Complex's own Matt Welty took up his cross to bear and dove deep into the roots and now mainstream influence of the jogger pant. Somewhere along the line, behind the sneaker's explosion in popularity over the past few years, the progression from cinching and cuffing your worn-to-shit selvedge denim turned to constructing pants with the cuff already built in, allowing the wearer to show off their sneakers. The jogger rides a strange line in fashion, as Welty notes. They're not jeans or chinos, and they're not exactly sweatpants—the jogger is kinda off in its own little universe. But they're everywhere now, with brands like Publish and Kith designing their own takes on the style at the start of the wave (Publish went as far as copyrighting the term "Jogger Pants" in 2010) and others have followed suit: Public School, Zanerobe, Tim Coppens, Mark McNairy and even J.Crew have all thrown their hats into the ring, offering up variations on the style that don't appeal solely to sneakerheads.
But it's the backlash and reaction to the jogger pant trend that may be even more notable than its roots and current trendiness. Obviously, no one wants their sneakers to be sheltered by a JNCO umbrella because, at that point, you could wear a pair of fucking Tevas and no one would be the wiser. Naturally, we can't advise that, but if you do forgo pinrolling in favor of some jogger pants, you very may well catch an avalanche of hate, identifying yourself with a culture no one wants to be a part of, you goddamn chav. Style.com Deputy Editor, and former Four Pins Founding Editor, Noah Johnson speaks for many, saying that jogger pants are "fucking stupid." Then, of course, you have sneaker blogger and YouTube personality Tyler Blake channeling interest into a video explaining where he gets his pants that has racked up nearly 80,000 views to date. Pick your corner, everyone.
Personally, I'm not sure whether I'd rather see pinrolled jeans with a dozen stacks sitting atop someone's ankle or a pair of pants with a gigantic ass elastic cuff at the bottom. Is there a preferable third option? Should we all throw on some Hammer pants or fully embrace the taper and stock up on some meggings? Honestly, I don't care as long as you're wearing pants.
