American Giant sweatshirt

My son turns 16 this weekend, and like a lot of upper middle class kids, he doesn't want for any material items. He's got the IPhone (only a 6s at least), Vans, cool sunglasses, a gaming computer and a laptop,etc.

My wife and I were at a loss as to what to get him for his birthday. She proposed Apple EarPods. 130 bucks for headset? I'll pass. Plus I dont want him any less situationally aware than he already is. Last thing he needs to be doing walking around with something in his ears.

We pondered clothes. He has very limited wardrobe. He wears a hoodie every day the temp is below 70F. Literally all he wears is hoodies and t shirts. Only owns one shirt with a collar, and that is likely too small now.

American Giant has their "Flagship Store" in San Francisco, so we decided to go up there and get him a $104 pullover hoodie.

Now on the surface, this seems absurd. What kind of a doofus pays $104 for a sweatshirt?

It it is the nicest, heaviest sweatshirt I have encountered. Double fabric hood, reinforced elbows. Made in North Carolina. Material is of obvious quality vs typical.

We got the classic light gray, which the sales guy assured me was yarn dyed, for ultimate softness. Very neutral color for frequent use. Sales guy (sporty/athletic hipster) had serious pride about what he was selling. Gave me 15% off as a first time shopper to match the online discount, so it was $90.

Still a shitload of money for a sweatshirt. But if my kid wears it 2x a week for the next 3 years of HS, maybe not so bad.

Today, there's so much cheap stuff avail. My kids definitely see a lot of stuff as disposable in a way that I didn't. Hoping my kid will recognize that one good sweatshirt is better than 3 just ok ones.

Shit, he'll probably lose it before New Year's Day.