Hoodie or Sweatshirt — the Difference in Fabric, Weight and Fit
Both are made from sweatshirt fabric, both have long sleeves and ribbed cuffs, and both move to the front of the wardrobe once autumn hits. Still, a hoodie and a sweatshirt feel quite different in everyday life. Here's why – broken down by fabric, weight, fit and occasion, using the pieces from our winter collection as examples, because we know exactly what they're made of.
The obvious difference: hood and pocket
The short version: a hoodie is a sweatshirt with a hood. On our hoodies, the hood is cut from three panels in the same outer fabric as the rest, without a drawstring. Add the kangaroo pocket up front, where your hands, phone or headphones disappear. The sweatshirt skips both. It has a crew neck with a ribbed collar, a herringbone neck tape in the fabric colour and a clean front. That makes it look calmer, and nothing bunches up at the back of your neck under a jacket.
Fabric: two kinds of fleece
With sweatshirt fabric, "fleece" doesn't mean synthetic plush – it refers to the brushed inside. Our hoodies are made from three-end fleece with 70 % ring-spun cotton and 30 % polyester (65 % and 35 % in Heather Grey). The outside is pure cotton, the inside is brushed. So the brushed side is what you feel on your skin, and the print sits on the cotton outside.
Our sweatshirts are made from brushed fleece with 81 % cotton and 19 % polyester, also brushed on the inside. That means a slightly higher cotton share and a slightly lighter fabric. The zip hoodie takes a third route: French terry made from 80 % ring-spun, combed cotton and 20 % polyester instead of brushed fleece.
Weight: what 340 and 280 g/m² mean
Fabric weight tells you how much one square metre of fabric weighs – not how heavy the finished garment is. As a rule, the higher the number, the denser and sturdier the fabric. Our hoodies come in at 340 g/m², the sweatshirts and the zip hoodie at 280 g/m². For comparison: our oversized T-shirts are 220 g/m², the longsleeves 155 g/m².
Day to day, you notice it mostly in the drape. The hoodie hangs heavier and feels more like a jumper for outdoors. The sweatshirt is lighter and slips more easily under a coat or jacket without making you feel bundled up.
Fit: relaxed vs. regular
The fit is where the two really differ. The hoodies are relaxed fit, so casually loose, with ribbed cuffs and hem and double-stitched seams. The sweatshirts are regular fit with set-in sleeves and rib at the collar, cuffs and hem – closer to the body, but not tight. Both are cut unisex.
The Hiver au Sud zip hoodie, on the other hand, is a men's cut in regular fit with side seams, a full-length concealed metal zip and a hood lined with single jersey and fitted with a drawcord. On the front left, instead of the small RØ, it carries a round emblem with the lettering "HIVER AU SUD · RØ".
Occasion: when to wear which
The hoodie is for days without appointments: Sunday walks, the sofa, grabbing a coffee, meeting friends. The hood is both a detail and a feature, and you'll use the pocket all the time. It works straight away over an oversized T-shirt or under an open bomber jacket.
The sweatshirt is the slightly more polished choice. It works for an office with a relaxed dress code, for dinner, or under a coat where a hood would get in the way. If you like layering, put a longsleeve underneath – our longsleeves are a men's cut, slightly tapered, and at 155 g/m² thin enough for it. The zip hoodie sits in between: worn open over a T-shirt it's relaxed, zipped up it's almost like a hoodie.
Same design, two versions
Most of our winter designs don't force you to pick one or the other. Vin Chaud Club, Citrons d'Hiver, Agrumes d'Hiver, Olives d'Hiver, Carciofi, Nice In January and More Fondue, Less To-Do are each available as a hoodie and as a sweatshirt. The Vin Chaud Club hoodie shows two mulled wine mugs with orange slices and cinnamon sticks, the Citrons d'Hiver sweatshirt a lemon branch with "Récolte de Février" underneath. The Chief Blanket Officer and Sci Facoltativo only come as hoodies.
The principle is the same for all of them: a large design on the back, a small RØ on the front, both direct-printed in Germany and only after you've ordered. There's one small difference in colours: the hoodies come in Black, French Navy, Heather Grey and White, the sweatshirts in Black, French Navy, Heather Grey and Natural Raw.
A quick word on care
The two differ slightly here too. Wash the hoodie inside out at 30 °C; it can go in the dryer on low heat at most. The sweatshirt can take 40 °C inside out with similar colours – then pull it into shape while damp and dry it flat, not in the dryer.
So: hoodie or sweatshirt?
If you like it thick, loose and relaxed and actually use the hood, go for the hoodie. If you want something lighter that fits under jackets and can come to the office, go for the sweatshirt. And if you can't decide, browse the whole winter collection – shipping to Germany and Switzerland is free.