Sweatpants are a

casual Casual or Casuals may refer to: * Casual wear, a loosely defined dress code **Business casual a loosely defined dress code **Smart casual a loosely defined dress code * Casual Company, term used by the United States military to describe a type of ...

variety of soft trousers intended for comfort or athletic purposes, although they are now worn in many different situations. In the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa they are known as tracksuit bottoms. In Australia and New Zealand, they are also commonly known as trackpants, trackies, tracky daks or joggers. In the Philippines, they are called "jogging pants".

History

The first pair of sweatpants was introduced in the 1920s by

Émile Camuset Émile Camuset was a French clothing merchant in the 19th century. He was the founder of the Le Coq Sportif sports equipment company. He began the company in 1882 with the opening of a little hosiery store in Romilly-sur-Seine, in a part of the C ...

, the founder of Le Coq Sportif. These were simple knitted gray jersey pants that allowed athletes to stretch and run comfortably. Sweatpants became commonplace at the Olympic Games by the late

1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will be ...

s, and were seen on many athletes in the decades that followed.

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized as adidas since 1949) is a German multinational corporation, founded and headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, that designs and manufactures shoes, clothing and accessories. It is the largest sportswear manufactur ...

introduced the tracksuit that combined the sweatpants with a track top in 1964, which paved the way for

fitness fashion Fitness culture is a sociocultural phenomenon surrounding exercise and physical fitness. It is usually associated with ''gym culture'', as doing physical exercises in locations such as gyms, wellness centres and health clubs is a popular activity ...

. The rise of fitness culture, as well as the birth of hip hop in 1980s America, led to the popularization of sweatpants as both leisurewear and

streetwear Streetwear is a style of casual clothing which became global in the 1990s. It grew from New York hip hop fashion and Californian surf culture to encompass elements of sportswear, punk, skateboarding and Japanese street fashion. Eventually hau ...

. College students also contributed to sweatpants' rise in popularity in the United States. Since the 1910s, "sportswear" has been a staple in college campus style and in the 1970s and 80s designers began reimagining the " jersey knit fabric that had been used for gym garb" into clothes for students' everyday wear. Despite their rise in popular culture, sweatpants were often criticized in mainstream media in the 1990s and early 2000s; in the American sitcom ''

Seinfeld ''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld. It aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, over nine seasons and List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It stars Seinfeld as Jerry Seinfeld ( ...

'', the title character, Jerry, tells his friend "you're telling the world you've given up" when he appears in sweatpants. Fashion shifted during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting increase in

remote work Remote work, also called work from home (WFH), work from anywhere, telework, remote job, mobile work, and distance work is an employment arrangement in which employees do not commute to a central place of work, such as an office building, ware ...

. Sales of sweatpants have increased since 2019, and many high-end and

haute couture ''Haute couture'' (; ; French for 'high sewing', 'high dressmaking') is the creation of exclusive custom-fitted high-end fashion design that is constructed by hand from start-to-finish. Beginning in the mid-nineteenth century, Paris became th ...

fashion brands have moved toward creating simpler, athletic-inspired looks.

Design

Sweatpants are usually made from stretchy knitted jersey fabrics of differing weights, including single jersey, double jersey, fleeceback jersey, and loopback jersey (terry). They are a pull-on style pants and often have a flexible elasticated waistband with a drawstring closure. They may or may not have a fly and pockets. Some sweatpants can also feature elasticized cuffs at the hem of the leg. Sweatpants are traditionally ash gray in color but are now available in most colors. Traditionally quite "baggy" and loose, sweatpants are now also available in more form-fitting shapes; moreover, they have flexibility and comfort.

Culture

At one time, these pants were only worn for sporting events and at home. Now, they are available in many fashionable styles and are worn in a variety of public situations. Because of their comfort and fashion, they have become a popular choice of clothing. Sweatpants may come from many different materials and in many forms including thick and thin. Sweatpants are sometimes associated with certain lifestyles such as gym culture or

hip-hop culture Hip hop or hip-hop is a culture and art movement that was created by African Americans, Latino Americans and Caribbean Americans in the Bronx, New York City. Hip hop culture is characterized by four key elements: rapping, DJing and turntabli ...

. This niche-specific perception of sweatpants since the 1980s has at times resulted in extensive dress code regulations with some outlets outright banning the wearing of sweatpants on their premises, including some German cafés and a substantial number of nightclubs worldwide.

Variations

There are many variations on sweatpants design that have evolved to define their own categories of athletic pants. These variations include ''fashion pants'', ''windpants'', ''tearaway pants'', and ''muscle pants''.

Fashion pants

''Fashion pants'' typically refers to fashion conscious sportswear. These pants are often made from a variety of materials, like velvet or satin, and in many color combinations or patterns. One distinguishing characteristic is that fashion pants generally lack the elastic band at the ankles. They are considered a form of athleisure wear.

Windpants

''Windpants'' are similar to sweatpants but are lighter and shield the wearer from cold wind rather than insulate. Windpants are typically made of polyester or nylon, with a liner made of cotton or polyester. The nylon material's natural friction against both itself and human legs makes "swooshing" sounds during walking. Windpants often have zippers on each ankle, letting athletes unzip the end of each leg, allowing the pants to be pulled over their footwear.

Tearaway pants

''Tearaway pants'', also known as ''breakaway pants'', ''rip-off pants'', or ''popper pants'' are closely related to windpants. Tearaway pants are windpants with snap fasteners running the length of both legs. The snaps allow athletes to remove their tearaway pants in a timely manner to compete in some sports. Basketball and track and field are the two sports most commonly associated with tearaway pants.

References

{{Clothing 21st-century fashion Sportswear Trousers and shorts