Fashion trends move faster than Fashion Nova shipping — and even faster among the youth. Quicker than you can say “ski masks,” the kids have conjured an entirely new aesthetic: a quarter-zip sweater and matcha.
Aesthetically, it’s crisp and sleek — the kind of look that says you’re either on your way to prep school or your team has an away game that afternoon. It’s giving polished, purposeful, and “I have somewhere respectable to be.” They’re usually worn in a solid, dark shade with the zipper partially down to achieve a more collared look over a button-down shirt with Dockers and a pair of loafers or dress shoes.
If you’ve lived long enough to remember the great pendulum swings of youth style, this moment feels oddly familiar. One minute it’s exaggerated, ultra-casual streetwear; the next, it’s full-blown prep revival. If we had to guess why it swings so wildly, it’s because those two aesthetics sit on opposite ends of the cool spectrum: on one side, the effortless edge of street style, and on the other, the polished, country-club preppy fantasy. Both are compelling in totally different ways — sometimes you want to lean into the laid-back swagger, and other times you want the clean-cut, put-together vibe.
Millennial veterans know the drill — the mid-2000s thrill of scoring an American Eagle collared shirt and a pair of Sperry boat shoes giving way to the 2010s era of LA-inspired sweats, sneakers, and oversized hoodies. The kids today are simply carrying on tradition with their own twist: a cozy quarter zip and a cup of frothy green calm.
On TikTok, dozens of videos — and counting — show Black teens and young adults gleefully embracing the uniform, quarter zips zipped halfway up with matcha in hand like an accessory. And it’s not just a fashion moment; it’s a lifestyle. Entire skits show boys slipping into the look and suddenly adopting new decorum, new vocabulary, even new ambitions. The jokes are tongue-in-cheek, but the insight is real: style is both a tool we use and a language we speak. It signals who we are, what we want, and sometimes who we’re trying to become, even if only for fun. If only for ourselves.
So while we may never solve the age-old question — does the man make the suit, or does the suit make the man? — one thing feels clear: the quarter zip and matcha are definitely making the boys (and their bros) happy. And honestly? We say yes to anything that spreads a little more Black boy joy.
