When I was a teenager, I vowed that I would never again wear sweatpants in an effort to prevent that downward slide into "schlumpyville". I bought a pair in university, but then vowed never to wear them outside. I bought a couple more pairs in subsequent years for workout purposes and vowed never to wear them apart from exercising. Then I had a baby. Now - I'm in sweatpants more often than not. Like Cathy. Poor form.
I'm not proud of my decline into sweatpants hell. Sweatpants were great right after I gave birth for lots of reasons, and I think it's totally appropriate for brand new moms to wear them. However...it's been a few months for me and the peanut and I have a pretty good routine going. There are no more excuses...time to give up the sweatpants. Help me on my journey! Here's what I've worked out:
The Issues
- sweatpants are the "easy" option - the fast food of clothes
- still not 100% back to my previous shape
- spend more time at home and have less incentive to change out of sweatpants
- need to find a casual basic that looks good and can replace the sweatpants
My Solutions
I'm already past the hard bit. I've admitted I have a sweatpants problem, and have acknowledged that I need to change. I will still have to wear them for working out, so I can't donate them to charity.
I've taken all my sweatpants, put them in a bag, and am storing them far from the rest of my clothes. They're still accessible for when I need them, but I can't just grab them and throw them on when I'm getting dressed in a hurry. I've also re-organized my closet to put casual options right up front where I can see them right away.
The obvious replacement for sweatpants is jeans. I have some good pairs that I'm happy to sub in for sweatpants. An even better option for me is throwing on a casual skirt and opaque tights. It's just as comfy as sweatpants, but looks like I'm actually making an effort. Choosing the right skirt is key, as it has to be easy to wear and must work with t-shirts and tanks. There are lots of great options at stores like Club Monaco and J.Crew. Here's one example at jcrew.com:
If you are a pregnant lady or have given birth in the last 4 months, you go ahead and wear your sweatpants if you want. You need to be comfortable and you have bigger things to worry about than your pants. For everyone else, you are too rad and too awesome to wear sweatpants all the time. Look for comfy basics that are easy to wear and stylish, and throw your sweatpants into your workout bag where they belong.
There's a Bruce McCulloch song from the '90s where he sings:
Life is sad
When you wear
Sweatpants and a raincoat
And you walk unescorted
And you go into Beckers
And you buy yourself
Some corn chips and some salsa
And you go home and eat them
While you read junk mail
I'm going to sing this to myself when I start slipping back into my sweatpants habits. One day at a time...
XOXO
Emily
Cathy comic via gocomics.com
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