New in the lineup this year is the Core Concepts Cadence Hoodie, which leaped its way into my heart with cute styling, flattering fit, and superwarm performance. Once again I have to defend the shirt against the rather bleah picture I have of it. Sorry about the headless mannequin. Really, it’s much cuter than this (the shirt, not the mannequin). I love the design of this shirt, with its curved side seams that are responsible for the body-conscious styling, and the simple but distinctive screened flower pattern on the front and back. Most importantly, though, it is WARM whether it’s being used as an outer layer or a base layer. As my readers know, I get my hands on a lot of gear, and I get a little jaded sometimes, you know, “how different can it be?” So if I find myself really liking a particular piece of gear, well that gear is probably pretty darn different. Usually I spend some time trying to figure out what it is that is making the item “different,” but this time I’ve just been having too much fun wearing it. I can’t be bothered to do my research when there are fun places to go and a cute, warm hoodie to wear! So I don’t really know that is different about the Core Concepts fabric that makes it extra warm, but it really is one of the best base layers I’ve tried this season. It makes a noticeable difference in chilly weather and if I’m going to be out for extended periods and want the warmth without the bulk, this is the one I reach for. I think the fact that it’s a pullover with no zippers makes it retain more heat, and that sounds techy, so I’ll go with that explanation.

One different thing about this hoodie that wasn’t immediately apparent is the ponytail hole in the back of the hood. I will guiltily admit that I never used the hood, so I really don’t know how the ponytail hole performs, but if you have always wanted a hood with a ponytail hole, well here it is. Now that I’m thinking about it, though, this might be pretty handy. No more static-y hair sticking to the back of my neck inside my hood! Good idea from Core Concepts.

The first thing I noticed about the shirt, though, was the styling. I really liked the curving, stretchy seams on each side that form a gather of sorts. They just made the shirt stand out a little bit and gave it a little bit of that vitally important extra-flattering power. There really are just so many shirt designs that are possible to apply to the human form, so it’s kind of nice to find a new one. I fear that the trend towards off-center and askew patterns will look dated in a few years, but until that happens you can look up-to-the-minute in the Cadence hoodie.

Now for today’s tangent. Hoodies. We love them, right? I sure do. Hoodies are all over the place. Hooded jackets, hooded coats, hooded shirts, hooded base layers…ok, that is a lot of hoods. And the other Geargals will browbeat me until I mention that hoods really are great for keeping the ol’noggin warm. When it’s really chilly out, I have been known to rely on hoods to keep me cozy. But all these hoods make it important to plan out your outfit. If you have a hood on your base layer, your mid layer, your insulating layer, and your outer layer, you are going to look like Quasimodo. So it’s becoming necessary to purchase two of every item, one in hooded version, one in non-hooded version, for infinite outfit-assembling possibilities. For cuteness factor alone, though, you can’t beat a hoodie and the Cadence is cuter than most. And warmer than many! And with a ponytail hole to set it apart. How can you lose?