Jan. 22, 2014 6:55 p.m. ET
The hoodie is having a fashion moment—one that may be long-lasting enough to make the garment a wardrobe staple.
The hoodie has been a regular on the fall 2014 men's runways in Milan and Paris in the past two weeks. Missoni did gnarled knitted surfer versions, Zurich-based Julian Zigerli splashed them with beachy colors and zany patterns, and Roberto Cavalli tossed a wool hoodie with leather details under a sexy biker jacket.
Spring collections just arriving in stores include Burberry Prorsum's architectural takes and Louis Vuitton's sleek version in tan leather. Rag & Bone, Givenchy, Duckie Brown and Christophe Lemaire did hoodies, too.
"This is all a reflection of the sportier direction men's fashion has been going in over the past couple of seasons," says Tyler Thoreson, vice president of men's editorial and creative at Gilt, "driven by cutting-edge labels like Public School as well as legends like Rick Owens, who's a hood guy from way back."
Mr. Thoreson says hoodies from the British inventor of the duffle coat, Gloverall, sold briskly this season, as well as "cool" zip-up versions from Alternative Apparel and Kansas City-based Baldwin Denim.
Like denim and other looks with blue-collar roots, though, hoodies can provoke strong emotions. They can be seen as sloppy. Mark Zuckerberg was excoriated when he pitched Facebook's IPO to Wall Street in a black hoodie, which briefly became a symbol of Silicon Valley insensitivity.
The garment also bears heavy symbolic weight. Hoodies have been banned by schools over concerns that they could help students conceal their identities or hide banned items. A hoodie came up as a piece of evidence in the trial of Trayvon Martin, a Florida teenager killed—while wearing a hoodie—by a neighborhood watch volunteer.
The concept of a hoodie dates back to the Middle Ages in Europe, when many monks wore hoods—called cowls—attached to their tunics. The modern version was created in the 1930s by Champion, which marketed them to laborers in upstate New York. In 1976, Sylvester Stallone worked out in a hoodie in the movie "Rocky." By the 1990s, Tommy Hilfiger, Giorgio Armani and Ralph Lauren were placing embellished versions on their runways.
The dot-com revolution gave the athletic hoodie a job in professional offices as a new group of laborers coded through the night. For some observers, it became a symbol of deteriorating decorum. For others, it symbolized freedom from restrictive dress codes. More than a decade later, the CEO may be wearing them.
There are a few tricks to sporting a hoodie in the office. If neckties are required, a hoodie may not be a good fit for that office. Pay attention to subtle style signals: Zippered hoodies appear more casual than button-up versions, which take on the comforting aspect of grandpa's cardigan.
For layering, choose one with a thin fabric, and don't bunch the hood under a jacket or other layer. Choose a sweater-knit cashmere or merino hoodie to go with suits or jackets.
For the corner-office crowd, a thick cashmere hoodie is the ultimate luxury. It caresses the nape of the neck while leaving the throat free—making it an alternative to the chokehold of some turtlenecks. Italian cashmere specialist Brunello Cucinelli may make the most deluxe hoodies on earth, including a heartbreakingly cozy 12-ply cashmere "Andes" knit hoodie—$2,535 at Bergdorf Goodman. Even in deep-pile cotton—bringing the price to just under $1,000—Brunello Cucinelli hoodies were the cushiest of a dozen that I tried out recently.
At more affordable prices, J. Crew's lightweight cashmere cardigan is priced at $298 and is sleek enough to wear under a suit jacket in many modern offices. A famous—and deservedly popular—hoodie is the James Perse, whose soft fabrics and trim dimensions make it ideal for layering over tees or under jackets. The James Perse may be too athletic in styling for many offices, though.
The hoodie has become the cash cow of American Giant, whose hearty $79 made-in-America cotton hoodie will remind anyone over 40 of their sturdy college Champions from back in the day. (Champion, owned by Hanesbrands Inc., still produces hoodies.) "We have been basically unable to keep up with demand," says Bayard Winthrop, the founder of San Francisco-based American Giant. The company in 2013 expanded production into four Raleigh, N.C., factories.
Another sign of the hoodie's longevity: its following in a very youthful set. "Just yesterday morning, as he was layering up for kindergarten, my 5-year-old son asked me, 'Dad, do I have a hoodie?' " says Gilt's Mr. Thoreson. "Evidently, the look is a must-have on the playground as well as the runway this season."
Write to Christina Binkley at christina.binkley@wsj.com
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