Have you ever wondered where did the usual in terms of their everyday things? There’s a table, a chair, a Cup, the clothes we wear. It is clear that all this did not appear suddenly, out of nowhere, did not arise, so to speak, from the primordial chaos. Behind all these habitual things there is a person, force of his mind, all of them have the history.

We create modern clothes. But what was the prototype of what we create? In particular, we are interested in the history of the origin of such a common thing as a hoodie. Taking advantage of the resources of the world network, studying scientific publications on the history of the costume, taking into account the opinion of designers and, finally, summarizing all the diverse and contradictory flow of information obtained, we saw that the progenitor of the modern sweatshirt can be more than one. Let’s start in order.

As educated people interested in getting to the bottom of the truth, we, first of all, began with the definition of the term “sweatshirt”. That’s what gave us a universal Internet encyclopedia.

So, from the point of view of Wikipedia sweatshirt (known to the world as English. Tolstoy blouse, Tolstoy shirt or FR. blouse à la Tolstoï) is a spacious, long, sometimes on the yoke with thick gathers men’s shirt from a variety of smooth-colored fabrics, worn outside. Sweatshirt this type of clothing was named after the writer Ln Tolstoy and subsequently became widespread among fans and followers of the writer. Further, Wikipedia notes that Leo Tolstoy himself wore a blouse-shirt without a hood.

From ourselves we will add that, in turn, a blouse is a shirt with an oblique collar, that is, with a cut on the side, and not in the middle, as in ordinary shirts.

The side slit on the blouse is not accidental. According to academician D. S. Likhachev, this cut was used to ensure that the chain and the cross did not fall out. The ancient Slavs blouse was the basis of any costume. The first images of a shirt with such a clasp belong as much to the XII century.

Linen shirts were widely used in everyday life and were synonymous with Russian men’s shirts, also wore shirts as the lower soldier’s underwear. The first diaper for a newborn boy served as a blouse father, girls-shirt mother. Children’s shirts tried to sew from a cloth of a worn shirt of the father or mother. It was believed that the power of the parents will protect baby from damage and the evil eye. Mothers always decorated children’s shirts with embroidery. All patterns had protective meanings. As soon as the children moved to a new stage, they were entitled to the first shirt of the new fabric.

Men wore their shirts outside their trousers. They were working and festive, everything depended on the richness of decoration. Shirts were made of linen, silk, satin. Sometimes embroidered on the sleeves, hem, collar. The facilities (restaurant, shop, home, etc.) shirts worn with a vest. Belted blouse silk cord or woven belt of wool. The belt could have on the ends of the brush. The drawstring belt was located on the left side.

These facts demonstrate both external and functional similarity of a blouse and a modern sweatshirt. If we assume that the Russian invention sweatshirt, the ancestor of the sweatshirt is undoubtedly a blouse.

By the way, it is interesting that the blouse is the great-great-grandmother and tunic, introduced into circulation in 1869: the Russian linen blouse, issued to soldiers for gymnastic exercises, attached shoulder straps and allowed to wear it along with the waist and shoulder harness in the ranks and out of order.

Another version of the origin of the sweatshirt

According to another version, the sweatshirt is a product of Western, or rather American culture. In the 70s of the last century in the United States is emerging and rapidly gaining momentum popularity hip-hop culture. Very soon it becomes a symbol and style of the new generation of “street fashion”. Hip–hop mopes prefer loose, somewhat baggy costumes, which corresponds to the spirit and way of life of the adherents of this culture. There is a version that hip-hoppers borrowed such special cut of clothes from prisoners for whom sewed clothes specially of the big sizes – that for certain approached all. It is difficult to judge whether this theory of borrowing is correct, but the spirit of protest, rejection of established social values (albeit, of course, in different forms) still in some sense unites the two informal groups. If you take this version of the origin of the sweatshirt for the right, then its prototype, sadly, is a prison robe.

We, however, managed to dismiss such a sad theory about the origin of the sweatshirt with the help of classical literature. The thing is that the mention of hoodies as an element of clothing found in the” Golden calf “I. Ilf and E. Petrov (1931): “in the big world invented the diesel engine, written” Dead souls”, built the Dnieper hydroelectric station and made a flight around the world. Little people in a hurry for the big ones. They understand that they must be in tune with the era. And while in the big world there is a fierce discussion about the design of a new life, in the small world everything is ready: there is a tie “dream drummer”, sweatshirt-gladkovka, plaster statuette “Bathing collective farmer…”.

Or, for example, in M. A. Sholokhov’s “raised virgin soil” (1932-1959): “After dinner I got up, prayed to the images in dusty paper flowers and, shaking bread crumbs from an old sweatshirt, tight in the shoulders, said: “thank You for the bread and salt, Yakov Lukich! Now let’s talk.”

Thus, not without pride we come to the conclusion that the sweatshirt anyway, our invention-Russian. However, is it still relevant to the emergence of such essential things L. N. Fat?

Of course, a talented person is talented in everything!! So Tolstoy and the book managed to write and pedagogy and worked as a trendsetter took place! Pride, of course, takes for a native writer with a worldwide reputation, but, in our opinion, it seems more plausible version that the word “sweatshirt” comes from the special quality of the material from which it was sewn, namely because of its THICKNESS! The sweatshirt had to be durable, wearable and protect its wearer from the weather.

Recreating the history of a single thing is a very complex matter. For prescription of years many true facts certainly managed to acquire legends and fictions. And where the truth lies where it is impossible to understand. Here’s to us (by the way, contrary to the opinion of the Internet encyclopedia) it seems that the writer L. N. Tolstoy has nothing to do with the origin of the sweatshirt. But you may ask, what about the English name Tolstoy blouse, Tolstoy shirt or French blouse à la Tolstoï? And brought our emigrants this kind of clothing abroad, Ah, suppose, in 20-30kh s past century and has taken root there our sweatshirt, and so as thing the Russian, then name its was simply plainly, adapted to local language. Maybe the emigrants themselves (most of whom were people of noble origin, educated) had a hand in linking the name “sweatshirt” with the name of Leo Tolstoy: maybe because of love for the Motherland, maybe out of a desire to further glorify the genius of Tolstoy. As the nobility…

Modern, trendy hoodies. This day

Today, the hoodie doesn’t look the same as before. Rarely does anyone wear this thing without some “improvements”. First of all, we mean of course fashionable, modern design. It can be embroidery or drawing. And can be and taken the unusual cut. These days, a sweatshirt, as well as a t-shirt, it is democratic clothing. Especially fell in love with a sweatshirt informal. This is quite understandable, because a person who thinks freely, not like most, should look like it. Red Lion also does not want to be like everyone, so we would like our clothes to please not everyone. You can buy designer hoodies, which we wrote so thoughtfully, or t-shirts in our online fashion store, even if you do not like them and see what happens next…