“Sweatpants are a sign of defeat. You lost control of your life so you bought some sweatpants”, said a certain Karl Lagerfeld about the universally accepted garment that has become a mainstay in most luxury brands’ collections thanks to a certain Virgil Abloh (of Off-White fame). It was actually cult brand Vetements that first brought the track pant into the high end realm with trendy reiterations that made fashion folks quickly jump on the bandwagon and style them in all sorts of crazy. The kind of crazy that worked. 

The athleisure trend exploded in 2013/14 and has proven its staying power in fashion-forward cities like Tokyo and NYC. You can’t seem to open a street style album without seeing the ubiquitous pant worn either high or low: full on sporty or all glammed up. Can’t blame those who succumbed, it’s hella comfy and airy enough for tropical weather like ours. It’s so much fun to style and gives off a cool-girl, effortless vibe that’s actually extremely easy to achieve. Really, all it requires is a bit of imagination and inspiration from fashion folks coupled with your own signature look and you’re set! 

When I recently interviewed Big Boy Cheng at home, we were in matching three stripes pants, and when I went out to Poblacion last December, I paired it with a one-piece maillot and felt a lot like JLo, albeit a lot less va-va-voom. I don’t care what Karl says, I love my track pants (with matching  jacket) and my only concern is I might wear them to death and haven’t gotten a spare pair. Believe it or not, these are hard to come by so if you’re contemplating getting a pair, snag them ASAP!