On the J. Crew Ringspun Jersey Hoodie

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Background

One weekend four years ago, my best friend from high school was in town, visiting from Nashville, where he went to college. We had breakfast before I had to go into work at the Apple Store.

Our Apple Store in Memphis is in an outdoor mall that consists mostly of clothing stores. Since we wrapped up early, we decided to meander around the mall chatting before my shift. We ended up in J. Crew killing some time. As we wandered around the store, we came across a rack of clothes on clearance. As I was looking for a new lightweight jacket, I decided to sift through the rack, when I came across a medium, long-sleeved, zippered Ringspun jersey cotton jacket. The price was right, and we each bought one.

And ever since, it’s been my favorite article of clothing.

Fit & Finish

The cotton jersey is lightweight but warm. The color — a warm gray — matches a large amount of my wardrobe.

I love that there is no tag. I love the typefaces printed on the inside where the tag would be.

Stains wash out easily, and other than a few cigarette burns from my smoking days in college, it’s in pristine shape.

The zipper is large and robust. I’ve never had an issue with it sticking or jumping. There’s no stupid string through the hoodie to catch on things or get bunched up. The pockets are big enough for me jam my hands in them.

I bought the medium, as I am a pretty average-sized guy. It’s a little big for a medium, which is perfect for a jacket that is often worn over long-sleeve shirts. Exact on-size jackets are annoying. Even though it’s 100% cotton, I haven’t seen much (if any) shrinking over the years.

I hate long-sleeve T-shirts with thick, snug elastic ends. While this jacket has elastic bands at the end of the sleeves, they are very loose, leaving plenty of room for my watch. The sleeves are also a little longer than on my other jackets, covering more of my hands, which I like.

The whole thing is comfortable. They got it just right.

The Hoodie

Historically, I have been an anti-hoodie guy. Often, they are too short to wear comfortably or too bulky when not in use, bunching up annoyingly while sitting in the car, for example.

I’m happy to say the hoodie on my J. Crew jacket is just perfect. It’s nice and big, making it comfortable to wear, even on my bicycle. It has enough spare material to allow me to look around without choking. Remarkably, the large hood folds back almost flat, due to the magical properties of the jersey-style cotton. It’s there when I want it, and forgettable when I don’t.

In Closing

So why review a jacket? Put simply, I love it. It has followed me through many chapters of life. I basically lived in it in college, wearing it for days on end. It went to Cupertino with me when I trained at Apple’s headquarters. I’ve ridden miles on my bike in it, and have fallen asleep on couches at St. Jude using it as a blanket. I would have gotten married wearing it if my wife would have let me.

Now that I have to look nice at work during the week, my old friend just makes it out of the closet (or the backseat of my car) on the weekends or after work. But that doesn’t make me enjoy it any less; I still get excited every fall because I know I get to wear my hoodie.

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Photos by my lovely wife, Merri.