The 1920s were a rich period for sport. Roland Garros was opened to international players, the American-European Ryder Cup golf tournament was launched and women participated in the Olympic Games for the first time.
American football was just 50 years old; the baseball league, 60 years old, and FIFA was barely celebrating its 20th anniversary! The practice of outdoor sports in such a regulated manner was ultimately recent.
In 1921, the French team won its first match against England after a chaotic start. It was only thanks to the creation of the FFF in 1919 that it was able to get back on track.
The opposing team was even playing in shirts!
Sport is becoming more democratic and the demand for sportswear is only increasing. However, we still focus on the basic need of not being cold, without thinking too much about the rest.
Remember your outdoor sports classes on winter mornings when you were at school: being warm at the right time, while waiting for your body to warm up through physical activity, was simply vital for your health. It was already the same in the 1920s: it was quickly realized that clothing that kept you warm, without hindering movement, was absolutely essential.
It is therefore a decisive period for sportswear, since it will see the birth of one of its main pieces: the sweatshirt .
Until then, athletes wore a kind of gray wool sweater to warm up before and after exercise. Worn next to the skin - the T-shirt had not yet come into its own - these models were particularly heavy and uncomfortable. It is also said that they took a very long time to dry, not to mention their tendency to shrink when washed.
In short, this problem of thermal protection for outdoor athletes had still not been satisfactorily resolved. But it was only a matter of time...
Around 1900 - Tom Shelvin, American athlete and businessman of the last century, in his Yale football team sweater. This is the prehistory of sportswear!
The situation will not change until the end of the decade. thanks to Bennie Russell , then a student and football player at the University of Alabama.
Bennie was the heir to the eponymous Russel company, which specialized in the manufacture of union suits for women and children.
Union suits were one-piece underwear that covered the entire body. Look at the top, doesn't the shape remind you of anything? 😉
Tired of having to put up with an itchy and sweaty knit, he decided to take inspiration from the products of the family factory. Based on the top of the union suit that he improved, he thus obtained a lightweight piece, without a collar, in thick cotton weave , much more pleasant than its wool counterpart. The first sweatshirt was born.
Bennie Russell in his sweatshirt. Note that he had chosen to keep the original gray color! For the record, it was an employee of the company who came up with the term "sweat-shirt", literally "sweatshirt". Basically, it's the comfortable and practical piece in which you can move!
From there, Russell Sr. sent sweatshirts to several retailers: all of them were incredibly successful. The brand soon abandoned union suits to specialize in sports equipment, still to this day.
The Russell Athletic brand still exists today.
Its integration into the preppy wardrobe
The sweatshirt quickly made its entrance into the preppy wardrobe , largely influenced by the clothing of university students.
Quite logically, its introduction by Bennie Russell - a student at Yale - contributed to this. That being said, it is to another brand that we owe the transformation of the sweatshirt into a preppy piece in its own right: Champion ...
Launched in 1919 by the Feinbloom brothers, the knitting mill later specialized in the production of sweatshirts and sweatpants. Approaching the University of Michigan, it began to supply it with equipment for its various teams.
The brand itself says that word of mouth played a considerable role in its development: coaches at the University of Michigan sang Champion's praises to their colleagues at other schools, until it achieved a strong reputation.
"Champion dresses university sports teams."
Champion's impact can be explained by a stroke of genius, since it is the company that invented the principle of flocking as we know it today. No more need for heavy embroidery! The sweatshirt was no longer just a functional piece, it was also a way to display the colors of your team and, above all, to show your belonging to your university!
Nearly 80 years later, Champion continues to play on this fiber.
Democratized through cinema
The sweatshirt remained the preserve of athletes and students until 1963. Once again, it was the famous Steve McQueen - aka the King of Cool - who was responsible for its widespread popularity . All he had to do was wear it in the film The Great Escape for the sweatshirt to definitively emerge from its strictly sports and student framework.
Let's put things into context. Handsome, virile, charismatic, cool : McQueen was a true icon. If the ideal of America was getting involved, why not?
There are countless trends that Steve McQueen has perpetuated, including the sweatshirt.
Also, look at how the sweatshirt is worn, it's far from a smooth look. On the contrary, we contrast the piece with a leather flight jacket, originally reserved for aviation soldiers. The patina is really marked, it's the jacket of a man who has lived adventures (I'm exaggerating a bit but you get the idea). In the same spirit, the top is dusty and its blue a little faded, far from the nice preppy of the Ivy League.
In a half-sleeved version, this time worn on a motorcycle. Without spoiling anything, the film tells the story of prisoners of war who escape from a camp. A very strong character, almost indomitable, who will give a new image to the sweatshirt.
The sweatshirt in the 70s to 90s
Has the sweatshirt just become badass ? 😉
During the 70s, interest in the sweatshirt would decline and it would gradually re-emerge. If surf culture played a role in this return , it is also and above all the hip-hop of the 80s-90s which will put him back in the spotlight.
Under their Adidas jackets, the Run DMC often wore sweatshirts, for example.
When luxury takes over the sweatshirt
It was only a matter of time before luxury took over . We can notably mention Tommy Hilfiger (who very quickly adopted a strategy of rapprochement with musical artists ), without forgetting the sweatshirt by Calvin Klein.
The iconic Calvin Klein Jeans sweatshirt.
In recent years, the prize for sweat-couture-hype goes to Kenzo, which has had a huge boost in its turnover by selling basic embroidered sweatshirts for €200 (hello juicy margins)...
Everything suggests that the sweatshirt is now here to stay. It is an easy piece, socially accepted without any problem.
A bit like the T-shirt (minus the assertive side), the sweatshirt has crossed several different strata of society, becoming a piece that cuts across several styles. It was therefore normal that we would be interested in it for our BonneGueule Line...
Why a sweatshirt in the Japan Line?
I simply realized that it was one of the pieces that Geoffrey and I wore the most on a daily basis!
Apart from summer, I wear them almost every day for two reasons:
- It's very comfortable thanks to the cotton! Even if it is not as famous as merino for its thermal properties, I personally have always found its warmth very pleasant and "versatile" , especially compared to a big wool sweater where it is possible to be a little too hot.
- I really like the style of a sweatshirt in an outfit. For a few years now, it's a piece that has completely lost its teenage connotation, finding its place perfectly in a "casual chic" outfit (I don't like this expression but it's very telling), even after 40 years old . It's not Alessandro Squarzi who will say otherwise, he who wears it with white jeans and sneakers, or with raw jeans, derby shoes and a long coat.
The BonneGueule sweatshirt - Japan Line. With a casual shirt underneath (oxford, chambray, flannel, etc.), the result will be perfect. Even the sweatshirt/blazer combo is possible. Jason hesitates to wear this large necklace over it, but we advise him against it.
So, the absence of sweatshirts in the BonneGueule Line was an anomaly that we had to correct, but taking our time. It was clear that it had to be in the Japan Line because once you've tasted Japanese fleeces, it becomes difficult to want anything else.
I wanted a material that would remain stable over time . Indeed, while some fleeces are very elastic, they can quickly "bag" at the elbows or waist, causing the sweatshirt to lose its shape.
With these specifications, Alexandre therefore turned to Toki, a Japanese supplier that has been mentioned several times in these columns.
A mottled grey fleece from Toki, developed exclusively for us
A two-century-old manufacturer
If you have been following us for a while and you know the brands we regularly talk about, this name probably means something to you, but I would like us to dwell on it.
Toki is the Japanese supplier known for its use of vintage machines dating back to the 19th century for knitting fleece (yes, we are talking about knitting and not weaving).
Knitting takes longer but has the advantage of preserving the material more: given the slowness, there is less friction, it is "softer" for the cotton thread. It is a bit of the House's signature.
Toki's famous machines, called "Tsuri" (meaning "suspended"), which are the origin of our sweatshirt.
However, not all the fleeces that Toki sells are necessarily knitted on these machines that the Japanese call "slow vintage". Sometimes, the texture wanted by the designer is too complicated for these machines that are at least a century old, and it is necessary to use modern ones.
For the more curious, I have already detailed the history of this manufacturer in the context of our collaboration with Benjamin Jezequel , more than two years ago. As for Toki's other clients in France, most of them are large luxury brands, the same ones that have their boutiques on rue Montaigne.
Note: the fleece of our gray sweatshirt is denser and thicker than our collaboration with Benjamin Jezequel.
SV for Slow Vintage knitting...
In this case, the product code used internally by Toki to designate the fleece of our material begins with "SV", for Slow Vintage .
The sweatshirt you will have in your hands therefore comes from these old machines .
This is a factor that Toki is very proud of, making it unique.
It is their age and the slowness of the knitting that creates the mottled texture and irregularities characteristic of Japanese materials .
And when I say "slow" production, it really is. Judge for yourself: a vintage machine produces between 20 and 30 meters of material per day (more or less 3 meters per hour depending on the machine), compared to several thousand meters per day for a state-of-the-art machine!
The Tsuri machines in full (and slow) action.
If you look at the back of the material, you will see a pretty loop, with a typically Japanese look. Note that we chose not to scratch the fleece on the back, because the look was too sportswear for me: I thought it was a shame to hide the design of the loops. It is quite complicated to describe, but there is a mixture of meticulousness and irregularity.
For us, fleece is fully part of the DNA that we wanted to find, with a very Japanese "controlled irregularity".
Here, the material is knitted in a tubular way. Coming from Japan, it therefore arrives in France at our manufacturer where it is cut, then goes to its production tool located in Romania to be assembled.
Finally, the material was washed in the factory before cutting to stabilize it . It seems simple when you say it like that but requires a little logistics, because once it arrives at our manufacturer, it goes back to a specialized washer before returning to the factory .
Toki material, guaranteeing a precise cut
This is a denser and more compact heather cotton than average .
For the same surface area of fleece, there are therefore more threads used.
This allows for a slightly more structured cut, especially at the shoulders, because the material is less "soft" than basic fleece.
Thanks to its density, the sweatshirt fits well on the shoulders, without a parachute effect.
It will follow your silhouette...
... While offering the comfort we expect from this piece!
An exclusive color
The material development is exclusive: this color did not exist in the quality of fleece that we wanted, Toki made it especially for us.
You know we love light gray in winter, mainly for its ability to "brighten up" an outfit.
So it made sense to go for this shade here too, so that even if you wear the sweatshirt with grey jeans, it will still be lighter than the latter.
The "rule of the bottom darker than the top" (it's not a dogma eh) will be respected.
It's for its very bright side that we love light gray so much, in addition to being super easy to wear.
Personally, I find that this color really brings out a shirt collar in a pretty material, or a colorful accessory.
An invisible zipped pocket
This is a question that has been on Alex's mind for a long time: how can we add more value to a sweatshirt, in addition to a beautiful Japanese material?
We therefore decided to add an invisible pocket on the right side, with a tone-on-tone zip slider, which blends perfectly into the seam.
Thanks to the tone-on-tone zip blended into the seam, the pocket is almost invisible.
It's a pocket where you can put a small key, your cloakroom ticket, your headphones, in short, all the things you don't know what to do with when you're not wearing a top with pockets like a jacket or a vest.
No risk of being robbed.
Nice little detail: the pocket bottom is made of mottled cotton.
High-end finishes, no confusion
The choice of ribbing is crucial in a sweatshirt (it is the elastic material that surrounds the sleeves and is found at the waist).
Here they are knitted in the same yarn and, most importantly, there is a little topstitching on the sleeve.
The choice and assembly of the ribbing are essential, otherwise the piece would run out of steam much too quickly. Note the topstitching on the top of the edge!
This is a more expensive finish, as it requires an additional operation, but it allows the sleeve to be refined by avoiding the formation of a "bead".
Regarding the collar, we wanted to avoid having a look that was too sportswear. So we opted for a narrower collar with a more vintage feel.
How does our sweatshirt fit? The important paragraph!
Given the density of the material, and the fact that it is compact, it does not have the same stretch as a lighter and more airy material. The feeling during the fitting may seem more "tight", even if it remains very comfortable.
This is clearly a fitted sweatshirt, we deliberately wanted to avoid the overly baggy side of 90s sweatshirts. It is therefore close to the body and, if you are regularly between two sizes with us, take the larger one.
What about maintenance?
As usual, put it in the washing machine on minimum spin. And as always, no tumble dryer. Otherwise it's the katana blow.
How to wear a gray sweatshirt?
If there's one piece that's easy to wear, it's this one!
Today, the integration of the sweatshirt is such that everyone can wear one. To the question "Is a sweatshirt suitable for any age?" , the answer is a resounding yes.
The important thing is to respect a certain balance of cuts and choose a model without frills, so as to maintain a maturity in the look.
Come on, let’s move on to inspirations 😉
Between casual and streetwear, Benoît uses the sweatshirt as a support. He pairs it with well-fitted pants and colorful running shoes, strong pieces of this look (MELINDAGLOSS jacket, Le Coq Sportif pants, Nike sneakers).
In a more casual chic style, Geoffrey wears the Toki sweatshirt over a blue cotton shirt. The tight-fitting sweatshirt allows you to wear pants with volume. Geoffrey finishes his outfit like Benoît, with a pair of colorful running shoes (GANT shirt, Maharishi pants, Nike sneakers).
Let me introduce you to José, a reader we were delighted to see participate in the shooting! His outfit, very casual, is not bland: the grays come in several shades and no two pieces have the same texture. He brings color by simply letting the collar of his shirt show and personalizes his look with a series of bracelets. Also note the khaki of the patinated desert boots, making a pair with character. ( BonneGueule chambray shirt - Japan Line , AMI jeans, Clark's desert boots)
Mixing military workwear and sportswear? Anything is possible with a gray sweatshirt 😉 . It will always be very difficult to go wrong with a khaki/gray/beige combo. As a result, Luca can introduce a pair of light blue sneakers, adding casualness without any hassle to his look. On the other hand, given the number of colors used and the contrasts he relies on, it is better to avoid accessories at the risk of distorting the whole. A watch and some jewelry will be more than enough. (Field jacket bought in a thrift store, Louis Purple chinos, Vans sneakers, Lip watch - Himalaya model on NATO strap)
We stay in raw influences with a pair of sturdy Kurabo canvas jeans and grained leather boots. He reinforces his workwear inspirations by wearing a white t-shirt underneath, Luca is a tough guy . This time, the sweatshirt stands out for its softness. Besides, there is nothing complicated! ( Jean BonneGueule - Japan Line , Meermin boots)
We end with Jason, who has just scored a touchdown. Joking aside, in the preppy vein, a sweatshirt will always go well with chinos (especially if you play on a blue and gray palette). The sneakers echo the sportswear origins of the piece, even if we could have just as easily imagined brogues or Chelsea boots. Just be careful not to choose shoes that are too dressy and would clash with the sweatshirt's DNA. (LePantalon chinos, Nike sneakers)
The Toki "slow vintage" sweatshirt is now available
You can order it now in the shop section .
