AA9590 Alternative Mens Rocky Eco-Fleece Zip Hoodie

There I was again: shivering in the loft during the first cold days of the winter, when darkness fills every aperture with an eerie disregard for the passengers of those spaces. A memory from childhood manifests with little provocation. Soon I am sitting in front of a television that reached obsolescence long ago, rewatching my hero, Rocky, with an intensity only a hero deserves, as he runs through the chilly morning streets of Philadelphia.I now had a solution to my chilled predicament. I found this hooded simulacrum and immediately set to retrieving it from that specter of technology that has allowed my consumerism a dangerous amount of immediacy.Flash forward to arrival day: Upon regaling myself with my hero’s garb, I realize the fit, while flattering, is rather petite. I must size up! While doing this, I see that this item, which resembles my masculine archetypal hero, was in fact labeled as a women’s piece of clothing. I do not flinch at this, however, as I had recently wrestled with the gender binary and found it wanting (and considerably more diverse than is often acknowledged). Miraculously, the replacement, now properly sized, arrives two days hence. I now sit and write this review no longer shivering in the loft, contemplating the fallacies of binary oppositions, but rather exuding the energy and passion of my long ago Italian mentor. I am safe. I am warm.

Nothing to dislike. It was very good.

I bought this in two different colors 3 months ago. Initially, I was quite pleased with how it fit (I sized up as per other reviews), the comfort of it and look. But fast forward to now and I'm ready to throw them in the trash. They've just become misshapen and sloppy. I don't have pilling like others have experienced, but the elastic at the waist is basically gone (I'm a slim guy, it just gets stretched from wearing), the fabric slumps. They just look like crap now. I have hoodies I bought a decade ago that are in nicer shape than these. The only thing I can figure is that they've been washed fairly often, but that shouldn't take this much of a toll on a garment so quickly.

I received my red hoodie today, so this review is more of a first impression. I shall update my review if any of my initial opinions change.FIT: The Rocky fits me perfectly right out of the package. Most jackets I buy are too loose for my tastes. This one feels fitted. At 6’6” and about 210 lbs, a large is slim enough to suit me and long enough to not look like I’m wearing a child’s jacket. That’s a common problem I find, which causes me to buy the XL. That’s why they’re usually loose. (If you’re built similarly to me and you aren’t crazy about tight-fitting clothes, choose XL.)QUALITY: Initial quality impressions are fairly good. The material is soft, but the zipper doesn’t feel very solid. Other reviewers have complained about broken zippers as well as piling immediately after wash. We shall see.OVERALL: I quite like this jacket pre-wash. I’m not terribly picky, and this hoodie is reasonably priced for what it feels like I’m getting. And it’s warm.

Having bought these before, I knew to order a size up. I'm normally very consistently a medium but need to order a large with this brand. I love these sweatshirts and own several different colors. They do get this weird pilling on the material but they're incredibly soft and warm. They will shrink over time, so be careful when washing them. I've learned to leave my out to air dry instead of putting them in a dryer. With the red color that I ordered, I was very disappointed with what color was versus what I received. The colors weren't even close with this one, which is weird because the color has been spot on with my previous orders. The color for this one on the website looks like a darker red similar to burgundy. What I received was a bright red that's almost pink. I still wear the sweatshirt around the house but am super disappointed in the color. It's way too bright for my liking.

The comfiest hoodie! I’d even compare it to my ROOTS hoodie which I paid like 3X the price for!! Just expect some piling.