I have always loved a good sweatshirt. My love affair for the humble sweatshirt began in college. Light gray, heavy weight, oversized, UNC embroidered on the front. No hood. Perfection. Wearing a sweatshirt is like having a big warm hug. It’s like wearing a weighted blanket. (If you haven’t tried a weighted blanket, by the way, you should. Just trust me). My daughters and all of their friends wear sweatshirts and leggings most days to school, back when they went to school. Ugh. The big warm hug during a stressful school day is exactly what students these days need.

Thankfully, the humble sweatshirt has taken off as a fashion staple! Not necessarily the collegiate type for those of us approaching 50, but now designers are hearing our requirements and providing us what we want. What do we want? Comfort, fashion and a big warm hug! After a long day in dresses, dress pants or even my Spanx jeggings, I long to put on a sweatshirt. My mother-in-law likes to call it “putting on her soft clothes” and she’s right. We want to be comfy. It’s a way we can take off our day and settle in for the night. On weekends, it’s a way we can distinguish Saturday or Sunday from Monday or Tuesday.

Before Covid, my Saturdays and Sundays were full of ball games and long hours in gyms or on soccer and lacrosse fields. I don’t want to wear my collegiate sweatshirts and blend in with the teenagers. I want to look like a fashionable Mom who put some thought in my outfit but is comfortable! You never know when you may be sitting on a convention center floor killing time between games or grabbing dinner on the fly.  Luckily for me, I found a couple of retailers who are selling some amazing sweatshirts that I can wear with jeans, leggings, joggers, even skirts! 

Zara has always been a great retailer for providing fun sweatshirts that are unique. And their pricing is great too. Athleta and Lululemon know what they are doing when it comes to workout clothes. Athleta has two lines called Cozy Karma and Coaster Luxe that I promise you will want to wear every day and sleep in occasionally too. Every piece is the definition of “putting on your soft clothes.” My daughters love Free People. It always has a variety of oversized sweatshirts, some that they could wear as a dress but also some really cute fitted or cropped sweatshirts that you won’t see on everybody else. 

So the next time you go for your college sweatshirt, consider expanding your options. Look for one that is a little dressier. Size up if you want to wear it with leggings. Just know that a big warm hug doesn’t have to come from your old tried and true. Save the college sweatshirt for game day! Oh by the way, check out some of my latest finds and see if they could work for you too!