Every morning, junior Jean-Pierre Mouloudj wakes up at 8 a.m., eats an ordinary breakfast and brushes his teeth. After Mouloudj selects a matching shirt and pants, he goes to his closet and grabs a hoodie.
A self-proclaimed hoodie aficionado, Mouloudj has 37 to choose from. But it doesn’t matter which one he grabs, because each one represents who he is.
Hoodies, a type of outerwear with a drawstring to adjust the opening of the hood, seem to be worn by many students at Paly.
“Hoodies are probably the outerwear I have the most of, so it’s natural that I’ll pick them first,” Mouloudj said.
Additionally, Mouloudj said he likes their feel and warmth, especially on cold winter mornings.
“Hoodies are comfortable and fluffy. I personally think a hoodie is like a little blanket, and it can be versatile,” Mouloudj said.
Mouloudj said he tends to wear hoodies with specific logos so he can express his interests.
“I typically wear hoodies with a college logo, Palo Alto Stanford Aquatics logo or Paly logo on it,” Mouloudj said. “I feel like it’s a win-win in the sense that I can have a blanket-like clothing at the same time as representing my school and swim team.”
Sophomore Thomas Rimsa said he likes to wear hoodies every day, especially on cold days.
“It is the most comfortable thing to wear and they are easier to pull off,” Rimsa said. “I don’t have to put much thought into what I should wear in the morning.”
Rimsa said he does not like how jackets are generally made because they look too proper.
“Jackets feel a little bit too much for school, because it feels too formal,” Rimsa said. “I wear hoodies because I don’t really like the way zipper jackets look on myself.”
Rimsa said he typically prefers plain hoodies.
“I usually like to wear hoodies because it’s not too out there, and I like to express myself in this way because it’s just a better look for my body type,” Rimsa said.
Freshman Arthur Balva has a lot in common with Mouloudj and Rimsa when it comes to his love of hoodies.
“I wear them since they are comfortable, warm, and I also enjoy having large pockets,” Balva said.
Balva said he likes to wear hoodies more than other outerwear such as zip-up jackets. He also said he follows current outerwear trends because most of his friends do.
“Wearing hoodies is less of a hassle because there aren’t any zippers,” Balva said. “I started wearing hoodies because a lot of my friends wore hoodies. After that, I began to like them because of their comfort.”
Depending on the occasion, though, even Mouloudj said he sometimes prefers crewnecks instead of hoodies.
“Hoodies can sometimes be associated with people in gangs or just the wrong crowd, so a (crew) neck is a safer option at times,” Mouloudj said. “I wore a university crewneck for an interview because I wanted to look more professional but at the same time still be comfortable.”
And Balva said he has already adapted to the hoodie outerwear culture because people usually tend to wear anything in middle school, so being a freshman changed his perspective on determining what outerwear he should choose.
“I think when I was younger, I didn’t have any preference towards outerwear because I didn’t think about it,” Balva said. “Now that I’m older, though, I think the difference is that I am more aware about my outerwear and care about it more.”
