Hoodie (Caroline Era)

Hoodies are garments with long sleeves and hoods. They first appeared in the first inter-war period but took a long time to become anything other than sportswear. At the beginning of the Caroline Era, they became popular as a result of the perceived damage to the ozone layer from fluorocarbons, along with long-sleeved T-shirts, as it was perceived that the hoods would protect from UV radiation just as long sleeves would. These hoodies were generally pullovers with kangaroo pockets and the fabric used was of the same weight as T-shirts. They were adopted by the Plain White Movement in the first Caroline decade, and were of course plain and white, without pockets.

When the Space Race trend began in the later part of the decade, hoodies changed in style to become more like imitation space suits with matching trousers. They became colourful and began to be zip-fronted, though the zips were often either inverted or watertight, and the hood acquired a clear plastic visor which could be drawn down over the face and velcro-ed into position, which required the addition of breathing holes in the form of meshes on either side of the head. The kangaroo pockets returned at this stage. There was also a one-piece version.

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Hoodies are generally perceived as quite formal and staid, close to the kind of clothes worn in office settings or school uniforms, and the use of the hood is seen as an attempt to be self-effacing and hide away from being noticed. Consequently people who wear hoodies are seen as shy, retiring and quite conformist or conservative.