Collection: Vintage Sweatshirts

Vintage sweatshirts and vintage clothing in general may be considered expensive by some people. However, this perception usually comes down to people not really understanding what vintage is. 

The first point to consider is the scarcity of the items. Nearly all of our vintage sweatshirts are from the 80s and 90s, which makes them 30 to 40 years old. These original and authentic designs are no longer in production, which in turn brings the price up on these items.

The second thing to consider is the quality of vintage clothing. It is no secret that the production of clothing has significantly dropped in recent decades, due to the outsourcing of labour to countries such as China and the use of cheaper materials, catering to fast fashion and consumerism. 

When it comes to American vintage clothing, many items were union-made and were held to much higher production standards. These production standards included the use of high-quality materials and finishing techniques. This is why many of these items have stood the test of time until today. 

Another factor that can be considered is the price of nostalgia. Many people are drawn to pieces of clothing that represent a special time in their life or a specific memory from childhood. Whether it be your childhood sports team winning a trophy or the first time you saw your favourite band. 

To wear an original and authentic piece of clothing from this time certainly resonates with a lot of people. This can bring added value to a specific piece of vintage clothing. Whilst reproductions are made by the boatload in today’s society, there is something special about owning the original piece of clothing.

When it comes to sourcing or purchasing a vintage sweatshirt, you certainly want to be sure you’re buying something that is authentic to its age. 

Luckily, there are a few telltale signs to tell if a sweatshirt is vintage or not, as well as the approximate age of the sweatshirt. 

If you want to be lazy, one quick trick to identify a piece of vintage clothing is to use Google Lens. The software will scan the internet and try to find where else this graphic can be found online. Usually there is at least one reference to this graphic. If you’re lucky, by clicking on the picture, it will bring up more information on the piece of vintage clothing, such as the year it was manufactured. 

However, this method should be taken with a pinch of salt, because even if someone else has listed the piece from a particular year, it doesn’t necessarily mean they are right. So further due diligence is recommended in this instance. 

The biggest indication of whether a sweatshirt is vintage or not is the tag. When it comes to American vintage clothing (which is predominantly what we sell), sweatshirts made in the 80s and 90s were union-made. During the mid-90s, companies began to outsource their production to other countries; however, before that, American clothing production was pretty much exclusive to North America. 

Therefore, if the tag on a vintage sweatshirt shows “made in USA” or “made in Canada,” it is likely to be authentically vintage. 

Another telltale sign for authenticating vintage clothing is to age the tag or label. Most clothing manufacturers changed their clothing label every few years, which makes it easier for us to identify the year it was manufactured. 

There are label guides for every clothing manufacturer that are very easy to access. It can be as simple as googling “Fruit of the Loom tag by year.” Simply change out the manufacturer's name. This will bring up a guide to identifying each label. You can then simply match the label in question to the year. 

One note on this is that for more obscure clothing manufacturers, it may require more research. Using relevant forums such as Reddit to ask questions is also another way to help identify the exact year of a tag. 

One last point on this is probably the most obvious, but may be missed sometimes. Usually, under the graphic you may find a date, which refers to the date of production. This date is usually very small and sometimes has been washed out, so it is very faint. 

There is an ongoing debate surrounding what constitutes something as vintage. However, in terms of vintage clothing, it is generally accepted that anything that is over 20 years old can be considered vintage. 

For us, we generally follow this rule. We don’t sell clothing beyond the mid-2000s, with most of our vintage sweatshirts coming from the 80s and 90s. 

From the mid 2000s onwards, nearly all clothing production was outsourced to countries such as China and India for cheap labour. This led to a massive reduction in the quality of clothing and accelerated the “throw-away” culture of clothing. 

We don’t support fast fashion or these practices, so we don’t want to sell items from these eras. In addition to this, clothing that was union-made was held to much higher manufacturing standards, which meant a much longer life for these pieces of clothing. 

We continue to champion unique and individual pieces of clothing that were made to last longer, which is what we want to sell to our customers. 

Our vintage sweatshirts typically range from the 1970s up until the mid-2000s. We aim to stock an eclectic mixture of vintage sweatshirts, ranging from licensed sportswear to staple American blanks, such as Russell Athletic, Screen Stars, Tultex, and Jerzees. 

Our primary genre tends to be American and Canadian sportswear, from the likes of the NBA, NFL, NHL and MLB. However, we also supply a wider range of genres including film and movie, music, popular culture, location-specific, and more.

Our stock changes regularly so keep an eye out on the website and our socials, to see any new arrivals that come in!