Seriously people… sweats and jeans are not equivalent. Think of your local “nice” restaurant. Certainly not Michelin rated, but not Friday’s either. A place with good food, a nice bar, and candles, but still casual. They welcome both the neighborhood and the after-work crowd. They welcome jeans. They do NOT welcome sweat pants. This is how you can tell that they’re not the same thing.
And it’s not like the choice is between sweats and pants that don’t fit properly, that’s a copout. FIND some pants that fit properly. I assure you they exist.
Yeah, I know… you’re too busy, you don’t care, you have better things to do. If I thought that any of you were curing cancer or feeding the homeless or negotiating peace in the middle east or uncovering the secrets of the universe, I might agree. Somehow I suspect you’re not. Take an hour out of your life and buy some clothes that fit you.
Actual pants have fasteners and come in numbered sizes. Any item of clothing that has a drawstring and a letter on the tag and can be worn whether you gain or lose twenty pounds is pajamas.
I get out plenty. Like most people over the age of five, I’m also capable of delayed gratification. Instead of seeing a new restaurant and going “Ooh, shiny! Must go there right now!” I am able to make plans to go there at some future time. At which time I will be dressed quite appropriately.
I’m also capable of planning ahead, as in knowing when I’m just going to be out running ho-hum errands, and when I’m planning to, say, spend the day with my sweetie and do shopping and lunch or dinner. I would most likely dress more nicely for the latter than the former.
AND as several people have done in this thread, I’m also capable of distinguishing between an “event” such as dining out in a nice restaurant with other people, and just bopping around town by myself running errands.
I was going to ask if you would expect hubby to shower and change in the middle of a work project if he needs to run to Home Depot for some widgets, so he can look nice for Joe-Bob in the widget department, but I don’t think I want to know the answer.
I did run an agency that fed the homeless for a decade and if I had worn sweats they would have complained that I was embarrassing them and that the Director should dress better so that I could get them some more money ; )
I think it’s related to the social cues we’ve cultivated. Slacks and jeans and button-down shirts have been tailored, while sweats, sheatshirts are not (I’m talking about the standard “grey sweats” style). In the olden days, before Wal-Mart, clothes had to be taken to a tailor, or touched up at home, in order to fit properly. This was an indictor of someone who had money and/or time, and was thus higher up on the social ladder. These social cues are still around, and thus, sweats=sloppy/poor look, and tailored slacks=classy/rich.
Sorry sweats-wearers - to me, you all look like a bunch of slobs who do not take care of yourselves. I’m all about social cues, and I would never date or hire someone who wore sweats in a public setting (not necessarily to run to the corner store). I am puzzled by people who say they “don’t care how they look” Really? You’ve been able to turn off all evolutionary desires to appear to be the best looking? How’s that working out for you?
I don’t think anyone said they don’t ever care how they look. I think most of us have the social awareness to cue in when casual, business casual, business dress, formal and utter slob are or are not appropriate. I sometimes run to the supermarket in sweats (they’re generally clean and they actually fit me) but I always dress appropriately for social or business situations and it’s working out pretty well for me, thanks for asking!
For some people, jeans will never be comfy. Never.
No no. That said sloppy running shorts OR cargo shorts. The ‘sloppy’ modifies the running shorts, not the cargo pants.
Thank you for explaining that! I don’t agree, but that was one of the things I’ve been confused about all along. The sweatpants I have don’t have a drawstring but I think that’s a minor nitpick. By letter do you mean S, M, L, etc.? A lot of my dresses have that, instead of numbered sizes.
Thank you too, Satyern. This also makes more sense than ‘just because you look like a slob!’. Again, I disagree that wearing sweats makes one look like a slob, but this is a reasonable explanation as to why some people think so.
I also don’t think people “don’t care how they look”. I think they don’t equate sweatpants with slob.
Here are some ‘old-lady’ pants. Are these better than sweat pants? They have an elastic waist and are loose fit. How are they different?
Well, I do own a mirror, and I’m not delusional, so I’m already pretty aware that I will never “be the best looking” in any given group. My looks are utterly, utterly average, and no amount of tailored clothing or makeup is going to change that to any significant degree. I suppose I could spend my time trying to achieve the impossible, but I’d quite frankly prefer to spend it doing something more productive like rearranging my sock drawer or flossing the cat.
I’m perfectly content to make sure that I’m clean and brushed and appropriate for my intended venue. Sometimes said venue is scooping dog shit and doling out food and medication at 8 on a Sunday morning, and maybe popping into the store for some eggs and milk on the way home. Dressing “cute” isn’t appropriate for crawling around scrubbing cages with bleach solution, you know? And anyone who thinks I’m going to take a change of clothes to run into a nearly deserted store for five minutes is cuh-RAZY. It’s not like I’m covered with stains, with bedhead and dragon breath, fercrissakes.
So far, it’s working out just fine for me, thanks. I’ve got a great life filled with great people, including a husband who thinks I’m gorgeous even when I haven’t showered in three days because I’ve been too busy hanging my head over the toilet. And I’ve got a very handy shibboleth for sifting the fucking snobs out of my life.
I love wearing sweatpants. I find them comfortable, especially the kind with pocketsesss. I wear them whenever I don’t feel like I need to make an impression. Grocery? Yup. Target? Yup. Car shopping? Yup. Friends over for a BBQ? Yup. In fact, I pretty much wear sweats any time I’m not at work.
My favorite pair are currently an weird orange color that used to be green (my wife bleached them by accident). They’ve got a big old hole in the knee and look terrible. Which is why I love them.
I’m past the point in my life where I worry what others think about my clothes, unless I’m applying for a job or going to a wedding/funeral. I wouldn’t try to deliberatly insult someone with what I’m wearing, but if they’re so fragile as to get offended by me wearing sweats to TGI Fridays then I’m gonna assume that they’re not someone I want to know. Since that’s the case, what does it matter what they think?
Jeez. I probably spent that much on the equivalent of a third of my wardrobe.
I don’t think this works, as I’m currently wearing jeans to work that
This is a ridiculous characterization. It says a lot about your point that you have to invent such an extreme scenario just to support it. No one is screaming, no mouths are foaming, and no one has asserted that clothes say nothing about a person. What many folks are saying is that making a value judgment about people based on what they are wearing, without having any context, and knowing absolutely fuck-all else about them, is shallow, stupid and pointless, and that many of us care a great deal more about what *we *think than the biased, uninformed, poorly derived opinions of random strangers in the supermarket. Good for you that you have sufficient free time for such an exercise. Some of us have more important things to think about.
I’m confused by the use of the word “cute” as it applies to clothes here. I have seen plenty of girls running around in yoga pants, with a layered t-shirt thing going on on top, and they look plenty cute. Not sloppy, not overly revealing, just cute. If I saw them dressed that way at, say, a fancy restaurant, I wouldn’t think they looked appropriate, but that doesn’t mean they don’t look cute. Running errands, they look cute, and reasonably appropriate for the situation as well.
The way I’ve seen girls walking around with jeans so low you can tell that they have a brazilian and their thongs hanging out in the back, I’m just relieved when most of the flesh is covered up.
I never wore them in public prior to this year because I never owned any. Now that I’m going to the gym 2-3 times a week, I wear them there and back, and often stop to pick up something at the grocery on the way home. If people are offended by it, tough shit.
I only don’t wear sweats because I don’t own any. My daily attire tends toward simple cotton-blend, elastic waist pants like these and simple tops or sweaters. This is sufficient for my work, and for running errands and walking the dog. If I’m going somewhere special, then I’ll wear something more tailored or polished, but for day to day, definitely not.
If someone is looking at what I wear, which is clean and pressed, doesn’t smell and fits appropriately, and making a negative judgment about me because it’s not fancy or “cute” enough for the Walgreen’s or the Costco or the post office, they aren’t someone who is worth my time to know, so I really don’t care what they think. The value judgments of the shallow are meaningless to me.
If we have to run to the liquor store (for example) which is two blocks from the house, we’ll both put on a pair of jeans. The point is not whether someone else cares how I’m dressed, the point is that I care how I’m dressed and how I want to present myself out in public.
Would I date a guy if he wore sweats in public? Eh - depends. If he’s playing softball or something, fine. If we’re going to the track to watch horse racing? Nope. That’s a big “No Go” there.
I don’t own sweatpants, so it’s kind of a moot point for me.
However, I would never, ever wear sweatpants or equivalent (such as basketball shorts, which I do own) in public unless I were exercising. When I leave the apartment I like to look sharp, regardless of where I’m headed. One never knows whom he may run into, after all, and it simply makes me feel good about myself to be well-dressed and well-groomed.
I take pride in my apperance, want people to know that, and don’t want anybody I meet to get a mistaken impression of me (that I’m lazy, or a slob for instance). If ever the day comes when I can’t be bothered to throw on a nice pair of jeans (and I’m more and more feeling underdressed in jeans) and a button-down to run to the store, I will be disappointed with myself.
And yes, I absolutely judge other people on their appearance. I would and do think less of people who show up to even a supermarket in sweatpants, basketball shorts, etc… I felt the same way about people who showed up like that in my college classes.
One time I liked this girl in my class who always wore pajama pants, but before I could ask her out she started banging this other guy who always wore sweatpants.
