Why Vintage Sweatshirts & Hoodies Are a Game Changer for Wholesale
By: YouApparel Posted on: Sep 24, 2025The vintage sweatshirt and hoodie market is thriving, especially in the wholesale space. YouApparel offers a variety of garment-dyed and distressed options from top brands like Russell Athletic, Champion, and Comfort Colors, catering to Gen Z's preference for "broken-in" aesthetics. Popular treatments like garment-dyeing, enzyme washing, and mineral washing create unique, worn-in looks that appeal to buyers seeking authenticity. Fabrics such as cotton-polyester blends and construction details like raglan sleeves, thick rib cuffs, and metal grommets ensure quality. Popular colors for 2025 include earthy tones like Olive, Burgundy, and Faded Lilac. YouApparel’s offerings are ready for customization, ensuring they meet the needs of buyers targeting the growing demand for vintage-styled apparel.
Vintage sweatshirts are having a serious moment in the US resale and retail world. This subsequently led to an increase in demand for such garments in the wholesale market too. Almost every leading apparel brand in YouApparel’s wholesale collection offers styles to meet this demand. This includes sporty styles from Russell Athletic, iconic styles from Champion, trending ones from Comfort Colors, and more, all offering that “lived-in”, heritage feel.
In YouApparel, buyers can discover blank styles from legacy labels and many others from top brands in our wholesale sweatshirts selection, ready for custom art or brand programs. But what makes a sweatshirt truly “vintage,” and how can bulk buyers stock up on designs that sell?
Let’s break down the details and strategies that win in today’s wholesale market.
The Appeal of Vintage Washes & Distressing
There is a specific market demand for pieces that look broken-in from day one. To get that kind of appeal, manufacturers employ a variety of treatment techniques.
Garment-Dyeing: This treatment delivers a soft, aged feel and unpredictable tonal variation. This means no two blanks are exactly alike. This is what made sweatshirts and hoodies from Comfort Colors really popular in recent years, especially the 1566 crewneck sweatshirt and its hoodie variant the 1567.
Enzyme and Stone Washing: This treatment is especially popular for fabric softening. It brings a gentle faded look. However, enzyme washes can break down natural cotton fibers, while stone washing uses abrasion for a true 80s/90s look. The Econscious EC5650 full-zip hoodie is a great example of an enzyme-washed sweatshirt. The hoodie is also part of our sustainable blank apparel collection.
Acid and Bleach Washing: This treatment produces distressed patterns that give a unique appeal. When done right, garments can get a wild, weathered appeal that younger shoppers seem to like. (Just FYI: Safe industrial bleach ratios are key for updates. Too strong, and the fabric can literally shred.) The J. America 8915 Vintage Zen Fleece hoodie and the 8912 women’s zen fleece are two of the most in-demand vintage hooded sweatshirts in YouApparel this year.
Mineral Washing: Mineral washing is typically done with stones and chemicals to add mottling, a trend seen on both punk-inspired and surf culture stock. For such buyers, YouApparel recommends the PRM4500MW Midweight Mineral Wash Hooded Sweatshirt from Independent Trading Company - a brand that’s getting rave reviews for their premium quality, on-trend blank sweatshirts.
Accelerated Fading: The treatment speeds up the fading that typically occurs with time naturally. This and UV exposure can deliver sweatshirts with unique character.
Apart from Comfort Colors and Independent Trading Company, there are even more top-tier brands in YouApparel with blanks that use garment-dye or pigment-dye methods like Lane Seven and ComfortWash by Hanes.
Fabric, Fit & Quality Construction Insights
The traditional yet trending fabric for vintage sweatshirts is a cotton-polyester blend, either midweight or heavyweight, optimized for durability and that worn-in drape.
Quick facts:
- French terry offers a lighter weight. More loft means a super soft interior.
- High GSM (grams per square meter) numbers deliver that authentic heavy hand.
- Premium Japanese manufacturers offer styles featuring the rarest loopwheel construction. The garments have a denser, seamless fabric that is prime, premium vintage.
- Classic US “circular knit” also has a growing following owing to its durability.
- Vintage sweatshirts with raglan sleeves and a 90s aesthetic remain a hot trend in streetwear this year
Key construction markers for premium quality:
- Thick rib cuffs and waistbands
- Double-needle stitching at stress points
- Raglan sleeves for freedom of movement
- Metal grommets on hoodies (instead of plain eyelets)
Vintage-inspired hoodies in YouApparel reached peak preference during fall last year. So we are cooking up exceptional deals for Fall this year too. Check in when our Fall Special Sale goes live.
Colorways: What’s Moving for 2025?
When buying vintage-inspired stock, we have a few on-trend colors & some great sweatshirt styles to recommend:
Heather Grey - Perennially the top seller for both blank and graphic programs.
Earthy shades like Olive, Burgundy, and Brown are top preferences for colleges, outdoor brands, and fashion boutiques.
Faded Lilac, Peach, Sage, and Sky blue work for anyone seeking a retro 90s look.
Independent Trading Co. PRM4500 Midweight Pigment-Dyed Hooded Sweatshirt
Independent Trading Co. PRM2500 Women’s California Wave Wash Hooded Sweatshirt
Navy, Mustard, Charcoal, and Forest Green are frequently requested by US shops. We recommend not skipping these when filling out assortments.
Econscious EC5650 Heritage Full-Zip Hooded Sweatshirt
Two-tone varsity (like grey with navy) drives sales among sports, Greek, and school accounts.
JERZEES 97CR Nublend® Varsity Colorblocked Raglan Hoodie
Independent Trading Co. IND45UVZ Varsity Full-Zip Hooded Sweatshirt
All these sweatshirts can be customized at YouApparel with logos, embroidery, and more, depending on fabric suitability. However, there are specific blank sweatshirt styles that earned the most positive reviews from decorators.
Who Buys Vintage Sweatshirts & Hoodies
Gen X buyers generally like sweatshirts that echo their youth. But the current market for vintage sweatshirts and hoodies are being driven by Gen Z and Millennials. Gen Z prefers vintage aesthetics on modern cuts like oversized and boxy fits, with the latter being a growing trend now.
We have been observing increasing demand for bright, standout colorways AND classic, collegiate neutrals. Most of our buyers look to durability, visible authenticity, and construction quality. These apply on our performance sweatshirts collection also, though they don’t typically deliver the vintage appeal.
Note:
Vintage sizing tends to run about a size small for many brands versus current US unisex standards. We recommend checking chest and length specs before placing bulk orders. If you are interested in purchasing performance sweatshirt options for decorations, team outfitting or something else, we suggest checking out our guide on performance sweatshirts first for a head start.
Top Brand Picks for Wholesale Vintage Sweatshirts in YouApparel
We house selections from a number of top-tier brands in the United States including Made-in-USA exclusive brands like Bayside, brands specializing in team outfitting like Team 365, and more. But not all of them offer garment-washed or pigment-dyed styles. We recommend exploring styles from the following brands for some amazing styles with vintage aesthetics.
J. America: Earning its reputation for well-made, soft-hand apparel and fleece, J. America is a great choice for vintage-style sweatshirts.
Independent Trading Company: Fresh blanks, classic fit, and garment-dye offerings, Independent Trading Company continues to grow its customer base. Excellent choice for custom retail programs.
Comfort Colors: Garment-washed, pre-softened blanks is a Comfort Color specialty. Get very competitive wholesale prices on all offerings from Comfort Colors in YouApparel.
ComfortWash by Hanes: Hanes doesn’t need an introduction in America. ComfortWash by Hanes continues the legacy, offering exceptionally soft, desirably vintage, responsibly-manufactured blank apparel.
Vintage sweatshirts and hoodies are certainly a money-smart choice for bulk buyers in 2025 and 2026, too, most likely. More so if they source them from wholesale suppliers like YouApparel. At YouApparel.com, you can explore a broad assortment of blank vintage sweatshirts - engineered for comfort, garment-dyed for style, and ready to customize for shops, events, or resale platforms; all at very competitive per-unit prices.
Vintage never sleeps, and neither do the buyers, getting ahead of next season’s trends. Hit us up for your next wholesale drop.