“Oh, you’re wearing sweatpants? Outside of your own home? Wow, someone must be having a bad day!”
Turned into..
“Wow, you wore jeans today! With nothing special going on today? Wow, someone must be feeling fancy!”
Years ago, wearing sweatpants out and about gave you a free ticket to fashion jail. Sweatpants were primarily seen as pajamas, only to be worn in the comfort of our homes. However, in today’s world, you cannot walk down the street without seeing at least a few people strutting in their sweats. The same applies for other types of loungewear–leggings, sweatshirts, crewnecks. We are seeing the rise of comfort-based clothing, and the slow death of dress-up culture.
Our clothing often offers people the first glance into who we are as individuals. The way we choose to dress is a statement about ourselves, which is a main reason why sweatpants and other loungewear items are not to be seen on the streets. Even in settings with a sense of professionalism or an element of being fancier, the attire is not at the standard it used to be. Gatherings that would have a dress code of business casual are starting to resemble a living room movie night.
This shift in our style can be seen as both a blessing and a curse. On the positive side, there are many individuals who are actually more productive when they are dressed more casually. It is much easier to stay focused and feel comfortable in certain environments when less stress is placed on our outfit. However, the lack of dressing up can translate to a lack of professionalism. Due to our clothes saying a statement about who we are, certain individuals may view our assortment of sweatpants as laziness or unprofessionalism, or even perceive it as us not putting enough effort into our appearance. Employers, or professionals, may receive a negative image of who we are if we are not ‘dressing to impress.’
Even when it comes to social scenes and nightlife, there has been a decline in the outfits we wear to clubs, bars, and parties. For those who enjoy doing so, the weekends are often full of attending events and places where the dress code would be dressy casual or evening wear. Instead of throwing on our best heels and favorite skirts, more women are opting for jeans, shorts, or even leggings. A dirty martini and slippers, please!
Whether it be for personal preference or if we have all lost interest in sacrificing comfort for anything, the world has begun to dress down. Rest peacefully dresses and suits, the replacements have arrived. We will be wearing our fanciest sweatpants to the wedding ceremony, but our more casual ones to the reception.
