Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.
When I fly home to San Francisco this afternoon I will stop brushing my hair, putting on makeup, and wearing real pants until the following Monday. Because really, nothing says “out of office” like sweatpants.
To wholly embrace the impending 48 hours of vacation, I’ve splurged on Everlane’s cashmere sweatpants. I can wear them to the office tomorrow morning, on the plane tomorrow night, and at the dinner table Thursday afternoon. I can wear them to the movies on Friday and the Santa Rosa mall on Saturday and wherever I do whatever on Sunday.
When worn with an oversized long-sleeved T-shirt, an extra large Uniqlo sweater, and thick wool socks, they are perfect for sitting in front of the TV and arguing with my dad over Fox News (he likes to watch all the networks, so he know what’s really going on). They will pass for real pants if you squint and I wear real shoes (and a proper shirt and jean jacket), and I swear that should the day come, I could even pair them with some elaborate and distracting top, ridiculous earrings, and stilettos and wear them to a real party.
I didn’t just buy them though — I did the kind of research one has to do before spending $140 on sweatpants. Below, the fruits of my research (and then some) to help you find the non-pants pants of your dreams, whether you want the real thing (Adidas) or a Fashion thing (shoutout to Rick Owens for making lounge pants looks so luxe) or a statement thing (and yes, I did seriously consider Juicy Couture’s), we’ve got you covered.