Sweatpants in Public: There’s Just No Excuse

As a college student, I think it is most important that we all sit down once and a while and think about all the things we’ve learned in our years. Not necessarily academic things, because lord knows I don’t remember a thing from freshmen year, but the important things: life, love, the pursuit of happiness, etc. etc.

I do this quite regularly during classes (I think it’s called “zoning out” or “not paying attention”), and recently realized the most valuable lesson I’ve ever learned.

Now please pay very close attention and re-read if necessary, because what I’m about to share with you is very, very valuable and apparently very, very difficult for college students to grasp:

Sweatpants are not meant to be worn in public, ever.

Before you even utter the word “comfortable,” bite your tongue. They are unflattering, lazy, and meant to be worn at home. Anything that has the word “sweat” in it should not be worn in public, and that should have been self-explanatory. Read More »


We’ve All Been There: Sweat Pant Weight Gain

muffintop.jpgWe’re well into another new school year and to honor that, we at CollegeCandy are bringing back the fan-favorite series, “We’ve All Been There.”  (We tried to get another national holiday/long weekend for you guys but it’s way harder than we thought so this will have to do.) Every week, Lauren – University of Michigan will comment on the common experiences all college women share – like blue book exams or, everyone’s favorite activity, procrastinating. Read, relate, cringe and enjoy.

Somehow you ended up with four 9am classes this semester. WTF? You can barely get up for your kickboxing class at noon on Fridays, and someone expects you to make it to class (ready to learn!?) by 8:50am the rest of the week?

Oh hell no.

You hope your professor doesn’t expect you to look presentable. Hell, he should just be happy you left yourself enough time to brush your teeth. Your morning routine is always the same: you roll out of bed at 8:30, grab the first pair of sweats you can find on the floor, throw your hair into a ponytail and run out of the house. You pop into the campus coffee shop en route to lecture and grab a coffee (“Giant, please!”) and something to munch on (“Give me the butteriest bagel you’ve got back there”).

What? It’s early and you need comfort.

You slide into your seat just as the Power Point appears on the wall in front of you. If it weren’t for the food, you’d probably fall right back to sleep – you’re just so comfortable. When class is over, you go to your next class, or to the library, or home for a nap. Whichever you choose, you sport the sweats for the rest of the day: through the classes, the breaks, the meals…

You spend so much time in your sweatpants during the week, in fact, that when the weekend comes and it is time to wear something that doesn’t say “Pink” across the ass you have trouble getting into them. No, not motivating yourself to get dressed; actually getting into them. After the first few weeks of classes your clothes feel a bit snug but you can still make em work (“I must have shrunk these a bit in the dryer….”). As the semester wears on, however, putting on your going-out-jeans has become a sweaty workout. Read More »


Cosmo Says the Darndest Things: May Edition

Just as I was wondering how Cosmo was still in business (after all, they repeat half of their articles, most of which are all filled with nonsense anyway), I found myself just a little bit excited that May was the “sexy issue.” Plus, Heidi Klum on the cover did happen to give this issue a little more merit in my book. (How can you not trust a girl who crushes designer’s dreams in such a sweet, Auf Wiedersehen way?) Of course, as soon as I started to flip the pages I remembered why I write this article in the first place.

First let’s refer to page 82, in which we receive advice on what to name our guy’s man parts. I don’t even care that actual males suggested the names “Shaftzilla” and “Big Daddy’s Cane”; don’t you remember when Kate Hudson tried to name Matthew McConaughey’s parts Princess Sophia?! Please, ladies: don’t name his parts unless you’re trying to lose your guy in (less than) 10 days.

And then in the article “For Keeps” we are told to throw away our sweat pants if we want to make sure we don’t lose our sexual energy in relationships. WHAT?! THROW AWAY MY COVETED SWEATPANTS? A world without sweat pants would be a terrible, terrible place. I understand the whole idea here – sweatpants aren’t sexy – but no man is important enough for me to ditch that luxurious feeling of slipping into sweats after a long day. I say, don’t throw away your “anti-lingerie,” as Cosmo calls them, just be sure to mix a little lacy lingerie in there once in awhile.

Cosmo also tells us to ditch our panties to get an adrenaline rush from breaking the rules. I mean, I’m all for going commando (especially when it’s been three weeks since I last did my laundry….(, but whatever happened to good old bungee jumping? If you’re going without panties for comfort and freedom, then by all means ditch ‘em, but doing it for the rush is, well… strange. Read More »


Wardrobe Wish List: Fragile Pull-On Pants

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When it comes to many things in life, including fashion, I’m a fan of odd, quirky things that leave people asking questions. No, I’m not going to start wearing fairy wings like one of the girls on What Not To Wear, but I did pick up a pair of pants last week that totally fit the bill. They were a pair of skinny pants by Fragile I found at T.J. Maxx for seventeen bucks, but which retail for $29 (sweet!). Had they not been at T.J. Maxx, I never would have fallen in love, as they are typically sold at Hot Topic, a store I haven’t stepped into since my friend’s goth days in high school.

The pants look like jeans, but function somewhat like sweat pants in that you basically pull them on and button the single button at the top. They feature back pockets, faux front pockets, and no zipper, so you can imagine my surprise when I took them off the hanger and unbuttoned them in the dressing room to discover… pants that were not actually jeans. I tried them on anyway and loved how they looked. They are low rise, so you can avoid that weird baggy look around your danger zone and are stretchy to fit a broader range of body shapes (they come in letter sizes instead of number sizes – pants for all!). Read More »


We’ve All Been There: The Sweat Pant Weight Gain

muffintop.jpgSomehow you ended up with four 9am classes this semester. WTF? You can barely get up for your kickboxing class at noon on Fridays, and someone expects you to make it to class (ready to learn!?) by 8:50am the rest of the week?

Oh hell no.

You hope your professor doesn’t expect you to look presentable. Hell, he should just be happy you left yourself enough time to brush your teeth. Your morning routine is always the same: you roll out of bed at 8:30, grab the first pair of sweats you can find on the floor, throw your hair into a ponytail and run out of the house. You pop into the campus coffee shop en route to lecture and grab a coffee (“Giant, please!”) and something to munch on (“Give me the butteriest bagel you’ve got back there”).

What? It’s early and you need comfort.

You slide into your seat just as the Power Point appears on the wall in front of you. If it weren’t for the food, you’d probably fall right back to sleep; you’re just so comfortable. When class is over, you go to your next class, or to the library, or home for a nap. Whichever you choose, you sport the sweats for the rest of the day: through the classes, the breaks, the meals… Read More »


The (Un)Official Guide to College Loungewear

sweats-girl.jpgCollege girls spend so much time focusing on finding the perfect pair of “classroom to club” jeans or comfy/cute campus shoes that they often forget about the clothing they’ll spend the most time in: loungewear.

Many people don’t realize that after walking around campus breaking in those new skinny jeans or working hard at that killer internship that the first thing you’ll want to do is throw on something comfortable upon dorm/apartment arrival. Here is a guide of what to look for while shopping for new loungewear.

PJ’s: Do not, I repeat DO NOT wear your pajamas to class! No matter how cute/expensive they are, nothing screams “I don’t give a sh*t about how I look” more than rocking a pair of ‘jammies to your Chem lecture. This may be acceptable for some of you who have super early (Read: 8 am) classes and labs, but try to wear them sparingly (and absolutely NO P.J.’s of any kind after noon); it’s kind of hard for your professor to take you seriously when your bottoms are covered in violet tiaras and have the word “Princess” inscribed on the butt in fuschia fabric glitter.

Wearing your pajamas are definitely okay in your dorm, since very few people will see you in them (and if they do, they will also be wearin’ em). Just remember to be smart about your pajama options, since you never know what you’ll have on when fire alarm inevitably goes off at 3 a.m. (Note: racy lingerie will not keep you warm as you sit outside for an hour). Victoria’s Secret’s PINK line is pretty much the official wardrobe of most college girls, but American Eagle’s Aerie collection also offers pajamas in simple plaid and polka dot patterns in soft, but not too girly, colors. Read More »