The hooded sweatshirt was originally created in the 1930s by stitching hoods to existing sweatshirt designs as a functional solution for construction workers enduring freezing New York winters. It was quickly adopted by the US military for training exercises and physical education classes.

This pullover hoodie, made from mid-weight 10 oz. loopwheel knitted cotton, features a brushed loopback French terry, making it warmer and softer than its unbrushed counterpart. Loopwheel machines, which produce this tubular constructed fabric, are renowned for their slow knitting pace, producing only a single meter of fabric per hour. However, this low thread tension technique sets them apart from contemporary manufacturing methods and creates an exceptional and distinctive fabric. The resulting material is reminiscent of hand-woven textiles and possesses a unique stretchy quality and the washed look of old American sweatshirts that can only be reproduced on a loopwheel knitting machine. This loopwheel sweat is knitted in Wakayama, Japan, using extremely rare machines known in Japan as Tsuriami-ki, requiring specialized skill and technique, exclusively for The Real McCoy’s.

Unlike mass-produced sweatshirts, The Real McCoy’s use different yarns across the layers of the fabric to achieve optimal finish, density, and comfort.