Anything Paul Newman wore for six decades straight gets automatic entry to the Menswear Hall of Fame. You don’t need to see its papers, just wave it through. Newman loved a sweatshirt. He wore one as a preppy, blue-eyed heartthrob in the 50s and 60s and never took it off, showing up to red-carpet events in his 80s still wearing the ageless style.

Newman understood that in a sweatshirt, he could look casual but considered, chic but athletic. All at the same time, all with a simple pullover. It’s seasonless, flattering to every body shape and easy to layer: one of the few genuine everyman items in men’s fashion.

Its appeal is down to comfort and versatility, says Pelle Lundquist, founder and creative director of Swedish brand A Day’s March. “It’s hard to find a more comfy garment that also goes well with what most people like to wear. A sweatshirt is easy to use both for a street or a smart-casual look.”

It’s also a trailblazer. The crewneck sweatshirt blurred the lines between sportswear and fashion half a century before a marketing executive coined the word “athleisure”. And it was the first item of clothing to be emblazoned with logos, turning us all into walking advertisements for the brands we wear.

Before that, it was a technical garment. First made for American football players in the 1920s, its lightweight cotton construction wicked away sweat (hence the name) and felt more comfortable to exercise in than the heavy wool jerseys worn at the time.

Ivy League students made it part of the preppy look in the 1950s, wearing sweatshirts on campus, proudly displaying the name of their school or team across their chest (giving birth to logomania in the process). Icons like Newman and Steve McQueen adopted it. Then the style went urban in the 1980s when hip-hop made sportswear its own. Now, it’s at home in practically every menswear alma mater you can think of: there are styles for streetwear kids, surfers and skateboarders, Scandi minimalists and men of athleisure.