Why do we shame people for wearing sweatpants outside of the home? They’re comfy! That’s something that I’m starting to realize lately is that sometimes it is important to prioritize comfort over fashion. As a kid, I always wore sweatpants or leggings to school. It was so much easier than jeans. And let’s face it, sometimes jeans are a pain in the butt to put on. Especially on cold winter mornings when you were waking up super early for high school. I remember during my junior year of high school I would wake up at 5:50 am for an “early-bird” class and still look pretty presentable. It shocks me! I can barely get out of bed before 9:30 four years later. It’s quite pathetic actually. Hopefully I’ll get back to being that productive one day. Nonetheless, the point I’m trying to hit home is that we must embrace leggings and sweatpants as valid clothing to wear outside the house!
There were multiple days in early high-school that I wore sweatpants, I mean hell! It was cozy. I used to have to go to 9 classes a day and I would force myself to wear jeans because it made me feel more productive. I will say that about sweatpants though, it’s easy to slack off when you got em on. I mean, c’mon! They’re like little hugs around your thighs and calves, how can you say no to another episode? However, if I’m watching TV in jeans I’m already less comfortable than I would be in sweatpants. This is how my mind works, I guess. Anyways, the point is that I would make myself feel bad for wearing sweatpants. As if it was a crime! Well… if being cozy is a crime… lock me up. I have so many cherished pairs of sweatpants that I hold so near and dear to my heart. I remember my first favorite pair was a pair I got from a Batmitzvah. I remember it being probably the coolest thing I’d ever seen. This dude was sitting atop a grand staircase spray painting people’s names onto one of the sweatpant legs in wild fonts. Mine was a cursive, black “Kelly” with a red and green background. Oh wow, part of me really hopes I never gave them away. After reliving that memory I realized how much I became attached to those silly little pants.
Along with my intense joy that sweatpants bring me, I’d be remiss to not acknowledge the joy that leggings bring me. Oh, mama! Leggings are like a classier version of sweatpants. I mean, they simply fit every occasion. Except maybe like a funeral or a wedding. That might be underdressing it a little bit. However, they are perfect for just going out. At least for me, when I go out in sweatpants I feel like everyone is judging me. I feel like they think I just woke up or am really cold for some reason. Now, with leggings, I no longer have this fear. Leggings were especially popular within my high school. You know why? Because high school girls are smart. They look comfortable and trendy. Now, the leggings I saw at my high school were always Lululemon and had some crazy pattern. It honestly became like some sort of wild pants competition. Yoga pants were included too. I mean, it was smart to make leggings the trend because no one ever felt under dressed. It was almost like you were underdressed if you weren’t wearing leggings!
So, I guess what I’m getting at here is that at the end of the day pants are simply pants and we must treat them as such. Whether they are slacks, leggings, jeans, skirts, skorts, yoga pants, tight pants, skinny pants, flowy pants or so much more they are still.. well… pants. Let us not judge each other or ourselves for wanting to be comfy one day and perhaps dress it up the next, AND if something is comfortable and stylish, all the better!