The sweatshirt occupies a slightly smarter casual position than the hoodie because the absence of the hood removes one of the more casual signals and leaves you with something cleaner and more adaptable. A crew neck sweatshirt in a quality heavyweight cotton is one of the most effortlessly wearable pieces in a casual wardrobe because it works with straight jeans and trainers for everyday dressing and lifts surprisingly well when you put it with smarter chinos and clean leather footwear. The quality of the fabric makes an enormous difference to how a sweatshirt looks and how it ages. A thin sweatshirt that pills and loses its shape quickly is never going to look intentional no matter how you style it. A substantial one in a good weight cotton or French terry develops a character over time that makes it look more considered the more you wear it rather than worse.