Two women wore them in my Pilates class, side-by-side on the reformers like they were in some sort of uniform. “ENA” in capital letters across their chests.
They were in matching jumpers, from Geelong-based label Ena Pelly, which is the latest in a line of mid-tier brands making very bougie, very covetable sweatshirts.
Think PE Nation, The Upside, C&M Camilla and Marc, Araminta James. The list goes on.
Simple fleece jumpers and hoodies - they must surely be one of the more inexpensive items to produce, but for brands like Ena Pelly and P.E Nation, they hold the most cachet. They’re restocked and reinvented season after season, with trending colours and cuts.
Niche brands are popping up that are solely dedicated to luxe loungewear. One of them is literally called “Sporty and Rich”, and just launched a new collaboration with the Hotel Du Cap Eden Roc.
New Zealand outfit Commonplace Essentials makes “socially conscious” sweats with a similarly upscale, tennis club aesthetic - and embroidered dad caps to top off the look.
So why has an expensive sweatshirt become the status symbol hill so many of us will die on? What is it about this particular piece that says “cool and moneyed”, rather than, say, a handbag? Enough that people are willing to part with serious bucks to make their brand allegiance known?
It’s not just any sweatshirt. It’s an Anine Bing sweatshirt.
I see women wearing these everywhere, many of them teenagers. They cost somewhere in the region of $350. A friend tells me her 13-year-old daughter has one on her birthday list.
The other weekend I was shopping in Mosman, in Sydney’s North, and visited the Stylerunner store. I found myself fixated on an oversized jumper from sportswear label NCAA. It was navy, with a red and white motif and an 80s vibe. I wanted to take it home, I knew it’d complement my winter wardrobe effortlessly, but I couldn’t get past the $150 price tag. I left the store, got a smoothie, contemplated the sweater, then made a beeline back to try it on.
But after all this, I left it behind. It had no discernable logo, like the other brands. I told myself I could find something similar at a vintage store on Crown Street.
But it won’t be the same. Won’t feel the same when I pull it on. Won’t make me feel, well… sporty and rich.
Because the sweatshirt has become the new semi-affordable luxury. Like an Assouline coffee table book or a Diptyque candle.
These are things that you spend a small fortune on to make your home feel more luxurious.
Much like the effect a great logo sweat can have on your most basic outfit.
Brands like Ena Pelly have managed to crack the code of clothing that Australian women don’t just want to buy, they want to live in. A great sweatshirt can take you from Pilates to the school pick up, from lunch to a lazy Sunday at home, without having to think much about your outfit or even get changed.
And if you think about it, athleisure kind of is our national uniform.
But in the cool girl economy, just any old hoodie won’t do.