Sweatpants and other performance attire don’t need to be stashed in the I-don’t-care-today drawer. While they may be inappropriate for some occasions, they don’t have to cheapen your image.
jesse hart | rawr
University of Idaho junior Maddy Paterson browses through sweatpants at the VandalStore. SRC Intramural Director Butch Fealy said the proliferation of sweatpants and performance-wear may reflect the new era and that when he was in high school, the trend leaned more toward T-shirts tucked into bicycle shorts, or ripped jeans and parachute pants as opposed to sweat pants.
Peg Hamlett, fitness director at the Student Recreation Center, said she often wears professional sweat attire in her job, and the workout-ready garments aren’t cheaply made. Yoga pants, leggings and other pieces are crafted to endure with special cuts and styles, and are distributed by companies such as Under Armour, Hard Tail and Title Nine. Hamlett said they’re good for activities in and out of the gym.
“I think there’s a huge difference between big, baggy sweatpants some students wear that suggest (they rolled) into class and they didn’t care that much, and the more professional sweats,” she said.
Butch Fealy, SRC intramural director, said he tries to project a professional image to his students, and he dresses for whatever task he does — whether attending important meetings or moving soccer goals in the mud. The attire always depends on the situation, he said, and sometimes the sweats need to be replaced with a nice shirt, slacks and a tie.
“That’s the image I want my students to see — that recreation is a profession,” he said. “With all my duties (and) interactions I want to make sure that intramural sports is taken seriously (to show) that we don’t just roll balls out and play, but there’s a lot of learning and skill-development going on.”
Fealy said his own graduate school classes required him to wear business professional attire, and if he was a professor in a traditional classroom setting, he might not expect students in sweatpants and flip-flops to be prepared to deeply engage with the course material.
Though he hasn’t observed campus life much beyond the SRC, he said he sees many students in sweats and performance wear, and for the most part they’re doing something active and sweats-appropriate.
Fealy said each generation has its own styles and quirks. The proliferation of sweatpants and performance-wear may reflect the new era. He sees more flip-flops, moccasins, sweats and other comfortable clothing than he used to. When he was in high school, he said, the trend leaned more toward t-shirts tucked into bicycle shorts, or ripped jeans and parachute pants. People in the late 1980s and early ‘90s indulged the grunge look and wore more zippers, he said.
Fealy also said far fewer students shower after their workouts than he did in school. Most of them leave still wearing their workout gear and probably shower someplace more comfortable. Many students today stuff their bags with high-priced technology, and he said he doesn’t blame them for not hauling spare clothes, soap and shampoo that take up room and can spill on such pricy investments. These things could also reflect a cultural shift.
“There’s just not a communal shower culture anymore, and maybe that’s playing a part,” he said.
Hamlett said the classroom doesn’t have to be out-of-bounds for sweats, and students can benefit from more casual clothing. It simply takes a bit of care.
“You can learn more when you’re comfortable, but you can still look professional,” she said. “You just have to put a little more thought into it.”
Matt Maw can be reached at [email protected]