Reading Response #2

Denis Wilson writes in his essay, A Look Under the Hoodie, that even though the hoodie is popular, it signifies outcast status. He states that it's popularity crosses the board from infants to grandparents. Today, even popular brand clothing such as Tommy Hilfiger and Ralph Lauren, and high end brands such as Gucci and Versach are making their own versions of the hoodie. How can a piece of clothing fall into the category of both outcast status, and be popular at the same time?

Wilson states the hooded sweatshirt was invented by Champion to be just practical clothing to keep the workers warm in New York warehouses. As time went on, hoodies were also made for sports. Athletes would lend their hoodies to their girlfriends, thus leading to more and more people adding it to their wardrobe.

When did the hoodie transform from practical clothing to outcast status? In the 1970's, hip hop culture was becoming prevalent on the streets of New York City. These trendsetters used the hoodie to isolate and hide beneath, and create anonymity. Society began to see people wearing hoodies as possibly being up to no good. They began to become popular among muggers and graffiti writers. Skaters, snowboarders and punk music fans also adopted the hoddie in their culture, which caused them to also adopt the outcast status. This time period also saw the rise of the Rocky movie. Rocky Balboa was a steet thug, as well as a striving athlete. At the same time these different subcultures were adopting the hoodie, Rocky sports a gray hoodie in the film, leaving a "us against the world" mentality.

Today, a hoodie can be found in almost everyone's closet. It is as much about comfort as it is about style. In fact, the people who do not own a hoodie nowadays may actually be seen as the outcast.It is interesting to see how something as simple as a piece of clothing can be viewed upon differently throughout the years.