As worn by an American thug? (4)
I believe the answer is:
hood
'thug?' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
I can't explain the rest of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for hood that I've seen before include "Bronx district" , "Part of subfusc" , "See 8" , "Cowl -- violent criminal (slang)" , "this could provide cover" .)