Throwback Tuesday — Revisiting activewear pants!

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This is a post from 2019 and I’m still the same way. I buy the same pants/capris/crops I did then (thankfully they haven’t been discontinued). I was “ruined” by the comfort of “activewear” which is a term they use locally. They no longer call them yoga pants because many of us who wear them do not do yoga. I have two pair of dress pants hanging in my closet and I can’t remember the last time I wore them. You can dress up activewear for most any occasion.

Styles go in and out and my idea of comfort does too. I don’t like snug, pinching or pants up my butt.

Twenty years ago I thought an elastic waist would be comfortable. It was, but it puffed out and gave the appearance of an umbrella coming out of my stomach. I trashed that style.

I kept my eye out because stretch is good. I was still wearing jeans and pants with fly zippers and snaps. Bending over made it cut or pinch. All that fabric at my waist was bulky and sometimes annoying. I wore larger pants to go out for dinner (burp!).

Manufacturers started to incorporate stretch in jeans. All good but still lots of fabric at my waist. They needed to do away with the zipper. (I won’t even go into when they lowered the waist to just above the pubic hair line and included a two inch zipper. Yikes. That was the pits!)

Then came the big yoga movement. The clothing went mainstream. Women wore it for everything. Women who didn’t do yoga (and had no intention of ever doing yoga) had a closet full of yoga pants.

I didn’t like the concept of “compression.” That means snug. Girdle tight. Nope, not me. Those manufacturers aren’t dumb. There are a lot of women like me. They like the easy fit waist with a close (but not tight) fit. (Oh yes, they priced them out of this world. Cha-ching, cha-ching!)

I was willing to pay if it was truly comfortable. Something multi-functional. I could wear it to do just about anything. Dress it up. Dress it down. Wear to dinner! I tried them. Winner, winner!

My jeans wardrobe didn’t go away. I have stretch jeans I love (with zippers) but I especially love my active clothes. (That’s what they call them now.) In the hot summer they are cooler. The fit is easier. The only problem was that you could only get them in black.

That’s changed too. Now you can get in many colors or multi-colored.

Yesterday I did some heavy duty cleaning. I had old jean shorts on. I couldn’t wait to take them off and go back to my “active” pants.

I’ve worn some crazy stuff over the years. Bell bottoms that sat under my belly and were so wide I could sweep the streets. Jeans that you lay down to zip up. Stovepipe pant legs that look like elephant legs. All gone by the wayside along with the football shoulder pads.

The pants I bought this spring are called hiking pants/crops/capris. Very thin and cool with a stretchy waist but the fabric doesn’t stretch. It doesn’t matter because they drape well. It’s like wearing nothing. Love them. Perfect for a hot day but not for cold weather. I could do yoga in them. Hmmm…have yoga pants gone out?

23 thoughts on “Throwback Tuesday — Revisiting activewear pants!”

  1. I am still wearing L.L.Bean shorts with the longer inseam and their pants that you suggested. Just a couple of their pants but they are lightweight and not too hot here. They look great with Birks and other sandals. Love their stretch cargo shorts and vista camp pants. I hardly ever wear jeans anymore. L.L. Bean is my choice these days and we now have a store a half hour away. They have a beautiful store… huge with a big selection… as you know!

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    • 99% of my clothing comes from LL Bean or Chico’s. More $$ but they last forever. I have some Athleta bottoms from at least 10 years ago that I still wear but the last few years, their sizing didn’t fit my body. We have a local Bean too so easy peasy. Even if I have to order because they don’t have my size locally, I can return to the store. I also catch sales. I have 3 pair of jeans left and they are Bean stretch which they discontinued several years ago. They are for transitional seasons. I wear the Bean lined pants for winter.

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  3. Ah, the holy grail of clothing: a good fitting, nice looking pair of pants that can be dressed up or down. I have yet to procure this animal, but am always on the hunt. A comfy track suit is my daily uniform now. I have yoga pants, but actually just wear them to yoga class, or the gym. I think my dressing to look even remotely nice days are long behind me. I am in the “I don’t give a crap” phase of life, and I’m quite enjoying it.

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    • I am always on the look out too. I have multiples of a few styles. Most of my pants are from LL Bean these days. You can throw on some jewelry, a nice top, and they look dressed up. I still have two pair of mighty fine dress pants that I very rarely wear because I can dress up my other stuff and it’s more comfortable. Agreed on the “I don’t give a crap” phase. I started wearing earrings occasionally because my pierced holes were growing shut but that’s about it. I have never liked the feel of lipstick but that’s a whole different story.

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  4. I’m tall (5′ 9″) and have been that height since I was a teenager. I could never get pants that were long enough that I didn’t look like I was waiting for the floods. And, if I could find “tall” pants at the “tall shop”, they were cut too high and were long waisted, so they fit funny. I used to make wool shorts for the Fall months, but didn’t wear them to school, just for casual wear at home or on weekends. Do you remember when they were a thing with knee socks and pullover sweaters? I made a few pair and bought a few pair in wide-wale corduroy to wear with long-sleeved tee-shirts. When capris came out on the market I was ecstatic. Finally, I could be stylish without having to endure heavy jeans in the Summer months just because jeans came in a long enough inseam.

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    • I am short but have a 30″ inseam (same as my 6′ husband). I’ve never been able to buy cheap pants because they are cut closer to 29″ and yep, high waters! I remember the long shorts with knee highs for winter. I didn’t wear them because the made me look shorter. Even as a teenager I was conscious of style and my body shape.

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    • I bought something and it’s made from recycled water bottles! ???? I didn’t realize it when I bought it but it’s pretty comfortable. I try to stay away from 100% cotton because of the shrinkage. They start out fitting me, then end up as doll’s clothes!

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  8. I’m still wearing mens joggers and tees. I have one frock I wore once in 2017, two pairs of ‘posh’ trousers, once of which has never fit me right, and two skirts from my days in the office (20 years ago). I do have two pairs of ‘cropped’ pants which are black lycra with coppery knees due to a lot of washing and drying outside. They are comfy on hot days.

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  10. Thanks for the morning giggle. I’ve always kind of struggled with what kind of pants are best for me…..I’m still wearing jeans – stretch one now but “skinny”. Then a comfy – mostly “out” top. Forget about tucking in – I no longer tuck……period. I recently got a clothes catalog from a company that seems to specialize in “classy but matronly” clothes. Not bad. After all I’m almost 80 and perhaps skinny jeans aren’t what most women my age wear anyway. Yes I’m fighting the inevitable. What I don’t want is people pointing and giggling when they see me. Other than my husband of course – he’s allowed!

    Hugs, Pam

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    • I rarely wear jeans although I have stretch ones for the fall-spring timeframe. I have warmer pants for the winter and wear shorter pants for the summer. Out tops always. Even though I’m thin, I’m shortwaisted so if I tuck, it looks like my pants are right under my boobs! Not a good look! :)

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