Threadmettle

Know how I often spot looks I like on the street, subway, etc.? Well, when I’m feeling a bit too cool to beg the wearer for a rundown of the labels they’re rocking, there’s a roster of sites I visit to ferret out their provenance on my own. You can guess the usual destinations: shopbop, revolve clothing, eBay, and plain old Google. But I don’t often find myself— and my Grail— on Dr. Jay’s.com.

This isn’t the first time I’ve waxed poetic about hoodies (just scroll down). But these bad boys are different. Against the wintry urban landscape, continuous patterns in often bright colors—like this one from Upper Playground— are naturally eye-catching:

Do you see? They’re vintage cars!

Plus, to my surprise and delight, these hoodies have never-ending zippers, like this limited-edition lovely from Crooked Ink:

Utterly key are the all-over print (i.e., continuous, unbroken pattern) and the full zip (to zip over your face, if so desired).

I can’t say which situation I prefer: finding the sought-after look on shopbop and gasping at the out-of-reach price, or knowing that the coveted hoodie will never, ever be made in my size and/or to my liking (female versions, when they exist, are all tight sexy cropped-ness).

So as usual, I close this case with a smile, and a sigh.