kids oodie (sometimes spelt "hoody") is short for "hooded sweatshirt" and is usually a thick, heavy, upper-body garment which is worn as over a lighter top or t-shirt. The most popular styles of kids oodie have drawstring pulls enabling the wearer to alter the size of the hood opening, a large frontal "all in one" pocket, a hood, and often some kind of motif printed either on the back of the hoodie, or on the front, above the pocket. Hoodies come in all shapes and sizes, and a variety of different colours, from black or grey to bright pink or bright yellow, which makes them great for wearing whatever the season.
In recent years, kids oodie have received a fair bit of negative attention as they are often seen as the "uniform of yobs". Many teenagers, and in particular, teenage boys, seem to wear hoodies to hide their identity when they are causing trouble or even committing crime. The garment received so much attention that at one point it was regularly being discussed in parliament. Although clearly some young boys do wear kids oodie as a means of intimidation, the vast majority of those that wear hooded tops do so because they are a fashionable and practical item of clothing. Thankfully, the majority of the public recognise this and the negative press surrounding hoodies has somewhat died down.
For many types of garments, such negative press would spell the end for them but kids oodie are so popular, they have remained one of the best selling types of garment in the UK. Parents have refused to stop buying hoodies for their sons and daughters simply because of this moral panic surrounding them, and boys kids oodie in particular form the majority of sweater styles out there on the high street.
The most popular style for boys kids oodie is the pull over style hoodie, however zip up hoodies have also recently become fashionable. Boy's kids oodie tend to be made in dark colours and out of heavy fabrics and often have appliquéd writing on the front of them or a design printed onto them. This can be an image or something as simple as a place name or large number.