You can love them, you can despise them, only one thing you can not: face her without opinion. The sweatpants have always appeased and heated minds. On the occasion of the International Day of the Sweatpants, which was founded in 2009 by four Austrian students and is “celebrated” annually on January 21, we took a closer look at this legwear, its history, and anecdotes about it.
Make yourselves comfortable – which piece of clothing we recommend you wear while reading this article is obvious. After all, who makes themselves comfortable on the couch in jeans or suit trousers? 😉
Attention: Plot Twist
“Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. Anyone who wears sweatpants has lost control of their life.” This was said in 2012 by none other than fashion czar Karl Lagerfeld, and from that point on, at the latest, he became the mouthpiece for all those scene-savvy people for whom loose legwear is not the measure of fashionable art. Even if you don’t agree with this strong statement: when sweatpants were invented in the 1920s, their purpose was different from the one for which they are mainly worn today.
Athletes were supposed to be able to stretch and warm up comfortably before a competition and then deliver peak performance. Accordingly, the basic idea behind the jogger was actually to exercise movement sequences to increase performance potential – a mindset that today only elicits a weary smile from many a wearer while he or she sits or lies in front of the TV in sweatpants and has just ordered a pizza. While sports (or some other entertainment program) is on TV, of course.
Not all joggers are the same!
The fact that over the decades jogging pants have become a universal fashion accessory should not have escaped even the most averse part of mankind to this article of clothing: the range of what is available has long since gone beyond “the” classic jogging pants (gray, wide cut and with waistbands at the ankles) and offers interesting models in any color and shape and for any occasion.
As with all other items of clothing, it also behaves with joggers. “I actually wear jogging pants 365 days a year. But the important thing is that there are jogging pants – and there are jogging pants with style,” is how professional soccer player Danny da Costa recently summed it up. And indeed, fashion-conscious people have to choose between fashion or wind sweatpants, sweat, tear-away or muscle pants, for example.
Well combined is half won
If you look at a person’s overall appearance, your gaze understandably goes first to the large-area items of clothing – such as the pants. But to achieve a full-fledged appearance, it needs more than the focus on the legs: How is the jogger used, what playful combination has the wearer come up with? The good thing about the jogging pants: they are a true multi-talent!
For those who like it sporty (at least outwardly), the good old hoodie is recommended, which, for example, fits perfectly with the wide, gray basic model. A simple shirt, combined with a tighter-fitting model, is perfect for going to the post office or the bakery in a hurry – thanks to the usually soft fabric, sweatpants are predestined for pockets with zippers to also carry (small) money and/or keys.
Of course, sweatpants of any color are also great for getting involved in an impromptu soccer game in the park with kids, participating as an extra in a hip-hop video, or taking the dog for a walk. Some people also like to wear models of a certain brand to combine with business shoes, a leather jacket, and a sliding cap. You can like them, but you don’t have to – that’s how they are, our favorite pants!
From the curb to the skyline
Let’s return to Karl Lagerfeld, who passed away far too early in 2019. Sometimes even proven experts are wrong and have to bow to what the majority wants – and so Lagerfeld surprised us at Paris Fashion Week 2014 with sweatpants designed by him personally. So was the 2012 statement just a marketing stunt? Did Lagerfeld even wear joggers himself in combination with his signature sunglasses?
We honestly don’t know, but hope to have brought you a little closer to the jogging pants in this article, should you have looked at them with suspicion before. If you were a fan before, we hope that you will continue to wear the legwear of all legwear with pride and conviction in the future. Because whatever you do: Jogger always goes 😉
