Navy Quarter Zip With a Flag Patch: How to Style It Without Looking Like a Costume

Strip away the meme and what you have is a navy heavyweight quarter zip with a small chest monogram and a flag patch: a very wearable piece of 2000s Americana. Quarter zips are also, right now, the most talked-about item in menswear. This post covers how to wear ours without it reading as a costume, what to pair it with, and where the current quarter zip trend came from.

The quarter zip moment

In November 2025 a TikTok by Jason Gyamfi, a computer science graduate from the Bronx, kicked off what Newsweek called the "quarter-zip movement": young men swapping tech fleece and hoodies for quarter zips as a signal of getting your life together. Complex reported the numbers: over 50 million TikTok views, a 25 percent rise in quarter zip sales among 18 to 24 year olds since mid-2024, and a 2,250 percent jump in searches for "1/4 zip pullover men's business casual". Gyamfi's own line to ABC7 sums it up: "The man makes the clothes, not the clothes make the man."

The Epstein quarter zip went viral two months later, into an audience that had just decided quarter zips were the thing. That timing is a big part of why a twenty-year-old Sports Authority fleece became a search term.

Rule one: let the monogram be small

The JEE embroidery on the original is small. It reads as a personal monogram from a distance, which is exactly how it looked in 2005. Do not add anything else with lettering, no graphic tees underneath, no slogan caps. One small detail on the chest, one small patch on the sleeve, everything else plain.

Three outfits that work

1. The original (2005 New York)

Navy quarter zip, white or light-blue oxford shirt underneath with the collar out, stone or khaki chinos, brown loafers or clean white leather trainers. Zip a third of the way down. This is the closest to the photograph and it is a completely normal smart-casual outfit; nobody who has not seen the meme will look twice.

2. Weekend

Quarter zip over a plain white tee, zipped up, with straight-leg jeans in mid or dark wash and retro runners. Add a navy or olive cap without a logo. The flag patch does the work; keep the rest neutral.

3. Layered for winter

Use it as a mid-layer: tee, quarter zip, then an overcoat or a waxed jacket in tan or dark green. The collar sits neatly under a coat collar, which is the quarter zip's real functional advantage over a hoodie. Size up one if you always wear it this way; see the sizing guide.

What to avoid

  • Red trousers or a red cap. The monogram is the only red; a second red turns it into a flag outfit.
  • Another patch or pin on the same sleeve.
  • Wearing it over a hoodie. The collar disappears and it looks bulky.
  • Zipping it fully to the top with nothing underneath. It works better with a shirt or tee collar showing.

The white Agartha edition

The white version with a black monogram is the easier one to style in summer: white quarter zip, black or navy shorts, white trainers.

Wearing it in public

Some people will recognise it. Reactions to the Fuentes version reported by UNILAD Tech were hostile, but that version carries a political brand and a "U.S.A." crest; the plain JEE monogram is far more subtle in person than on a phone screen. We cover the controversy honestly in Is it OK to wear the Epstein quarter zip? If you want the silhouette without any of the association, the plain navy quarter zips from Polo, Uniqlo or Tommy Hilfiger that Complex lists are the answer.

Frequently asked questions

What colour goes with a navy quarter zip?

White, stone, khaki, grey, olive and mid-wash denim. Avoid black trousers with navy unless the shoes are also black.

Shirt or tee underneath?

Shirt for the 2005 look, tee for casual. Both work; a hoodie does not.

Is the quarter zip trend still going?

Yes. Complex and Newsweek documented it in November 2025 and the search growth has continued through 2026.

Sources

Original epsteinqzip® (Limited edition) The original · since 2 January 2026 The Epstein Quarter Zip 6,000+ customers · From €39,90 · Tracked shipping · 30-day returns Shop now
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