Not because of the chilly temperatures but because of their history. That’s why I am liking hoodies lately.

I recently read an article about the history of the three piece garb students when they do something I never did – graduate. The cap, the gown, and the hood – those are the three parts graduands wear when they supposedly become ‘learned.’ This costume never provoke a thought that was more than a simple sentence – such a piece of clothing could not warrant a compound sentence. “That polyester piece of junk…” was as far as it got. But the article I read offered up good bits of information about hoodies, enough to make me interested.

The hood as well as the cap and gown has its origins in the medieval times, when it was the de rigueur choice for daily attire. Most people wore a tunic, which was considered an undergarment, and a heavy and long cloak over this and either the tunic or the cloak had a hood attached. Also, during this time, which was approximately 1200s, universities were just beginning and the students who traveled great distances to sit at the feet of a sagistic teacher were expected to dress in a sober and refined way – cap, gown, and hood. Lastly, in 1222, the Archbishop of Cantebury ordered this dress – the cap, gown, and hood – to be worn by all clerics in England in order to bring them in line with the rest of Catholic Europe. Briefly put, the cap, gown, and hood was hot shit.

The hood’s history isn’t super interesting – I’ll admit that – but knowing the history behind something makes me, and I hope you, think twice about it. It’s like once you discover what a cover stitch is and the machine that sews it, you notice that cover stitches are every where (they’re hot shit too).