Tips: How to wear a sweatshirt?

“ Too young” , “ too street” , “ too wide” , “ too colorful ”: it is interesting to see that sweatshirts are not yet in all men’s wardrobes. Indeed, it is a piece that carries a number of prejudices and which, for some, symbolizes their previous clothing life: the one where they dressed too loosely and too simply. However, there are things to do with a sweatshirt. And above all, what comfort... What you should avoid is accentuating the teenage side of a sweatshirt . To do this, there are two things to avoid:

• the concept sweatshirt : the value of the product lies more in the print on the sweatshirt rather than the sweatshirt itself. The finishes, the material, and the cut are not really the designer's priority for this type of piece... The big fashion houses often make it a piece with a high margin (who said Givenchy, Kenzo and Carven ?),
• the loose-cut sweatshirt, which drowns the silhouette, has too much of an adolescent connotation and is difficult to integrate.

But then, what's the point of wearing a sweatshirt as part of an outfit?

Above all, the sweatshirt brings real relaxation ! It's a spontaneous piece. It's very rare to see a look with a sweatshirt where you say "hey, he must have spent some time in front of the mirror".

Ultimately, it's a piece that never looks too dressy, or too precious . It is this characteristic that you must exploit in your looks. In addition to that, it is obviously a very comfortable piece, since jersey or fleece are two flexible, soft and elastic materials.

With a judiciously chosen material, it is the piece that is neither too warm nor too light, perfect for slightly cool evenings in summer or the mid-season. If you have any doubts about wearing a sweatshirt after a certain age, I invite you to look again at this photo:

“I wear a sweatshirt and my love life is doing very well.”

This is Alessandro Squarzi, a well-known style icon from Pitti Uomo, who is often seen on the Sartorialist . Luca talked about it as part of his test of the white De Fursac pants .

The outfit is casual, but he never looks teenage, thanks to the sleek sneakers and a whole bunch of little details: he wears his sweatshirt with a shirt, he has a nice watch, and he likes bracelets (the whole range of the Italian flamboyance). I can only advise you to follow his example if you are not yet very reassured, because it would still be a shame to miss out on this type of practical and comfortable piece .

Let's take the reflection further: you have always been taught that there is a point in your progress when you need to choose more sophisticated materials.

It's the same for a sweatshirt, you must try to find more high-end, more authentic materials , which will direct a sweatshirt towards a more workwear or more creative style.

Wear a sweatshirt with a shirt

Yes, even if you might think that the collar of a sweatshirt is not suitable for that of a shirt, it is an assembly that is easy and which brings a dressy touch to your look:

Note how the collar of the shirt influences the perception we can have of the outfit. Tom, a new member of the relentlessly photogenic team, is wearing the BGBJ-02 sweatshirt in XS, and a pair of very nice Big John jeans. With a more casual shirt, it goes very well too, as Jonathan shows: same sweatshirt with a Maison Standards oxford shirt:

A part of the shirt collar that plunges into that of the sweatshirt: the Italians would have loved this kind of neglected detail.

Sharper now: Kevin (also a new member of the team) wears his sweatshirt with a shirt buttoned up to the top, which extends well beyond the sweatshirt, a hat and an over-the-shoulder coat. In short, lots of things that I won't do spontaneously myself, but which give a signature to sharp looks like those of Kévin.

And he also knows how to do simpler things (although he plays on the slightly baggy effect of the pants), but he doesn't want to take off his hat:

Obviously, a pretty chambray shirt goes perfectly with a sweatshirt, look what Florian does:

I can't get enough of this fitted sweatshirt cut, the silhouette is really enhanced!

If you can wear a colorful sweatshirt with a sober shirt, the opposite is also possible and just as interesting. Geoffrey chose a colorful patterned shirt that can be seen here and there:

Geoffrey is wearing the BGBJ-01 sweatshirt, a La Comédie Humaine shirt, and Catherine Michiels bracelets (yes, he got into it too).

That's the whole point of a well-chosen gray sweatshirt: it balances an outfit with more colorful touches.

Wearing a sweatshirt with a blazer: just try

Wearing a sweatshirt with a blazer, heresy? Not so much (unless you're a sartorial ayatollah). All you need to do is put on a slightly casual blazer, with fairly flexible shoulders to accompany the relaxed nature of the material:

Geoffrey added an eclectic jacket to his outfit. The jacket's soft shoulders make it more comfortable to wear a sweatshirt and shirt underneath.

Another point that we don't necessarily think about: sweatshirt, casual suit , and sneakers (that's a lot of English words) go very well together, for a unique result, on the border of a dressy and casual outfit. It’s a balance that I really like. Take Florian’s example:

Casual materials, jacket with little padding on the shoulders, hair swag, everything is there. Even the little pocket for the dressy touch (suit and Gant Rugger sneakers).

Sweatshirt and sneakers: safety

Obviously, it is not very complicated to wear a sweatshirt with sneakers or running shoes, you have little chance of making a mistake (unless you go for fits that are much too wide, especially on the pants).

Perfect for watching the matches with good friends! BGBJ-01 sweatshirt, When I was 17 belt, Atamé and Catherine Michiels bracelets, Nike Lunar Flyknit running shoes.

It’s also possible with faded jeans and the puncture-proof BGNS-01 sneakers:

So these are all the possibilities available to you with a sweatshirt. You see that as soon as it is well cut from a nice material, everything is much simpler. Finally, don't be afraid to match a sweatshirt with one or more elegant pieces : you have seen that with a blazer, you get very balanced outfits. You can even have a friend with a sweatshirt, that works too:

Jonathan and Kevin who spotted something or someone.

Without forgetting our own sweatshirts...

As for sweatshirts, we have always been in love with Japanese fleeces from Toki Sen-I, knitted with Tsuri machines imported from Austria before the First World War. You can tell them dōmo arigatō.