MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Steve, can't help but notice you're sporting a quarter-zip today. Very nice.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
Thank you.
MARTIN: Do you mind if I ask - how many do you have?
INSKEEP: Oh, I've - five or six of these pullover sweaters with the zipper here - maybe you can hear it...
(SOUNDBITE OF ZIPPER)
INSKEEP: ...You know, that runs from the neck to the chest, quarter...
MARTIN: OK.
INSKEEP: ...Way down.
MARTIN: Well, that's enough. Don't take...
INSKEEP: Thank you.
MARTIN: ...Any more off.
INSKEEP: Got it.
MARTIN: But - so guess what? You might just be a Gen Z style icon because they are cool now.
INSKEEP: Well, they're probably just influenced by me, Mr. Generation X, because I've worn them for years.
MARTIN: Well, they've definitely been around for a long time, but they seem to have become a fashion craze.
INSKEEP: OK.
MARTIN: They're the subject of a viral TikTok video by Jason Gyamfi.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JASON GYAMFI: We don't do Nike Tech. We don't do coffee. It's straight quarter-zips and matchas around here.
MARTIN: He is, of course, wearing a navy quarter-zip in the video. Gyamfi is a recent college grad who has inspired other young men to post TikToks about their quarter-zips, like 22-year-old Josh Akinwunmi.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
JOSH AKINWUNMI: Us quarter-zip guys are cool. We're hip. We are the new orange.
INSKEEP: Josh and his twin, Peter, go by @akintwins on TikTok. They've racked up millions of likes for their posts about what they - millions of likes? Not views, but likes? Holy cow - for what they call the quarter-zip movement. They are both studying computer science in Texas and wanted to dress professionally. Here's Peter.
PETER AKINWUNMI: I would say, for my brother and I, it's - doesn't really necessarily have to do just with the quarter-zip. It's more about dressing to a higher standard, dressing more presentable.
MARTIN: Amber Ferguson is a culture reporter with The Washington Post. She thinks part of the reason quarter-zips are catching on again is because they're kind of dressy but also versatile.
AMBER FERGUSON: It's not a full suit, where, you know, a lot of young men can't afford to get that tailored or buy one. But it's also not, like, a tracksuit either. It's still comfortable, and it can be dressed up, dressed down. You can wear a collared shirt under it and a tie, but you can also, you know, go to the library. You can go to school. You can go on a job interview with it, but you can also go to dinner.
INSKEEP: How come she doesn't cite the Inskeep influence?
MARTIN: I don't know. I don't understand it either.
INSKEEP: And the popularity of this thing?
MARTIN: I don't understand it.
INSKEEP: Anyway, for Josh Akinwunmi, he says wearing the quarter-zip makes him feel better.
J AKINWUNMI: It's a reminder to always carry, you know, ourselves with discipline, confidence, purpose. And just that feeling almost makes you feel like, you know, superhuman. It's just contagious. It makes us want to become the best version of ourselves.
MARTIN: So, Steve, do you feel like a better version of yourself when you wear your quarter-zip?
INSKEEP: No. I feel like a better version of myself when I work with you, Michel.
MARTIN: Aww. Well, thank you.
INSKEEP: So there.
MARTIN: Well, thank you. But you are very polished.
INSKEEP: Thank you.
MARTIN: And very, very grown, I would say.
(LAUGHTER)
INSKEEP: OK. I'm going to take that as a compliment. Thank you.
MARTIN: It is.
(SOUNDBITE OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD SONG, "SWEATER WEATHER") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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