The Whole Warm Up Suit, Made in America
The Whole Warm Up Suit, Made in America
Thirty ounces of terry, and every step of it at home.
Every step in one country
The warm up suit is the hoody, the sweatpants, the shorts and the crew. Every piece is 30oz terry. The terry is produced in the United States. It is cut and sewn in Seattle. Then it is garment dyed in the United States in my own colors. The design, the fabric, the sewing and the dyeing all happen here, from the first yard to the last color.
What garment dyed means
Most cloth is dyed before it is cut. Garment dyeing turns that around. The piece is sewn first and dyed after. Cotton Incorporated defines it simply as dyeing a garment after it has been cut and sewn.
It matters because the dye meets every part of the piece at once. The seams, the ribbing and the pocket edges each take the color a little differently. The result is depth. The colors are Charcoal Grey, Hunter Green, Navy, Old Money Green and Vintage Rose, and they belong to Black Bear Brand.
Why thirty ounces
Thirty ounces is heavy terry. It hangs with weight and holds its shape. Heavy terry shrinks and settles in its first season, so every piece is cut generously at the start. After the first season it has found its size and it stays there.
A suit with a history
The sweatshirt began in the 1920s with an Alabama football player who was tired of practicing in itchy wool. He wanted cotton. His idea became the American sweatshirt.
In 1976 Rocky Balboa ran up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in gray sweats, and the sweatsuit became a picture of a man getting ready for something. The tracksuit came into sport in the 1960s and into fashion in the 1970s. The warm up suit has been part of American style ever since.
The set
The hoody, the pants and the shorts share their colors, so the suit can be worn whole or broken apart. In one color from top to bottom, the suit looks finished. It feels like the weekend.
A Way Of Life.
Shop the Story
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The HUNTER Green Garment Dyed 30oz Terry Hoody
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The Sweatshirt: How an Itchy Wool Jersey Became an American Icon