Our raglan sleeve cashmere cotton collegiate sweatshirt is inspired by the classic 1926 sweatshirt first brought about by footballer Benjamin C. Russell who pioneered the creation of the cotton jersey sweatshirt in order to create an American football training uniform which was more comfortable than its predecessor of the itchy woollen jumper. This was the genesis of what we now know as the iconic Russell Athletic sweatshirt. The sweatshirt became a classic and was adopted widely by students at Ivy League universities in America throughout the 50s and 60s.
Our version of the collegiate sweatshirt features raglan sleeves, in keeping with one of the earliest iterations of the sweatshirt by Benjamin Russel, which has the same raglan sleeve construction. The construction makes sense - with the shoulder seam falling diagonally across the shoulder rather than straight down, it afforded the wearer ease of movement - a game-changing feature of sportswear for any young footballer. The wider ribbed hem at the bottom of the torso and wider ribbed cuffs are also in keeping with the original and are designed to keep the sweatshirt securely in place in the throes of sporting competition, thus further promoting movement without the sweatshirt "riding up".
Throughout the years, the sweatshirt was made predominantly in a pure jersey cotton. Ours is designed as a luxury, refined version of the traditional collegiate sweatshirt, made up with an exquisite mix of almost half cashmere and the other half cotton. The very high percentage of cashmere in the fabric mix gives the sweater a luxuriously soft hand feel - you will be hard pressed to find a sweatshirt anywhere quite as soft as this. All the while, it retains that sporty robustness and resilience that came with the original jersey cotton sweatshirt through our use of high quality Egyptian long staple cotton. Many sweatshirts nowadays would be made in cotton or possibly other synthetic mixes - none will have as high a level of cashmere in its composition as our version, and very rarely made start to finish by the best knitwear craftspeople in Scotland - something that makes this sweater one of a kind and truly an heirloom piece.
The cashmere cotton yarn is a 3-ply yarn, developed and produced by revered Scottish yarn mill Todd & Duncan. Both the cashmere and cotton used are, as always, the world's very finest of their kind, enabling the resulting garment to soften and age beautifully with each wear, and last decades, just like the tough as nails collegiate sweatshirts of old.
As with all our pieces, our collegiate sweatshirt is designed to be the perfect smart casual piece, equally at home as part of a sporty, casual outfit, like with a pair of shorts or denim, as it is part of a dressed up combination with trousers, oxford button down and blazer. The reason it is able to work on any part of the smart to casual spectrum is because whilst the raglan sleeve and wider ribbed hem and cuffs give it a sporty look, it is made in a refined material and with a minimal aesthetic, making it suitable for more dressed up occasions.
Personally, our favourite way of wearing it is to keep warm on those brisk summer nights walking through a seaside town and soaking in the sunset on the beach with a pair of shorts or chinos. Made in a quality that is designed to age naturally with wear, our cashmere cotton collegiate sweatshirt will give you the longevity, classic style and comfort you need all year round.
