Sweatpants... Are They The New Little Black Dress?
By: Grace Mailman
I don’t know about you, but when I think about comfortable pandemic clothes, I think of sweatpants. The feel of warmth and comfort of sweatpants is what I look forward to after a long day. Even if I am just chilling at home, I feel more secure and more at home when I am in sweatpants.
Sweatpants are taking over the fashion industry. Since the pandemic has started, sweatpants have become many people’s go-to for their outfits. While having to stay home for weeks and months, people wanted to stay comfortable — so they turned to sweatpants for help. Thus, many well-known brands have started making their sweatpants selection shine brighter than ever. From Fruit of the Loom’s $4 sweatpants to a pain of $1,400 Gucci sweatpants, there is a pair of sweatpants for everyone’s pandemic budget — and wardrobe.
People got used to the comfortable, homey feel that sweatpants give off. This pushed more people to wear their sweatpants out of the house and feel more confident doing so in public. The variety of designs, colors, and styles make the decision between leggings, jeans, or sweatpants that much easier. Sweatpants with stars, lightning bolts, tie-dye, and more are where it’s at. Incorporating those trends into sweatpants make people of any gender and age feel more fashionable when they are running errands or doing their thing in public.
On top of that, celebrities with merchandise have added sweatpants to their collections. This is a win for them and for their fans. The celebrities are making money, and the fans are comfortable while rocking their idol’s merchandise. Although their options could be considered expensive to some, they are bought and loved by many. To me, as long as you are wearing sweatpants that make you happy, it doesn’t matter what they look like as long as they are appropriate.
Ironically, there are sweatpants that are slitted. Taking the ripped trend away from jeans, slitted sweatpants have become available to buy. I have a pain myself and they were a waste of money. The slitted sweatpants are simply $10 Gildan sweatpants with slits through the legs. At that rate, I could have just bought the previously mentioned $4 Fruit of the Loom sweatpants and cut slits in them myself. There are more trendy sweatpants that can cost $40 that you could make by yourself at home to make your quarantine better — and to give you something to do after you have watched all of Netflix.
Another way to get those expensive sweats you’ve been eyeing for cheaper is tie-dying at home. Once you buy white sweatpants from the brand of your choice, all that you need now is the dye, some gloves, water, rubber bands, and a bag. There are many different ways in which you can tie-dye. The easiest way is with store-bought tie-dye kits. Many of these kits already have rubber bands and gloves included. The due in the store-bought kits have squeeze bottles with the powder in which water, once added, will turn into a colored, liquid dye. There is also a food coloring method, as well as a method where RIT dye is used. There are also many different designs that you can make with your tie-dye. This all depends on how you place your rubber bands. You can be as creative as you want and create unique sweatpants that only you will be able to rock as every hand-dyed piece is always different.
Sweatpants have become this past year’s trend that is still popular in 2021. Many hope that this trend will stay for years to come. Personally, sweatpants have become my go-to. Whether it’s a dress down day at school or running to Target, I have fallen in love with these comfy pants. I’m also loving the fact that I can customize some sweatpants on my own in order to stand out from the crowd. I think since over this past year sweatpants have made a huge invasion into fashion, we can all be comfortable knowing they are here to stay.