Before we dive into the best hoodies for men, let’s get one thing straight: There’s no such thing as a bad hoodie. If it’s got all the essential ingredients—cozy fabric, roomy hood, long sleeves (sorry, Bill Belichick)—it’s worth your time, in at least some capacity. Even the sloppiest, bleach-stained-iest hoodie around has the ability to take your enjoyment of a Sunday spent lounging on the couch from an 8 to a full-on 10. It’s a warm hug you can wear. But some hoodies are better than others, in terms of looks or quality or both. If you’re looking for a new public-facing addition to your hoodie rotation—the kind of sweatshirt that looks as great under a topcoat in winter as it will with shorts and a T-shirt in the spring—we’ve tracked down all the finest options available to you right now. All hoodies are good hoodies, but these 34 are the absolute best hoodies for men.
The Best All-Around Hoodie
If you haven’t had the chance—or, more accurately, the patience to line up for a chance—to wear a Supreme hoodie, you’ve been missing out. And we aren’t (only) referring to the illusory clout you gain after slipping on a high-caliber grail. We’re talking about the hoodie itself: the fleece is dense and weighty, the industrial-strength ribbed panels at the sides and hems deliver a healthy amount of give, the hood is perfectly proportioned. But in the event you just aren’t the box logo type, or don’t have an extra grand or two to blow on the streetwear resale market, there’s another, more accessible way to understand how the hyper half lives. Just over a decade ago, Vancouver’s CYC Design Corp—the former manufacturer behind Supreme’s superior sweats—launched Reigning Champ, which churns out the same heavy-duty athleticwear minus the thirst-inducing branding and highly limited supply. All the game-raising coziness, zero risk of inciting an actual riot.
The Best Hoodie You Already Own
OK, come on: we don’t really need to sell you on this one, do we? Champion sweatshirts, like 501s and Chucks, have probably been a fixture in your wardrobe since before you could spell “wardrobe.” Instead, let’s use this space to reaffirm why they’ve been worthy of your loyalty all these years. Mainly, it’s the construction: way back in the ’30s, Champion introduced their patented reverse weave technique, a process that jacks ups the fleece’s durability and makes it impervious to shrinking. That one innovation instantly made Champion’s sweats the go-to outfitter for every college sports program in the country, and a favorite of Japanese vintage hunters many decades later. They still make ’em the same way, and their hoodies still last damn near forever—and deserve a spot on this list—because of it.
The Best Dressy-ish Hoodie
Calibrating your wardrobe for the WFH era is all about finding those Swiss Army garms that look and feel right in the widest possible range of situations. J.Crew’s newest hoodie fits that mold perfectly: the ultra-soft Mongolian cashmere is warm but refined like your best business casual sweaters, but it’s still, you know, a hoodie. Which means you can wear it on an important Zoom call with a client, out to the dog park for a little fresh air, and then cinch it up on the couch for a long night of The Queen’s Gambit without anyone ever blinking an eye. Rock it with the matching sweatpants, and you’ll be tempted not to change again till spring.
The Best Slightly Oversized Hoodie
John Elliott built his menswear empire—opening enormous flagships in West Hollywood and designing kicks for LeBron—all on the back of an era-defining hooded sweatshirt. Seven years on, Elliott hasn’t lost a step. His latest model feels bang-on for 2021: baggier and boxier in all the right ways, cut from a lighter weight cotton that’s perfect for sunny spring days or layering up for fall.
The Best Workout Hoodie
You don’t necessarily need a tech-heavy, over-pocketed, eight-zipper hoodie for that 3x-weekly lope around your neighborhood. This Nike classic is as basic as they come but has everything you need to get in a sweat. Requisite athletic wear logo? Check. Cotton-poly blend that’ll make it softer with age? Check. Few other 50-dollar hoodies are as guaranteed to become a part of your everyday rotation as this one is.
The Best Easy Livin’ Hoodie
At this point, there’s little Eli Russell Linnetz can’t do. The creative polyglot’s discerning touch is everywhere right now, on magazine covers (shameless plug alert!) and a buzzy capsule collection designed in partnership with Kim Jones’ Dior. His own brand, however, skews more laid-back than its namesake’s hyper-productivity would suggest, largely inspired by the energy of Linnetz’s native Venice (the Los Angeles one) and imbued with the chilled-out vibe of someone who spent his formative years a stone’s throw away from the beach. The designer’s swirling colorblocked sweatshirt remains a house signature, an eye-grabbing, instantly recognizable jolt of West Coast cool that also happens to look really damn sick.
The Best Old-School-Meets-New-School Hoodie
In 2022, New Balance cemented its reputation as the hottest purveyor of dad-approved sneakers on the planet, thanks to a laundry list of covetable collabs and strategic re-releases. But the brand’s expansion into a more comprehensive apparel line is an in-house push helmed by Teddy Santis, the newly-minted creative director of NB’s Made in USA sub-label. What the Aimé Leon Dore honcho brings to New Balance is a mastery of the hype landscape and uncanny knack for tapping into the X factors that make menswear obsessives lose their shit. The result is hardy, retro-inspired sweats that, like the brand’s stateside-crafted kicks, you’ll find yourself wearing day in and day out, no matter which way the fashion tailwinds blow. Looking for the ideal hoodie to pair with a box-fresh pair of chunky running kicks? Start here.
