You can buy 'super tacky' Costco sweatshirts, and the store's super fans say they're now the 'envy'

Publish date: 2024-07-26
2023-09-01T10:57:22Z

Costco superfans are scrambling to get their hands on a "hideous" branded sweatshirt.

The gray crewneck sweatshirt is covered in the warehouse chain's logo on the front, back, and sleeves. It's available on Costco's website for $12.97, alongside a black version, which just has a small embroidered Costco logo in the top corner and on one cuff.

The sweatshirt has an average 4.8-star rating on Costco's website, based on 311 reviews. People who described themselves as "hardcore Costco fans" wrote in their reviews that the sweatshirt was a "head-turner and conversation starter" and that they went on to buy them for their family and friends.

Costco

"I'm the envy of my middle aged friends," one reviewer wrote. "I have not gotten more compliments on any garment I've worn," another wrote. Someone else said it was the "greatest sweatshirt in history of civilization."

"I truly have never found an article of clothing that represents my internal existence better than this sweatshirt," one reviewer said. They added that by wearing the sweatshirt, people could become "a walking Costco billboard."

"You have created an extremely cool, strange, odd, fascinating product," someone else wrote. "The juxtaposition of something as mundane as Costco (sorry) coupled with this street wear design is honestly the coolest article of clothing I own now." Reddit users have posted about searching eagerly to find the sweatshirt at their local stores.

"I bought the hideous Costco sweatshirt and it's everything I wanted and more," one person wrote in the Facebook group COSTCO FINDS, which has 1.5 million members. "My wife said she will never go out in public with me while I'm wearing it."

Reviewers and Reddit users also praised the quality of the sweatshirt, describing it as soft, warm, and cozy.

"I love that it's just niche and silly but it is legitimately a comfortable sweatshirt," one reviewer wrote.

One Reddit user even posted about getting his Costco membership photo retaken wearing his gray Costco-branded sweatshirt.

But some people say they don't understand the appeal, with Reddit users calling the gray sweatshirt "absolutely hideous," "super tacky," "mega ugly," and even "atrocious." One commenter said it would be good for an ugly sweatshirt party, while others questioned why people would pay to wear what looked like Costco uniform or provide free advertising for the retailer.

Costco has cultivated a legion of loyal fans who've created their own online communities, posting their latest spots on Reddit, in Facebook groups, and in TikTok videos. Some people use the communities to track down which stores are selling particular items. As some of the comments about the sweatshirts show, it can be hard to tell who is a genuine superfan of the brand and who is embracing it "ironically," like one Reddit user who said their family wore Costco sweatshirts for their holiday card.

Costco also sells a sweatshirt, similarly available in both black and gray, with a large, faint Kirkland Signature logo on the front. One Reddit user said it was "wholesalecore haute couture," though another criticized it for being "too elegant."

Costco

"When I buy a Kirkland/Costco branded clothing item, I want my wife to gasp in disbelief," they continued.

It's unclear when exactly Costco started selling the branded apparel. One Reddit thread shows a family wearing matching Kirkland Signature sweathirts in December 2020, though the design is different to those currently available. A thread from June 2021 shows those sweaters available at a store in North Carolina for $9.97 each. The Costco logo sweatshirts currently on sale have been available since at least September 2022, costing $19.99 at one store.

Costco has also sold Kirkland Signature branded hoodies, sweatpants, slides, and hats.

Watch: Sneaky ways Costco gets you to buy more

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