I wish there were better photos of that one online though.

 

[minya]

Originally Posted by xcoldricex

wait i missed something. spruce is done for? spruce and w+h were totally different, are they just sharing the same name now or is it all going to be w+h's style with no spruce basics? i'll put my two cents in and give more support for loopwheeler, w+h, spruce. maybe i'll get a new zipper for my loopwheeler to pimp it out. haha.
Spruce's name will be changed to "W+H" ... Wings & Horns shall continue on. I guess they're angling it so that W+H/W&H reflect two different sides of the same coin (W+H the minimalist stuff, W&H the rock-out/louder stuff). Pretty sure Spruce/W+H is just "W+H" -- ie its not "Wings+Horns" Kinda confusing but it kinda makes sense at the same time.

 

[xcoldricex]

yeah the slimfit LW has a double zip and is lighter in weight than the classic hoodie.

oh ok. thanks for clearing that up minya. why the name change though? just so people know spruce and wings & horns are related?