Here I’m talking about how to style sweatpants.
What’s not to like about a good pair of sweatpants? They’re soft, warm, and comfortable, and owing to athleisure, they’re also extremely stylish.
I put together five different styles for you guys in different pairs of sweats.
What Should You Look For?
But first, let me tell you a little bit about what you should look for in order to choose the greatest pair of sweatpants for you.
Sweatpants were first made popular in the 1920s by the company Le Coq Sportif. It was created for athletes to stretch and be flexible in while warming up, as well as break a little sweat and get their muscles warmed up.
What you need to look for, though, is something that is a perfect fit for you.
Fit as always is what’s most important. You want something slim, but not skin-tight, because that will take away the comfort factor.
However, something that fits you around the waist in the same manner as a slim fit pair of jeans or chino trousers does around the thigh, fits perfectly.
I would usually recommend going with a lighter gray, just because it is the most versatile. Grey can be worn with brown, blue, black, and a variety of other colors.
If you’re looking for a pair that you’ll wear a lot, those are going to be your best bet, especially if it’s your first pair.
They do, however, come in a variety of attractive colors and patterns. You can acquire those as well for backup pairs, but keep in mind that you won’t be able to wear something like that nearly as much as you would something in a basic gray.
Now that you know the backstory, how they should fit, and what material and color to buy, let’s talk about how to style them.
Upscale Casual
The first is an upscale casual look, as I like to call it.
You’ll start with a simple button-down shirt and then layer a denim jacket over it. Finally, a pair of white minimal low-top sneakers.
You can also wear on a pair of fake glasses. Don’t forget that these can be worn as a regular piece of clothing.
This is an ensemble I would normally wear with chino pants or something a little dressier, but by switching to sweatpants, it becomes a little more of an upscale casual sweatpants style outfit.
You could wear this to a variety of places and blend right in. You could even look a little dressy in this, but because you’re wearing sweatpants, you’ll still be really stylish and comfortable.
Sporty Chic
Next, I’ve got a sporty chic look for you.
We’re going to start with a simple knit soft polo shirt. It can be buttoned all the way up, which I think adds a little more style.
You can tuck the front corner to give it a more dressy vibe, and it just adds a little extra to the look for my outerwear.
You can throw a light linen bomber jacket, which is very comfortable and easy to wear. After that, you can do personalized Air Max 1s for your feet. This outfit strikes me as a pretty traditional take on old-school athletic look.
A polo is really just a tennis shirt, a bomber jacket is very athletic and sporty, and finishing with a pair of sporty sneakers produces an overall look that is athletic inspired, but it’s still modern and very casual and stylish thanks to the way you put everything together and how it fits.
90s Vibes
This next look has a 90s vibe to it.
I’ve changed into a different pair of sweatpants that fit a little more like something you’d see in the 1990s. They still have a slim fit and are quite comfortable.
On top, we’ve got a simple hoodie, and to add some retro vibes, you’ll turn an Oxford style button-up shirt into a shirt belt and tuck it under the hoodie’s bottom.
When you tie it around your waist, it instantly adds some little grungy 90s vibes, but it also wonderfully breaks up the hoodie and sweatpants and adds just a little bit of sophistication, something extra that you didn’t have when you were just wearing the hoodie and sweatpants.
Then, in terms of footwear, we’re going to go for some chucks to channel some old school vibes.
It’s an old school inspired outfit that feels very 90s, but the nice thing is that if you’re going somewhere where you need to look a little bit more elevated, you can ditch the hoodie and put on the button-up shirt and all of a sudden you’re looking a little bit nicer, like we did in the first look.
Overall, it just provides you with a variety of possibilities, but even on its own, it is ideal for the springtime season and has a really stylish look.
Outdoorsy Chic
I’m calling number four “outdoorsy chic.”
I’ve replaced my gray sweatpants with a pair of black sweatpants that aren’t cuffed at the bottom. They’re basically like a regular pair of pants in that they’re open on both sides. What I prefer to do with these is make a cuff out of them, exactly as I would with a pair of jeans.
And because it’s open like that, I can pair it with some boots, which looks great with the sweatpants because they’re not cuffed on the bottom.
Then, over the top of the shirt, we’ve got a lovely Buffalo plaid flannel shirt to really bring home those outdoorsy vibes.
You’ve got a layered, really good spring look wearing on with an all-dark base layer and a splash of color, and you’ve switched up your usual sweatpants footwear.
It creates a unique look that is different from what everyone else is wearing while remaining highly comfortable and stylish.
Street Chic
Finally, for look number five, I’m going for a street chic vibe.
When I want to feel a little more edgy, a little more street wear inspired, this is absolutely one of my favorite ways to style sweatpants.
Start with just a hoodie; it doesn’t have to be a bright color; in fact, you might go with black to match the sweats.
This is a fantastic opportunity for those of you who enjoy wearing sneakers to really let your shoes speak for themselves.
I’m wearing these old school Jordans with a beanie on my head. It’s ideal for days when you don’t want to deal with your hair and don’t want to do it.
Then, around the outside, throw on an overcoat and you’ve got yourself a pretty great layered ensemble that’s stylish for a variety of events.
You can also do this in the springtime when the weather starts to warm up. Instead of a hefty wool overcoat, opt for a trench coat, which has a similar mood.
That’s all there is to it, guys.
Now you know how to style your sweatpants, what color to buy, what material to look for, and five various methods to style yourself in them to look great.
You don’t have to copy these word for word. Find similar items in your closet and combine them.
When I see a cool outfit on the street, or something in a store window or on a website when I’m shopping for clothes, I like to make a mental note of it and copy it myself.
Most of the outfits you see that work with jeans can easily be replaced with some beautiful fitted sweatpants and still look great.
