FEATURE

Trend Report 2009: The collegiate-look sweatshirt

By Janice Ferguson
GPA Writer

Abercrombie & Fitch vintage hoodie, www.abercrombie.com

Vintage, preppy, what's old is new - call the trend whatever you want - but the good old favorite sweatshirt bearing your school's name across the front has been a mainstay of casual fashion on and off campus for decades. Famous brands like Abercrombie & Fitch, Polo, Gap eventually embraced the look. And what pro sports franchise doesn't have at least one version of the tried and true outer garment?

The golf market is also exploiting the logo sweatshirt fad at an increased rate, adding the item to their typically traditional mix of pro shop golf apparel.

That shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. After all, we are the country club goers - the epitome of prepsters who take great care matching our window pane pants with a flipped up collar polo bearing a pony, gator, whale or a myriad of other cutesy embroidery on the upper left chest.

Pinehurst crew shield logo sweatshirt, www.shoppinehurst.com

And we are the ones who will snatch up a souvenir logo shirt, hat, sweater or what have you, from every golf vacation resort we've ever been to without batting an eyelash.

But we aren't talking about the kind of structured, matchy-matchy clothing to wear golfing. The collegiate sweatshirt is bulky, loose and comfortable. It can be a pullover crew neck or front zip draw string hoodie with big slouchy pockets - the kind of thing you'd wear to wash the car or to a beach bonfire. Again, it's not a new trend, but the logo vintage-looking sweatshirt is something we are seeing crop up more and more in green grass shops - not just at famed resorts like Pebble and Pinehurst.

Gear For Sports, who also market the brands Champion and Under Armour, has serviced this type of product in the green grass distribution channel for several years now.

"We have found customer decoration, similar to what is seen in the collegiate market, has a place and is in demand particularly for event business, destination courses, as well as facilities that want to promote their establishment's name," said Kristin Patton, director of merchandising and marketing-leisure divisions at Gear For Sports, Inc.

As customers see trends in mainstream retail, they can now find the same items at their green grass shop and purchase something that is not only a popular fashion icon, but also has some meaning behind the logo - their country club, an event they attended or their favorite local public golf course.

"There are many decoration trends that cross over from one market segment to another," Patton said. "We have customers taking advantage of rhinestone designs, embroidery with metallic threads, distressed screen-print, appliqué, multi-location logos, etcetera. The possibilities are endless and the trend timeless."

The branding opportunity sure seems to make sense. Why not sell a customer something bearing your logo that they will wear out and about to places where they spend more time, and are in front of a lot more people than on a golf course?

Cinnabar Hills logo hoodie, www.cinnabarhills.com

That was precisely the reason merchandise buyer Ann Hoyt brought in logo-hooded sweatshirts to Cinnabar Hills Golf Club, an above average, 27-hole public course in San Jose, Calif., with a well-appointed pro shop.

"Everyone wears hooded sweatshirts," Hoyt said, "so we thought why not give them a try? We're now on our third re-order since early this year, so obviously they have been a big success for us. They are a specialty item with a great price point ($40) and will become a basic for us just like our logo t-shirts and solid tops."

The collegiate-look logo sweatshirt trend - go, fight, win!