In defense of Soccer Moms, Football Moms, Band Moms, and Suburban Moms in General (Reston: houses, preschool)

[michgc]

Normie,

Gosh, I could have come over with oneasterisk, too. I don't have a gun. But I have sweat pants in every color. And I love to wear them when I am toting my kids around from school to activity and back again.

[jaunespinoza]

The sweat pants subject might make a good thread. Are the soccer mom's wearing them because they are working out? Or is it because they have such a difficult time fitting into jeans? As far as Manassas goes; it is certainly the former.

[ajzjmsmom]

Originally Posted by jaunespinoza

The sweat pants subject might make a good thread. Are the soccer mom's wearing them because they are working out? Or is it because they have such a difficult time fitting into jeans? As far as Manassas goes; it is certainly the former.

I wear sweatpants because they are comfortable. After being on the earth for some 40 odd years I finally decided I didn't care what people thought and I had earned my right to be comfortable. The days of dressing up are gone for me unless it is a special occasion, luckily the one person whose opinion I do care about likes to be comfortable to.

Normie, glad you got your houseguest situated and your life back to normal.

[normie]

Originally Posted by Alicia Bradley

Actually, I've come to appreciate that D.C.-area people are so laid-back about clothes and such. I think it's rubbed off on me quite a bit, to be honest. In the past three years, I've mastered the art of getting ready in less than two hours! Long commutes, I'm sure, have something to do with this - also that we're something of a population of "geeks," as others have brought up in other threads.. more interested in continually mastering our own subject areas of expertise than existing as vapid human peacocks.

Good post! I was the same way before I moved here. Back then there was a show called Murphy Brown, and I remember watching it to get clues about what "life in Virginia would be like." Ha! I actually set aside a budget for all the new clothes I thought I'd need to fit in (since the ladies on the show were always in designer outfits). Right before I moved here I happened to be in Italy and I bought a whole bunch of heels, thinking living in Virginia would mean dressing up all the time. Great looking shoes, but I've hardly worn them in 20 years.

LOL, tv shows never get it right, do they. Oh well that's what you get for watching sitcoms!

I think Alicia nailed it, the commute is a major factor in all this. I used to spend hours getting ready for work and a small fortune on dry cleaning, panty hose and makeup. After I moved here that just wasn't realistic. And nobody else was doing it. It didn't take long to get used to a more relaxed way of dressing, I guess I just love being comfortable a lot more than I ever liked being stylish. I get more done when I'm not worried about wrecking my stylish clothes.

And I also think of it as way to be more "green". These days I buy one well made pair of jeans or a well made sweat suit and wear them for years without worrying if they've gone out of style--that's a lot less wasteful than buying tons of flimsy new fashions all the time.

But that's just me. And, it may be a reflection of my age and the fact that I've been married for a long time. My kids care about style, and it's fun to watch their fashions change. Sometime a new outfit looks a little silly to me, but hey--nothing could look sillier than the stuff we wore back when I was in high school, so who am I to judge?

[normie]

Originally Posted by jaunespinoza

The sweat pants subject might make a good thread.

City-data has a Fashion Forum you might enjoy. Just my two cents, but I doubt you'd get much interest in the subject on the Nova forum. People here really don't care much one way or the other how stylish you look, as long as you get your work done.

[South Jersey Styx]

Hi there, I am coming onto this thread rather late. And I am glad you could rid of your ungrateful, temporary visitor.

I would, however, like to share my perspective on the sweat-pants/soccer-mom issue: I have no qualm about soccer moms running around in sweatpants. And I agree with the discussion on comfort and efficiency. But I do see reason for people to wonder why some soccer moms wear them practically everywhere, especially to places like restaurants, shopping malls, etc. I have see very attractive soccer moms who look sloppy in those sweat pants--albeit, the reason why some people complain about them. Plus, and this is my opinion ... they really are not flattering on a woman.

Am I a soccer mom? No, my child is grown now (out of college). But I was a suburban Loudoun County mom for over 20 yrs--- single, working mom in a full-time career, driving my kid around to Girl Scouts activities, basketball, martial arts school, after school activities, and church activities. My kid was in Honors Programs and I did this while finishing a masters degree and a PhD degree. Through it all, I never ran around in sweatpants. To me, sweatpants are for the gym--one can easily run around in a pair of jeans or khakis.

[normie]

Originally Posted by South Jersey Styx

To me, sweatpants are for the gym--one can easily run around in a pair of jeans or khakis.

LOL, I also wear jeans most of the time. I wear my sweats when working out or doing yard work, but the ones I buy tend to shrink after a dozen or so washes. A good pair of jeans, on the other hand, will last for years. I like the look of sweat pants, especially the ones with pretty colors. They have some that are really well made these days. I'm big on things being well made.

[ChristineVA]

I have rarely ever gone out of the house in "athletic" clothing! I am not a soccer mom though (full-time working mom with non-soccer playing kids). In the past year or so, I have run out of the house once or twice in those yoga-style pants. You know the ones that are made of lycra/sweatpants material but are trim cut with a flared leg? They aren't so bad, but I was mortified. But, heck, my jeans were dirty.

[athousandlogins]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

I have rarely ever gone out of the house in "athletic" clothing! I am not a soccer mom though (full-time working mom with non-soccer playing kids). In the past year or so, I have run out of the house once or twice in those yoga-style pants. You know the ones that are made of lycra/sweatpants material but are trim cut with a flared leg? They aren't so bad, but I was mortified. But, heck, my jeans were dirty.

I wore those when I was pregnant and literally did grow out of my jeans. I'm with you, it felt so awkward!

[SteelCityRising]

This thread is starting to remind me of the JCPenney "Mom jeans" skit from SNL.