As the weather gets increasingly colder, the urge to slip into something soft and warm becomes stronger. Every year, I see dozens of students roaming the hallways dressed in sweatpants. Girls can cheat the system by wearing leggings under long tunics or dresses, but guys just look downright lazy when they show up in sweatpants to school.
And no, it doesn’t improve your look if your sweatpants have a college logo ironed on the side of a pant leg.
Dictionary.com describes sweatpants as “loose-fitting pants of soft, absorbent fabric, as cotton jersey, usually with a drawstring at the waist and close-fitting or elastic cuffs at the ankles” and says that they are “commonly worn during athletic activity for warmth or to induce sweating.”
Sweatpants are strictly meant to be worn to athletic events or at home on a lazy Sunday. But when students wear sweatpants to school, they portray themselves as unmotivated and sleepy. Students may even begin to feel lethargic because baggy sweatpants are perfect for a relaxed environment, like home.
Sweatpants also make weight-gain more likely. Because of the stretchy waist-band, you may gain weight and not realize it. Eventually sweatpants will be the only item that fits you because you cannot squeeze into anything else.
Instead of wearing sweatpants, students should buy three pairs of pants that fit them well. For guys this means buying jeans that don’t fall off or buying a belt. For girls, this means being able to pull on pants without having to suck in the tummy or lie down on the bed. Beware that some pants may shrink in the wash.
If the weather is a problem, find jeans insulated with fleece.
Sweatpants will never be flattering on anyone, so don’t try to find fashionable sweatpants; they don’t exist. Instead, go shopping and buy jeans, corduroys or even linen pants.
Anything will look better than sweatpants.
melissa • Aug 8, 2010 at 1:45 pm
ZOMG SWEATPANTS CAUSE WEIGHT GAIN
yukyukyuk • Jun 7, 2010 at 8:40 pm
omg lindsey youre liek sooo mean stop having opinionzzzzz
**** • Mar 2, 2010 at 11:19 am
i think its funny how the most commented B and W article of all time is about pants. beautiful.
Thisisridiculous • Mar 1, 2010 at 12:37 am
Tim Gcoff- she obviously has a life. She isn’t sitting at home, wearing sweatpants, and commenting on other peoples articles on theblackandwhite.net (unlike some people).
IPLAYWITHSTARWARSgaLEGOS • Mar 1, 2010 at 12:34 am
Technically, the author of this piece is correct in her analysis of sweatpants. This correctness stems not from the content of her depiction, but rather from nature of analysis itself.
The essence of sweatpants was not something that existed prior to the creation of sweatpants. Perhaps the thread bearer who crafted the first pair had some idea as to the design of her creation, however appearance is only part of essence. For example, before the existence of the television, those working to create it new that they wished to produce something that was box shaped and served the specific purpose of projecting images onto its screen. What they did not know was the function of this television in society. They did not know how humans would truly treat the device. The place of television in society is as much a part of its essence as its appearance, and yet it did not exist until the conception of the technology.
With that said, the same applies to sweatpants. While they may have been designed to serve the purpose of being warm and comfortable, that is again, only part of the essence. If someone uses a pair of sweats to bandage a wound, then the potential to serve as a bandage becomes a part of the essence of sweatpants. With that established, it would follow naturally that if sweatpants are worn on occasion by those who are sloth-like and unmotivated, that this use become part of their essence.
Thus, because the qualities enumerated by the author in the preceding piece are infact qualities pertaining to the essence of sweatpants, Ms. Galego is infact correct in her thesis.
jonokaufman • Mar 1, 2010 at 12:09 am
Sometimes when I wear sweatpants and get called to the front desk I embarrass myself.
Higburt • Feb 28, 2010 at 11:05 pm
I can’t believe everyone has to criticize an article that clearly shows one person’s opinion. Obviously most people look like slobs wearing sweatpants. It’s not like this well-written article is banning sweatpants, no need to feel threatened. If you take something like this so seriously, maybe YOU should get a life instead of telling Lindsey to get one. Feel free to wear what you want if you’re comfortable and happy with it, but don’t waste your time arguing with someone on valid points. Sure, it’s not like everyone can gain weight from regularly wearing sweatpants, but the flexible band doesn’t really clue you in on a newly formed muffin top. LunaLovegood, if you wrote a similar article about spaghetti strap shirts, you would probably also get grief for your personal opinion on that type of clothing. Seriously, everyone, lighten up, this is pathetic.
Jeremy Klitzman • Feb 28, 2010 at 10:50 pm
Yay for people reading the black and white!!
Someone should write a letter to the editor…
ALSO AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, CHECK OUT THE SPECTATOR RIGHT NOW! WE WRITE EVEN MORE CONTROVERSIAL ARTICLES AND ARE SLIGHTLY MORE ATTRACTIVE! CLICK THE LINK AT THE TOP RIGHT OF THIS PAGE.
And finally, The Post actually picked up Lindsey’s opinion and had some thoughts on it too. Check it out
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/answer-sheet/montgomery-county-public-schoo/are-sweatpants-too-sloppy-to-w.html
Arcea • Feb 28, 2010 at 1:51 am
sweatpants are sexy (on guys, NOT girls), comfy, and warm. What’s not to love?
LunaLovegood • Feb 28, 2010 at 12:53 am
Other factors that may induce wearing sweatpants (besides your assumption that laziness and/or lethargy are the cause): the fairly widespread practice of NOT treating the halls of your high school like a runway, the fact that they are warmer than jeans, the fact that people (boys, especially) can still manage to look decent by wearing a nice, ribbed, long-sleeve shirt (although we can not discount the efforts of the underclassman who still think it’s appropriate to wear skin tight, spaghetti-strap tank tops to school, or would this qualify as a “flattering” look??)
Other factors that may induce weight gain: improper eating habits, lack of exercise
Other factors that may induce a large number of males to wear “athletic” clothing: the fact that they are athletes, the fact that sweatpants don’t restrict movement
Other factors that may induce the Whitman population to appear “sleepy”: the fact that they are juniors, the fact that they go to whitman (I honestly cannot fathom how you managed to describe whitman students as “unmotivated” without noticing A LITTLE irony)
Products no one really wants to buy: fleece-lined jeans (as this would severely limit their use in the non-winter months)
googlearthrocks • Feb 24, 2010 at 3:57 pm
just because they could possibly make you look lazy doesnt mean you arrrreeee lazy. as long as youre clothed, who cares……
Tom Gcoff • Feb 23, 2010 at 12:20 am
HAHahahahaha get a life. I love how you think you can tell us what we can and can’t wear. Sweat pants are for comfort. Saying that “anything will look better than sweat pants”? So your point is that it doesn’t look good? This is a joke. I”ll wear my sweat pants for as long as I want to. Get a life and talk about something that actually matters. Sweatpants are not hurting anyone, and saying that sweat pants make you look lazy is strictly a bias statement.
emc2 • Feb 4, 2010 at 11:45 pm
nice one, rachel! while those are definitely the ultimate mom-pants, they look oh-so-comfy.
Rachel Nussbaum • Feb 4, 2010 at 12:41 am
http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/35145?page=fleece-lined-double-l-jeans-relaxed-fit
ah, much better.
Stephen R. Werner • Feb 3, 2010 at 9:35 pm
Great comment MCW! You’ve got to be kidding me, you don’t feel sleepier in sweatpants and you definitely dont gain weight because of it either. Im wearing them right now and I feel great. Also, whos ever heard of jeans insulated with fleece.
Morgan C. Werner • Dec 22, 2009 at 7:59 pm
lol good one michi
Michi Bloom • Dec 21, 2009 at 12:15 am
Literally, are you joking? Sweatpants are comfortable and generally awesome. Sure, they don’t look stylish maybe, but is it always important to look stylish? This article just reinforces the idea that people always need to look put together and frankly thats sad.
Deniz Ulusan • Dec 18, 2009 at 11:44 am
I wear sweats all the time. I see no problem with it. I like to feel comfortable. I don’t like feeling uncomfortable. I don’t have a personal hygiene probl3m.
Hey • Dec 17, 2009 at 6:51 pm
How is it lazy to want to be comfortable? This article is mean and unfair.