Sweatpants: Difference between revisions

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 (fabric)|jersey]] pants that allowed athletes to stretch and run comfortably.<ref>{{cite web |first=Brian |last=VanHooker |url=https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/the-cultural-history-of-sweatpants |title= The Cultural History of Sweatpants | work=[[MEL Magazine]] |date=November 24, 2017}}</ref> Sweatpants became commonplace at the [[Olympic Games]] by the late 1930s, and were seen on many athletes in the decades that followed.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=2017-11-24|title=The Cultural History of Sweatpants|url=https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/the-cultural-history-of-sweatpants|access-date=2021-09-27|website=MEL Magazine|language=en-US}}</ref> [[Adidas]] introduced the [[tracksuit]] that combined the sweatpants with a track top in 1964, which helped popularize athletic fashion.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Guzzetta|first=Marli|title=Athleisure Used to Be Just an Outfit. Here's How It Became a Lifestyle|url=https://www.inc.com/magazine/201906/marli-guzzetta/athleisure-athletic-wear-clothing-apparel-brands-tracksuit[https://namedcollective.shop/ -]yoga-pants.html|date=2019}}</ref> 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]].<ref name=":02">{{Cite web|date=2017-11-24|title=The Cultural History of Sweatpants|url=https://melmagazine.com/en-us/story/the-cultural-history-of-sweatpants|access-date=2021-09-27|website=MEL Magazine}}</ref>

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 (fabric)|jersey]] knit fabric that had been used for gym garb" into clothes for students' everyday wear.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Clemente |first1=Deirdre |title=Dress Casual: How College Students Redefined American Style |date=2014 |publisher=UNC Press Books |isbn=978-1-4696-1408-3 }}{{pn|date=December 2022}}</ref> Despite their rise in popular culture, sweatpants were often criticized in mainstream media in the 1990s and early 2000s; in the American sitcom ''[[Seinfeld]]'', the title character, Jerry[https://namedcollective.shop/ ,] tells his friend "you're telling the world you've given up" when he appears in sweatpants.