They're a preferred outfit for many, but my own mind says they're like pj's, probably because that's how I myself wear them-around the house and usually only when I'm feeling sickly.
I do have 'sweatshirts' that are un-sweatshirty-they're turtlenecks and hang more like sweaters, but my distaste for them is more for those cuffed pants, specially seeing someone in those and they're so worn they wouldn't hold up waxing a car.
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When I was in high school, I was called many things, one thing being a 'slut'. This was extremely ironic since I never even had a date or a kiss, let alone any sex at all. I was, as my friend recalls now, 'painfully shy' to the point of hiding under my massive long hair if anyone spoke to me. I did, however, dress, as he put it, 'oddly'. Short leather miniskirts or very low-riding tight jeans. I mixed things up, sometimes wearing camo jeans with a tight little blouse, but then cover it all with a sweater or vest. I wore Annie Hall things before anyone had heard of Annie Hall, borrowing my father's ties and sweater vests. Hot pants were in fashion and I owned several, along with those clunky heeled shoes. I'd solidified my 'rep' as an oddity, and some decided to include 'slut' with that, I guess *shrug*.
Now I see the same thing happening with my daughter. She loves black and things with skulls. She'll take a plain pair of jeans, tear them, draw on them and cover them in safety pins(I swear she has some jeans that are more holes than jean). We've colored her hair blue, purple and red. She's labeled Emo, Goth, etc., but she's probably the most bubbly kid you'd ever meet and a really good student.
We label by sight because, until we get personally involved, it's all we can go by. I ride with bikers. Leather chaps, boots, vests filled with patches and badges...and they're cops, lawyers, executives, etc. But they're labeled on sight. Judgment is comparing. She's this, he's that, etc. We do it when they are perceived as 'not like me'. We (as a society) either turn up our noses or feel pangs of envy, depending on these comparisons and judgments.