Tiger Sweatshirt

A tiger sweatshirt does without the hood and the drawstrings, which leaves the whole front to the tiger, from the round neckline down to the ribbed waistband. Every piece in this collection is a crewneck with ribbed cuffs and hem, and the prints cover a wide spread of styles: a tiger walking out of darkness, a pair of eyes and nothing else, a snarling face under a samurai helmet, a blue tiger drawn like old tattoo flash, and a saber-toothed cat from prehistory.

Photographic tigers on black

Several designs use a near-photographic tiger against a black ground, so the animal seems to step out of the shadows. The Bengal Tiger Sweatshirt shows a tiger walking straight toward the viewer, head lowered and amber eyes level, its shoulders and stripes catching the light while the rest of the body fades into the dark. The Eye of the Tiger Sweatshirt takes that idea as far as it can go: across the chest there is only a narrow band of the face, two amber eyes and the fur between them, and everything else is black.

In the same family, the Sabertooth Tiger Sweatshirt shows a roaring cat with two long, curved upper fangs, set in an orange glow. Strictly speaking it is not a tiger at all. Saber-toothed cats such as Smilodon belonged to a separate branch of the cat family and died out at the end of the last ice age, but the name saber-toothed tiger stuck, and the striped face in this artwork plays along with it.

Illustrated tigers, from samurai to tattoo flash

The Japanese Tiger Sweatshirt is white, with a tiger's face roaring from beneath a samurai helmet, black armor plates spreading on either side and a pair of gold crescent horns rising from the crown. Tigers never lived wild in Japan, and for centuries Japanese painters knew them mainly through imported pelts and Chinese paintings, which is one reason the tiger in Japanese art so often looks more like a legend than a zoo animal. Putting one in a samurai helmet leans into that legendary side.

The Chinese Tiger Sweatshirt has a cream ground and a bolder, flatter style. A blue and black tiger climbs head first down the front, teeth bared, against a large rust-red sun, with small red and orange flames flickering around it. The heavy outlines and limited colors recall traditional tattoo flash, and the tail curls up toward the collar.

Other illustrated designs include a white sweatshirt with a black and white close-up of a roaring mouth that rises from the side toward the shoulder, a gray and white tiger head in fine line work set inside a red ring on black, a colorful low-poly tiger face, and a turquoise sweatshirt that deepens to blue at the hem, printed with the profile of a dark tiger that glows with orange stripes and a single green eye.

Choosing a tiger sweatshirt: sizes and colors

Every design comes in sizes S to 5XL, and one adds XS. The sizes for each sweatshirt are listed in its options. Each design comes in a single colorway, shown in its product photo: black for the majority, white for several, and cream, charcoal, teal or turquoise for a few others. The photographic tigers mostly appear on black, where the dark ground lets them emerge from shadow.

Sweatshirt or hoodie?

The main difference is the hood. A sweatshirt keeps a clean, round neckline that sits easily under a jacket collar, while a hoodie adds a hood, drawstrings and usually a front pocket. The sweatshirt began as a cotton pullover made for athletes in the early twentieth century, and both pieces moved into everyday wardrobes long ago. Our tiger hoodie collection holds the hooded versions, among them all-over fur prints, tiger stripe camouflage and zip-ups with a tiger portrait split across the front.

Keeping the fabric soft

A sweatshirt is at its best when it stays soft, and much of that comes down to washing and drying. Our guide on how to keep sweatshirts soft and fluffy goes through water temperature, choice of detergent and drying, and explains why fabric softener can leave fabric stiffer over time rather than softer. Washing a printed sweatshirt inside out is also a common way to protect the artwork on the front.

From sweatshirt to pajamas

Evenings at home are covered too. Our tiger pajamas carry the subject into the night, with tiger print pajama sets, camisole sets and pajama pants for men, women and boys, in patterns that range from jungle scenes to tiger stripes. The wider tiger clothes collection brings together the rest of the range, including t-shirts, jackets, caps and belts.

The tiger as a symbol

Part of the appeal of a tiger on the chest is what the animal has long stood for. In many cultures it is linked with courage, strength and protection, and the Chinese zodiac gives it a year of its own, with people born under that sign traditionally described as brave and confident. In East Asian folk tradition the tiger is also believed to ward off evil spirits, and Korean folk painters often showed it beside a magpie in pictures hung at the New Year to keep misfortune away. The designs in this collection range from that legendary tiger to the wildlife portrait, and both carry the same sense of quiet power.

Sweatshirt questions

Do any of the sweatshirts have a hood?

No. Every design here is a crewneck. The hooded designs have their own collection, linked above.

Are the sweatshirts for men or for women?

Two titles name a wearer, one for women and one for men, and the rest carry no label. The prints themselves, from the Bengal Tiger Sweatshirt to the Chinese Tiger Sweatshirt, are not tied to either.

Where is the print placed?

On most designs the tiger sits on the front, between the collar and the waistband. A few run toward the edge, such as the roaring close-up that climbs from the side to the shoulder. The product photos show the placement on each one.