Boys' Shirts: Sweatshirts


Figure 1.--This English boy swears a blue sweatshirt with a popular snoopy logo.

An important new style which appeared in the mid-20th century was the sweatshirt. HBC has not yet developed information on this imprtant garment. We believe it has American oigins. I can rember sweatshirts from the 1950s and even more commonly in the the 60s. I suspect it may have been college athletic wear to begin with. The name "sweatshirt" as the association with atletics suggests this, but it is just a guess at this stage. Grey sweat shirts were at first very common. Then colored sweatshirts appeared with college and franterity logos. One popular logo was in fact "Property of ______ University", further confirming the relationsship between the sweatshirt and university athletic program. Later sport team logos became very popular. Categorizing the sweatshirt is complicated. It is esentially a heavy "T"-shirt. It was at first worn for sports, but now more like a pullover sweater. It was also initially more of a teenage garment than worn by younger boys. The sweatshirt since the 1950s has, however, developed as a casual garment that is now worn rather like sweaters by both boys and girls. Some modern schools have adopted sweatshirts rather than sweaters fior their school uniforms. Sweatshirts have one advantage over sweaters in that they are less expensive. They are now worn by both boy and girls. We note that some English schools have substituted the school jumper with sweatshirts. Hopefully HBC readers can provide insights as to the origins of the sweatshirt. Sweatshirts are generally made with long sleeves, but it has become kind of a grungh/macho fashion to cut off the sleeves. A Canadian reader reports in 2001, "I wore swearshirts a lot to school and at home in elementry through to high school where I still wear them".

Chronology

An important new style which appeared in the mid-20th century was the sweatshirt. HBC has not yet developed information on this imprtant garment. We believe it has American oigins. I can remember sweatshirts from the 1950s and even more commonly in the the 1960s. Regular gray sweatshirts were popular in the 1960's and 70's. In the 1980's the colors multiplied and the hooded variety appeared.

Origins

I suspect it may have been college athletic wear to begin with. The name "sweatshirt" as the association with atletics suggests this, but it is just a guess at this stage. Hopefully HBC readers can provide insights as to the origins of the sweatshirt. A HBC reader writes, "I am a graduate student doing a material culture paper on the origins of the sweat suit. A French company, Le Coq Sportif, claims that it's founder, Emile Camuset, invented the sweat suit in the 20s. However, other than that blanket statement, they provide no other information. I'll be happy to pass along any information I come across as I study the subject over the course of the semester." [Scott]

Terminology

Sweatshirts are worn in other countries. Some British schools, for example, have replaced sweaters with sweatshirts. HBC does not know, however, of any foreogn language terms for sweatshirts. I believe that the British use theAmerican term "sweatshirt".

Conventions

Sweatshirts are very popular for boys as outerwear for play or school. They tend to wear them more then jackets, unless the weather is really cold. Sweatshirts are popular as soccer and other sports warm-ups, usually with a matching set of sweatpants. Sweatshirts, embroidered or screened with professional or college sports logos are very popular casual wear with all ages and genders.

Seasonality

Boys in California will wear shorts in cold weather, but usually with a sweatshirt instead of a jacket. Most boys, Junior High age and down will wear a sweatshirt until it's so cold they have to switch to a jacket. Hooded heavy T-shirts were popular in California in the 90's. They were usually worn in the spring and fall and usually with shorts.

Color

Grey sweat shirts were at first very common. The regular gray sweatshirts were popular in the 1960's and 70's. In the 80's the colors multiplied. The early colored sweatshirts often had college and franterity logos.

Material

Sweatshirts are also of varying weights, but almost all are cotton. The outside of sweatshirt has a regular material finish while the inside is fleecy.

Logos

The first sweatshirts were plain grey ones without any logos. The first logos were college and franternity logos, but a wide variety of logos ecentually appeared with diverse subjects from rock bands to cartoon characters. Rgere are also "message" logos. One popular logo was in fact "Property of ______ University", further confirming the relationsship between the sweatshirt and university athletic program. Sweatshirts with University logos have remained popularm but since the 1980s there has become many additional types of popular logos. Sports team logos havebecome especially popular. A basic sweatshirt is relatively inexpensive. Adorned with sports or eock band logos, sweatshirts can become a rather expensive garment.

Clothing Category

Categorizing the sweatshirt is complicated. It is esentially a heavy "T"-shirt. It was at first worn for sports, but now more like a pullover sweater.

Ages

The sweatshirt was also initially more of a teenage garment than worn by younger boys. The sweatshirt since the 1950s has, however, developed as a casual garment that is now worn rather like sweaters by both boys and girls.

Gender

The original sweatshirt was a boy's athletic garment. I can not recall girls beginning to wear them until the 1970s. They are now a popular garment among both school aged boy and girls.

School Uniform

Sweatshirts were once banned from schools, except as a PE garment. Some modern schools have adopted sweatshirts rather than sweaters for their school uniforms. Sweatshirts have one advantage over sweaters in that they are less expensive. They are now worn by both boy and girls. We note that some English schools have substituted the school jumper with sweatshirts. They are also no widely worn at Australian and Americann schools. Some of the private schools that require uniforms use sweatshirts (and sweatpants) as colder weather outer-wear.

Styles

Sweatshorts like T-shirts are very basic garments with few stylistic differences. Sweatshirts are generally made with long sleeves, but it has become kind of a grungh/macho fashion to cut off the sleeves.

Types

There are few different types of sweatshirts. The most important type is the standard sweatshirt. The only other type is the hooded sweatshirt which appeared in the 1980s. The hood were usually accompanied by a drawstring to make them tighter against the head to provide more warmth. Hooded sweatshirts remain popular to this day.

Countries

The sweatshirt originated in America and has been most commonly worn there. For some years the sweat shirt appears to have been primarily an American garment. We have noted that in the 1980s that the sweatshort spread to many other countries. A Canadian reader reports in 2001, "I wore swearshirts a lot to school and at home in elementry through to high school where I still wear them". HBC has noted sweatshirts being worn throughout Europe. They have been adopted by some English schools. Sweathshirts have also become a popular style throughout Europe.

Sources

Scott, Christopher, E-mail message, September 8, 2003.






HBC






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Created: May 31, 1999
Last updated: September 9, 2003