I’ve said in the past that I don’t really care for cotton sweaters, but one of the exceptions I make is for grey sweatshirts. All my quips – cotton sweaters lose their shape more than wool, retain wrinkles, have to be washed more often, etc – are forgiven here because a grey sweatshirt is meant to be a beater. In fact, those qualities are part of the charm here.
Lately, thanks to a tip from Ken, I’ve been wearing this version from Onassis. This has been the perfect sweatshirt for my summer mornings, when I wake up and walk to the coffeeshop for a hand pour, before coming back home to work. Pair it with some jeans and these Billy Reid x K Swiss plimsolls, and I’m good to go.
The material Onassis used for this is really interesting, actually. It’s designed as a sweatshirt (eg the triangle sweat placket near the neck), but it doesn’t feel like one. Typically, sweatshirts styled in this way are made from a somewhat thick cotton – something like what you would expect on a Champion sweatshirt. This Onassis, however, is made from a super soft, lightweight (200 grams) French terrycloth. The terry is brushed and put through a special wash, which gives it an especially smooth hand on the outside (almost feels like suede), while on the inside, it has the looped yarns you’d expect on a terry. It’s also a bit thinner than what you would expect for a sweatshirt (or at least one like a Champion), which means it drapes a bit more, like a thin cotton v-neck sweater you would find at J Crew. I find it nice for the summer, since I don’t want a thicker sweatshirt, and I appreciate having the chest patch-pocket so I can store a card case or my glasses when I need to.
You can get yours through Onassis’ webstore for $68. Note that they fit pretty slim, so check the measurements.