Quarter Zip Season - History on Repeat

Quarter zips have recently been framed as a fun, lighthearted, and an all so silly trend. A way to get young men, specifically young Black men, to “dress up” in casual workwear. When I first came across Jason Gyamfi's video on “quarter zip season,” my initial reaction was first a giggle, but following that was recognition.

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Between the Met Gala's 2025 theme Dandyism, and the fashion industries constant habit of recycling history, this moment was inevitable. What we are experiencing isn't a new phenomenon, but a familiar one. Black fashion once again emerging as both trend and resistance.

Before we dive into quarter zips, I first want to bring up the term "bougie". Bougie, clipped from the french word bourgeoisie, refers to the middle class, one who is luxurious, fancy, or showcases high class qualities. The term bougie first came about in the 1960s/70s as a derogatory term to describe Black Americans that were adopting White American norms, acted above their station, or expressed luxury in ways that did not fit their economic reality.

But here's the twist. Black Americans have always dressed "bougie". Not as imitation but as self definition, and rebellion. Examples of this include the popularization of fur garments among African American woman, dandyism, Black Ivy style, Sunday's best dressed, and so so much more.

This idea of fashion as resistance helps explain why the 2025 Met Gala theme of Dandyism felt especially significant. Dandyism has historically represented a rejection of rigid class structures through dress. For Black men in particular, it became a way to assert intellect, autonomy, and humanity in societies that actively denied all three. Appearance was never frivolous. It was strategic.

We can see this same logic reflected in the history of Black women and fur garments. Black women played an essential role in the growth of the American fur industry. Viewing furs not simply as luxury items but as symbols of womanhood, resilience, and class. In many Black households, fur coats are treated as heirlooms, passed down from generation to generation. These garments carry stories of sacrifice, aspiration, and pride, reinforcing the idea that clothing could hold memory and meaning.

This is why watching the rise of the quarter zip trend within the Black community feels both familiar and powerful. On one hand, it feels like a return to moments such as the zoot suit era, or the rise of streetwear, times when Black people took existing forms of dress and infused them with cultural weight. It feels empowering and affirming. On the other hand, I find myself resisting the urge to mansplain to my male cousins and peers why this trend feels so resonant right now and what it reflects about our society in current times.

Being a quarter zip dude is not about putting on a sweater and suddenly becoming a tech executive. It carries the same sentiment behind being labeled bougie, behind dandyism, behind Black women wearing furs, and behind streetwear culture. It is about resistance to a white supremacist system that has historically attempted to define Black identity through limitation and stereotype.

Fashion often operates on a subconscious level. Many consumers believe they are buying clothing simply because they like it or because it fits their personal style. In reality, we are constantly being guided toward what is considered desirable, professional, respectable, or cool.

African Americans, whether the fashion industry openly acknowledges it or not, have consistently shaped these standards. Even when participation in a trend feels unintentional, it still challenges dominant narratives. Quarter zips directly contradict stereotypes that frame Black men as uneducated, dangerous, or undignified. Wearing one becomes a visual refusal of those labels. To wear a quarter zip is to wear decades, even centuries, of resistance. It is a quiet assertion of intelligence, self awareness, and control over representation.

So in closing, from quarter zips and matcha to being bougie, Black Americans have always found ways to express strength, knowledge, and dignity through dress. Fashion becomes the language through which identity is protected and proclaimed. We remain the ultimate assigners of who we are.