ooIn The Hood: the Best Men’s Hoodie Brands

This basic sweater has gone from moody-teenager mainstay to haute-couture superstar in less time than most of you reading this have been alive, from being vilified by the press in the early 2000s to peppering the front row of fashion week in the mid-to-late 2010s.

What was previously reserved for muggers and juvenile misfits is now acceptable attire in most offices, thanks to the mainstream acceptance of athletics, the growth of athleisure, and the cross-pollination of high fashion and streetwear.

You’re a little late to the party if you don’t possess at least one by now. Nonetheless, given the hoodie’s increasing popularity and public acceptability, it’s never too late to join in. Here you can get a closer look at the businesses that are doing it right and learn more about modern menswear’s most unlikely classic.

The Best Hoodie Brands for Men

Do you want to add this adaptable staple to your casual wardrobe? The brands worth considering when it comes to high-quality hoodies are listed below, each renowned for various reasons.

The Original (Champion Reverse Weave)

What better place to begin than with the style’s creator? Champion has been creating official uniforms for American national teams and major sports clubs for centuries, so they know a thing or two about making hoodies that look good and function well.

Its unique reverse weave cotton is incredibly durable and helps minimize shrinking, so you can be confident that your hoodie will last for years.

Great Value (SizeUpApparel)

Look no farther if you’re looking for a high-quality, minimal hoody that you can wear every day. SizeUpApparel, being a direct-to-consumer label, eliminates the intermediary, resulting in a premium-level product at an accessible price range.

These hoodies come in a variety of classic colorways and are composed of a thick, comfortable fleece-back fabric that is meant to break in and mould to your body with regular usage. A real wardrobe necessity that provides excellent value for money.

Grown-Up Option (L’Estrange London)

L’Estrange London creates items that are comfortable, seasonless, and flexible enough to be worn in any situation. The Monochrome Hood is the essence of this: fashioned as a sophisticated jacket with the comfort of a beautiful soft cotton hoodie, it is an entirely sharper, more polished take on a casualwear staple that can easily be dressed up or down. It will immediately become a staple in your wardrobe, available in three timeless colorways.

Sports Luxe (Reigning Champ)

Reigning Champ, a Canadian company that specializes in luxury athletic clothing, is a byproduct of the emergence of sports luxe and athleisure. This elegant sportswear is meant to be worn both inside and outside the gym and is made from high-quality materials that they create and develop in-house, with an emphasis on robust construction and unrivaled comfort.

Street Cred (Stussy)

In recent years, streetwear has grown in popularity, with everyone from high street retailers to high-end designers looking to skate culture for design inspiration. So, if you want to join the movement in a genuine sense, go to Stussy, one of the scene’s initial purveyors and proponents.

Expect hard-wearing sweatshirts that can withstand everyday use and come with a good dose of street cred from the brand founded by its eponymous creator Shaun in 1980.

Designer Desirability (Gucci)

Gucci is the hottest designer label on the globe right now. The premium Italian brand’s new 1970s-inspired style appeals to everyone from fashion insiders to hip-hop artists to Hollywood A-listers, according to Alessandro Michele’s creative guidance.

It was also the company that resurrected the current logo craze, so if you’re going to spend a month’s rent on a hoodie, it may as well look good.

Skate Icon (Carhartt WIP)

Skatewear isn’t for everyone, especially if you’re a middle-aged male. You can all get in on the action when it’s as straightforward and elegantly done as Carhartt WIP.

The urban-friendly European equivalent of the legendary American workwear label creates some of the greatest hoodies around, and at rates that won’t break the bank. What’s the best part? You’ll still be seeking it in 20 years because of the typical Carhartt build quality.

Advanced Fabrics (Stone Island)

You may recognize it from its awful football hooligan associations or Drake’s habit of wearing it head to toe. Stone Island devotees, on the other hand, know that it’s all about novel materials and cutting-edge coloring methods.

Granted, loopback jersey cotton isn’t very novel, but you’d be lying if you claimed you didn’t fall in love with it when it’s been garment dyed wonderfully. That is the situation with all of the hoodies from the Italian premium label.

Cult Status (CDG Play)

Comme Des Garcons, founded by Rei Kawakubo, has a cult following because of its bizarre and beautiful avant-garde style and surprising catwalk presentations. The problem is that its flashy attire is unlikely to go down well at your neighborhood hangout.

Thankfully, there’s a wearable alternative in the label’s more streetwear-oriented PLAY offshoot. The iconic bug-eyed heart emblem is standard on the hoodie, which is a fundamental piece in the brand’s collections of high-end wardrobe staples.

Vintage Americana (The Real McCoys)

It’s probably safe to argue that the Japanese do old Americana better than the Americans these days. The excellent recreations of mid-century American clothing championed by Nippon label The Real McCoy’s are a perfect example of this.

Heavyweight jersey hoodies are no exception to the brand’s 20-year tradition of recreating legendary vintage items that are so true to the originals that you’d never know the difference.

Ivy League (Polo Ralph Lauren)

The hoodie hasn’t always been associated with preppy style, but if anybody could change that, it was always going to be Polo Ralph Lauren. The hoodie was crucial in introducing the hoodie to a wider audience, transforming it from a frowned-upon outsider to something that could be worn around an Ivy League campus. Classic silhouettes, collegiate logos, and reassuringly thick and sturdy construction are all to be expected.

Up-And-Comer (Aime Leon Dore)

Graphic shirts, sneakers, and predictable collabs have long been staples of streetwear, but now and again, a brand emerges that shakes things up. Aime Leon Dore, based in New York, is one such label.

Patchwork tailoring and penny loafers are just as likely to appear in ALD’s seasonal collections as tracksuits and beanies, thanks to scene tastemaker Teddy Santis. The modest hoodie, on the other hand, has been a classic piece since the beginning, frequently presented in block colors and adorned with nicely done logos.

Sports Tech (Nike)

At its most basic level, the hoodie is a piece of sportswear, and few manufacturers do it better than Nike. The Oregon-based sportswear behemoth has been around since the 1960s and was instrumental in the hoodie’s ascent to fame.

From teched-out running choices to traditional jersey cotton, there’s something for everyone, all with the same well-established athletic heritage and at costs that give plenty of room for maneuvering.

The hoodie of today is still very much casual clothing. It’s not at all formal, and unlike a sweatshirt, it’s difficult to dress up even with a sports jacket. But there are degrees: there’s the sloppy, somewhat outsized faded and patterned hoodie that’s perfect for snoozing on the couch or going to the bar on a Sunday. On the other hand, there’s the sleek and presentable black, trim-fitting, simple hoodie.

This isn’t to say you should start wearing a sweatshirt with formal pants or over a dress shirt (think, rather, dark wash jeans or chinos). However, it does imply that the hoodie has the potential to progress towards respectability.

The more attention to quality paid to the garment – the finest hoodies come in a heavyweight, all-cotton fabric, with reverse weave and loop-wheel manufacturers all contributing to enhancing standards – the higher the garment’s potential for smartness.

But it isn’t exactly the point of the hoodie. The hoodie is the next best thing to feeling wrapped up if the onesie is, to be honest, something no guy should be seen dead or alive wearing. It’s the menswear equivalent of a security blanket, and it should be treated as such.