Rolling on the one-night stand: Sliding into a Rhude hoodie for the very first time did not feel like just another piece of apparel. It felt like stepping into a version of myself I had been longing for: a little bolder, a little sharper, a little more complete.
Clothes can do that. They can change the way you walk into a room, how you hold yourself, how people perceive you. To me, that hoodie is Rhude's quiet power.
The Weight of the Fabric
What struck me immediately was the weight. Rhude hoodies are not flimsy and disposable; they are substantial. The cotton is thick, beautifully oversized, and double-stitched in all the right places. Wearing it gives you an enveloping feeling of quality. This is not the kind of hoodie you throw over your shoulders without giving it a thought—it demands a moment, a choice.
It goes beyond the physical, philosophical, and metaphysical—and cultural and creative, too. Every Rhude hoodie has a story to tell: about cars, about music, about Los Angeles itself, about the immigrant dream. Rhuigi Villaseñor literally put his history into these garments, and somehow, when you wear one, you feel it.
The Mirror Test
Every good hoodie passes the mirror test: you put it on, look at yourself, and ask, Do I look like me, but better? With a Rhude hoodie, the answer is always yes.
The oversized silhouette softens the edges of your outer body with a cast that demands presence. The graphics-an audacious logo of sorts, racing logo of sorts, the faded American flag of sorts, or abstract lettering of sorts-draw the eye with close to no if not zero shouting. It feels familiar yet fresh and vintage yet modern.
I've had people stop me and say, "Is that Rhude?" Not snobbishly, but rather in recognition-those are two who speak the same cultural language. And that is the secret power of the hoodie-it somehow signals identity.
A Day in the Hoodie
There are days when I live in my Rhude hoodie. Morning coffee runs, quick errands, hours working at my laptop: it works everywhere. But it's the transformation I love.
If I’m meeting friends at night, I’ll layer it under a coat that goes down to my knees, throw on some shortcuts, and swap my sneakers out for some boots. Just like that, the same hoodie goes from casual to purposeful to styled to elevated. Rhude has the rare ability: It makes laid back feel ... luxury, and luxury feel ... laid back.
Why It Matters
Sometimes, people ask me why I would spend several hundred dollars on a hoodie. It is a rational question. Just cotton stitched into a decent shape, from the avenues of fashion, one could say. But fashion is anything but just cloth and stitch; it is about meaning.
I am not just buying a Rhude hoodie. Buying into a brand is buying into its story: the immigrant designer who took his vision to the world, street culture melded with luxury craftsmanship, the recognition that clothing can be comfortable and simultaneously fulsome of aspirations.
Then comes a special feeling of empowerment upon the donning of something countless cultural icons have worn: LeBron James courtside, Kendrick Lamar while on stage, and Jay-Z while stepping out in L. A. It binds you to a greater cultural force and some intangible notion that you are part of this moment.
Hoodie as a Masquerading Gilded Bone
There is the thing about the hoodie: it will retain memories. The one I have has accompanied me to concerts, airports, late-night walks, and serene mornings. Washing it softens the colors somewhat, and creasing makes its tale alive.
One of the truly genius features of Rhude: The hoodies are often shipped with a tint of sun fading, with some degree of distress, or gifted that special vintage aura. So the hoodies are supposed to just feel like something from another day, straight onto your own already rich-with-experience memories. The particular piece of garment seems to me sculpted to become personal history.
The Price of Identity
Never somewhat neglect the truth: a Rhude hoodie is expensive. For most, it's a contemplative purchase worthy of thought. But I've learned one lesson: fashion most often justifies the price by what it gives in return to a wearer-that is, in fact, usually an exchange in terms of what is given in value back to the wearer.
I feel that gives me confidence and versatility and durability. On a little bit of away, I feel it gives me an identity. I am investing in how I feel-the hard thing in life-and how I show up in the world. To me, that's worth it.
A Link Between Worlds
What makes Rhude unique is that it bridges worlds. It truly comes from streetwear—oversized fits, graphic prints, cultural references—but it is executed with the quality of luxury fashion. That balance is rare. Some brands feel too polished, others too raw. Rhude sits perfectly in between.
While wearing the hoodie, I feel that I am occupying the same space. It is not about street or luxury but about being myself-an amalgamation of all influences-refusing to be labeled into one category.
Hoodie and the Future
Fashion moves fast; trends come, go, and fade into oblivion. But I don't see a time when the Rhude hoodie will fade away. Just like the leather jacket in the '50s and the band tee in the '80s, it feels like one of those garments that will always carry meaning.
Since Garritano's first love was hoodies, he wanted to create ones that felt ultralight, soft, and worn in. Rhude hoodies ended up fulfilling this dream.
They have become the flagship item with its logo emblazoned on all the walls of LA stores across the city, being one of those pieces that can really make or break the brand's image.
Thus, Rhude has pushed forth the hoodies as a piece capable of bridging the culture gap between streetwear and high fashion.
Conclusion: Fabric Processed Into Something Else
When putting on my Rhude hoodie, I am far from just donning some cotton. I am dressing culture, craft, and identity. I am dressing a story beginning in Los Angeles and ending at every corner of this globe. I am dressing a reminder that luxury need not mean stiffness and formality; it can stand for authenticity, something lived in.