"How Boys' Hoodies Flew in the Face of Adversity"

Hoodie (sometimes spelt "hoody") is short for "hooded sweatshirt" and is usually a thick, heavy, upper-body garment which is worn as over a lighter top or t-shirt. The most popular styles of hoodies have drawstring pulls enabling the wearer to alter the size of the hood opening, a large frontal "all in one" pocket, a hood, and often some kind of motif printed either on the back of the hoodie, or on the front, above the pocket. Hoodies come in all shapes and sizes, and a variety of different colours, from black or grey to bright pink or bright yellow, which makes them great for wearing whatever the season.

In recent years, hoodies have received a fair bit of negative attention as they are often seen as the "uniform of yobs". Many teenagers, and in particular, teenage boys, seem to wear hoodies to hide their identity when they are causing trouble or even committing crime. The garment received so much attention that at one point it was regularly being discussed in parliament. Although clearly some young boys do wear hoodies as a means of intimidation, the vast majority of those that wear hooded tops do so because they are a fashionable and practical item of clothing. Thankfully, the majority of the public recognise this and the negative press surrounding hoodies has somewhat died down.

For many types of garments, such negative press would spell the end for them but hoodies are so popular, they have remained one of the best selling types of garment in the UK. Parents have refused to stop buying hoodies for their sons and daughters simply because of this moral panic surrounding them, and boys hoodies in particular form the majority of sweater styles out there on the high street.

The most popular style for boys hoodies is the pull over style hoodie, however zip up hoodies have also recently become fashionable. Boy's hoodies tend to be made in dark colours and out of heavy fabrics and often have appliquéd writing on the front of them or a design printed onto them. This can be an image or something as simple as a place name or large number.

Another popular style of hoodie which was introduced in the late 1990s had album artwork and band names on of heavy metal groups. These hoodies had a longer body than regular hoodies, a zip up the front and were always in black. They became seen as the "uniform" of Goths (mainly teenagers who liked to wear dark colours, heavy make up and generally dress in a gothic style). These hoodies became symbolic of a whole social group and this just shows how influential the hoodie has been in fashion over the past few decades.

Although clearly the hoodie, and particularly boys hoodies have received some negative attention and have been worn by questionable groups of people, it is obvious to any intelligent individual that the clothes you wear do not make you a "thug" or a "yob". Worn as intended, hoodies are very comfortable, practical and stylish.

Simon ward is an expert copywriter specialising in the fashion industry, particularly boys fashion and boys T shirts!