Eugenie Trochu is Who What Wear editor in residence known for her transformative work vogue france and that Substack NewsletterWhere she documents and shares her simple approach towards new trends, fashion and style and other ideas. She is also working on her upcoming first book that explores fashion as a site of memory, projection, and reinvention.
There are clothes you choose. And then there are some that you slip into without even thinking, almost like opening a window in spring – with that vague feeling of freedom, even though you’re well aware it’s still a little chilly. The oversized logo sweatshirt belongs to the same category. A comfortable thing, but never completely neutral.
It is never anonymous. There is always something written on it – a team, a university, a club. Baseball, basketball, American football, ski club, tennis. Words you don’t necessarily know, but you wear them anyway. A slightly faded logo, a hoodie that’s too big, a sweatshirt that suggests more of an idea than actual practice. You are not here to play. You are making a photograph. You borrow an identity the way you borrow a vacation home: without really knowing who lived there before, but with a quiet feeling that you belong there.
In France, the hoodie still seems a little questionable. We like it, but we edit it. We temper it, making sure it doesn’t fall out. Elsewhere, it roams freely, without any justification. you think Princess Diana, of course – a Virgin or Harvard hoodie, bike shorts, dark sunglasses, that distinct ease. A photograph that has become almost theoretical. But also her more unexpected combinations: jeans, cowboy boots, a printed white sweatshirt, a sharp-shouldered blazer, a hat. Something a little disorganized, almost bohemian in spirit, and yet completely controlled. Maybe that’s what appeals – a kind of freedom that is, in fact, extremely manufactured.
Does it work because it is that way? Possibly, partially. I am not Diana. And this is what I learned from wearing it in France.
The oversized logo sweatshirt doesn’t tolerate literal styling. Worn at face value – following the same logic as everything else – it becomes a costume, almost a uniform. But what you’re looking for is a silhouette. So you compensate for it. An XXL hoodie with a slightly dramatic fluffy coat and leopard trousers. A collegiate sweatshirt with perfect cut flare jeans. A little teen logo with kitten heels and capri pants. There should always be a tension, a subtle contradiction. Otherwise, it doesn’t work.
Shop my top logo sweatshirt picks
UN:IK Clothing
Vice 84 ‘Underdogs’ Vintage Washed Sweater
Madewell
Alexa Chung for Madewell Camper Hoodie
just a little
Combination Text Ford Sweatshirt
bound x nfl
legendary vintage washed sweater
sporty and rich
Beverly Hills Crest Sweatshirt
UN:IK Clothing
Vice 84 ‘Track’ Vintage Washed Sweater
Abercrombie
logo crew sweatshirt
tomboy
graphic-print hoodie
Etsy
Sail Virgin Voyages Princess Diana Inspired Sweatshirt
vintage reconstruction
Upcycled “Rays of Sunshine” Sweatshirt
Adidas Originals
oversized graphic print sweatshirt
acne studio
Printed Organic Cotton-Jersey Sweatshirt
fear of god x nba
Los Angeles Lakers 90s Hoodie
very dry
Country Club Loose V-Neck Sweatshirt
just a little
Horse Print Crewneck Sweatshirt
frame
Ritz Unisex Sweatshirt
aime leone dore
Unisphere Printed Cotton-Jersey Hoodie
Took
michigan state sweatshirt
