Every week a different FADER staff member will pick a clothing item or accessory that he or she has lately been spending a lot of time with—or would like to—and write a little love letter to it. We would’ve done a column on who we’re dating but that seemed a little bit much. This week Justin Thomas Kay writes about FREE sweatpants.
Hailing from Wisconsin you tend to get immersed, whether you participate or not, in a culture of comfort. It is the kind of place where it gets so frigidly cold, painful, harsh and gray in the winter months that 50 degrees is debatably "shorts weather" and everyone is driving 90 mph down I-94 to the world's largest waterpark (sidebar: no idea why that is in Wisconsin). This, however, does not translate very well to living and working in New York City, depending on how much you want to blend in with the cast of characters living on the streets of Flatiron. Or, if you're cool and have no qualms about integrating a well constructed and wearable pair of sweatpants like these from FREE.
These came a few weeks back from their hometown of Amsterdam and have been in steady rotation ever since. Cut to fit not entirely unlike my jeans they were beyond easy to throw into the mix—and according to the label, made Fair Trade in India to boot. They have zippered/snap-fastened side pockets and a roomy back pocket. Basically the only thing even remotely embarrassing about wearing these is the vicarious embarrassment we feel for people who can't get down with just being comfortable every once in a while.
It's like, dudes! Come on! There's so much crap we deal with on a daily basis. No need to feel bad about walking away from the never-ending bummer of the state of world affairs and the current reign of terror brought on by relentless weather patterns. Sometimes you just want to hit the chill zone. Tastefully though. Like Bob Seger. Yeah! That's it: these things are the Bob Seger of my newly and tastefully relaxed wardrobe. Get on my level.