Christina VarvisLately I’ve been getting real tired of the judgement society, the media and grumpy old men who usually shake their fists at the clouds have been directing toward me and my sweatpants.
Long story short, apparently my decision to rock pair of black sweats a couple times a week gives the impression that I’m spiralling into an endless vortex of apathy.
Bullshit.
Granted, sweats aren’t exactly the pinnacle of professionalism. They don’t really scream “I’ve got my life together!” — in fact, they’re usually associated with “My life is a disaster and so is the area around me.” They’re not high rollers in the great fashion hierarchy, and you won’t see them grace the red carpet or Wall Street or even your three-year-old neighbour’s Spider-Man-themed backyard birthday party. And sure, maybe Karl Lagerfeld, head designer of the House of Chanel, once said that sweatpants were “a sign of defeat.” And sure, maybe all of these things might be true about sweats — to a degree. But damn, are they ever comfortable.
To put it frankly, if I’m facing the prospect of sitting through four hours of classes on a Wednesday and it’s still dark when I have to pry my sleep-heavy eyes open at 6:30 a.m., you’d better believe I’m not yanking on my jeans for all the sartorial status in this wonderful world we live in full of options. When there are comfy, cozy cotton blankets of leg-warmth lying right beside trousers forged from unforgiving lengths of over-washed cotton, Steven Meisel himself could not coax me into forgoing the inviting, relatively formless comfort of sweatpants for the stifling constriction of skinny jeans. Don’t we have enough restrictions in our lives? I think it’s fair to say if it’s midterms or finals season, you’re entitled to a pair of pants that lets you know your lower half is being swaddled with the clothing equivalent of a hug. Same goes for leggings, by the way.
Comfortable clothes should not be equated with laziness and boredom — most of the time it’s pure convenience, because I have better things to do on some select early mornings than dress for everyone else.
At the end of the day, it’s just better for everyone if we leave personal style alone and embrace the whole “Wear what you want and what makes you comfortable” mantra. Besides, there are way better things to think about than the judgement of other people’s clothing choices.
