Sweatpants are a casual variety of soft

trousers Trousers (British English), slacks, or pants ( American, Canadian and Australian English) are an item of clothing worn from the waist to anywhere between the knees and the ankles, covering both legs separately (rather than with cloth extending ...

intended for

comfort Comfort is a state of physical or psychological ease, often characterized by the absence of hardship. Individuals experiencing a lack of comfort are typically described as uncomfortable or in discomfort. A degree of psychological comfort can b ...

or athletic purposes, although they are now worn in many different situations. In the United Kingdom, they are called joggers. In Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa they are known as tracksuit bottoms or trackies. In Australia and New Zealand, they are also commonly known as trackpants, tracky daks. They are also referred to as jogging pants in Canada.

History

The first pair of sweatpants was introduced in the 1920s by Émile Camuset, the founder of Le Coq Sportif. These were simple knitted gray

jersey Jersey ( ; ), officially the Bailiwick of Jersey, is an autonomous and self-governing island territory of the British Islands. Although as a British Crown Dependency it is not a sovereign state, it has its own distinguishing civil and gov ...

pants that allowed athletes to stretch and run comfortably. Sweatpants became commonplace at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international Olympic sports, sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a Multi-s ...

by the late 1930s, and were seen on many athletes in the decades that followed.

Adidas Adidas AG (; stylized in all lowercase since 1949) is a German athletic apparel and footwear corporation headquartered in Herzogenaurach, Bavaria, Germany. It is the largest sportswear manufacturer in Europe, and the second largest in the ...

introduced the

tracksuit A tracksuit is an article of clothing consisting of two parts: trousers and a jacket usually with a front zipper. Also known as ''sweatsuits'' or ''trackies'', tracksuits are designed to keep the body warm during and after athletic activity. It w ...

that combined the sweatpants with a track top in 1964, which helped popularize athletic fashion. The rise of

fitness culture 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 acti ...

, as well as the birth of

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

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 fashion, punk, Skateboarding#Culture, skateboarding, 1980s no ...

. 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 "

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 that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...

'', 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 The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

and the resulting increase in

remote work Remote work (also called telecommuting, telework, work from or at home, WFH as an initialism, hybrid work, and other terms) is the practice of work (human activity), working at or from one's home or Third place, another space rather than from ...

. Sales of sweatpants have increased since 2019, and many high-end fashion brands have moved toward creating simpler, athletic-casual inspired looks.

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 culture is an art movement that emerged in New York City, in the borough of The Bronx; Primarily within the black community. Hip Hop as an art form and culture has been heavily influenced by both male and female artists. It is charac ...

. 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 Velvet is a type of woven fabric with a dense, even pile (textile), pile that gives it a distinctive soft feel. Historically, velvet was typically made from silk. Modern velvet can be made from silk, linen, cotton, wool, synthetic fibers, silk ...

satin A satin weave is a type of Textile, fabric weave that produces a characteristically glossy, smooth or lustrous material, typically with a glossy top surface and a dull back; it is not durable, as it tends to snag. It is one of three fundamen ...

, 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 Athleisure is a hybrid style of athletic clothing typically worn as everyday wear. The word is a portmanteau combining the words 'athletic' and 'leisure'. Athleisure outfits can include tracksuits, sports jackets, hoodies, yoga pants, tight ...

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