As an e-commerce editor, I thought I’d seen it all. It turns out, I was tragically mistaken. Leisure-centric overalls exist now, and they go by the name “Swoveralls“, a portmanteau of the words “overalls” and “sweatpants”, a combination that I’m still confused about.
With that being said, before you knock it, hear me out — they’re kinda tight?
I’m not going to sit here and lie to you. I’m an overalls kind of guy myself. I currently own four pairs, which I wear throughout each and every season. Nights out with friends. Days in the office. Costume parties. Chugging green beer in garages on St. Patrick’s Day, as pictured below.
My overalls have become a solid go-to pick when I wake up in the morning for good reason — they never look bad on me.
Other than that classic jean pair I purchased from ASOS a couple of years back, my collection of overalls includes my rugged, beige Carhartts, a black jean pair from Forever 21 that are unsurprisingly on their last denim legs and now, Swoveralls, ever since I was gifted a pair from the nice people repping the brand just a couple of days ago.
Again, I told you I’m not going to lie. Upon receiving my pair of Swoveralls, I was ridden with total skepticism. In my head, I was thinking, “in what world would I ever need a leisure pair of overalls when I could wear sweatpants?”
This has to be a gimmick, right? Perfect for a gag gift, but not a serious piece of athleisure, let alone streetwear.
I had a point, truly, but I figured I might as well wear them and give them the test run they deserved.
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So, there I was. A Saturday night alone in my room, glass of boxed wine in hand, tearing my new Swoveralls out of its plastic packaging. Initially, I thought they were black but turns out the lighting in my room was atrocious. They were navy blue. I was appalled. With all the weight I had gained during quarantine, I knew I was about to look like Mario himself.
Nonetheless, I took off my pants and stepped into my Swoveralls, one leg at a time.
When pulling them up, the first thing I noticed was how soft they were. They aren’t like your average pair of sweats. Like, they aren’t overbearingly warm on the inside. Instead, the same material (organic cotton and recycled polyester) used outside is also used inside, foregoing that old-school way-to-sweaty sweatpants approach. They were incredibly cozy yet hugged my legs fashionably, similar to the way my best joggers do, which is something I wasn’t really expecting from them.
I then buckled myself inside up top to ensure they wouldn’t fall down. Low and behold, I did look a little bit like Mario, so I instead chose to unbuckle one of the top buckles to give a sort of “undone” kind of look. I checked myself out a little, did a little twirl, squatted to see if they’d rip and nodded to myself in pleasure.
They were cozy, moveable and, dare I say it, good-looking.
Did I do anything that night? No, I didn’t. Did anybody see me wearing them? No, they didn’t. But, did I wear them the entire night and binge-watch a couple of episodes of Jersey Shore on Hulu for the third time since quarantine began? Yes, I did.
They’re now a ridiculous household essential I must have washed and prepared for wear at every moment of every day, just in case. And for that, I thank you, Swoveralls. You may seem pointless, and you pretty much are, but that’s where your charm comes from.
Look, we get it: These $95 sweatpant-style overalls are pretty much tailor-made to be posted on Instagram, and that’s about it. It’s hard to treat this like a serious article of clothing. Like the male romper before it, the market for this particular fashion invention is pretty minimal. Yet if there was ever a time for Swoveralls to make their big debut, 2021 is the year. We’ve all gone a little bit insane over the past year.
You won’t love ’em ’til you try ’em, I’ll tell you that much. But, listen: take it from me when I tell you they’re worth the splurge. A gag gift for the trendsetter in your life. The perfect pair of overalls for your toddler, because, yes, they have children’s sizes, too.
Or maybe this is the perfect guilty-pleasure splurge for all you stir-crazy people coming up on your 1-year anniversary of lockdown.
We see you in your tired sweatpants, and we think you’d look a lot happier in a pair of Swoveralls.