How to Wear: Joggers
When it comes to pants, guys don’t get a whole lot of options. You basically have a 5-pocket silhouette, a side entry pocket silhouette (like a chino), a few different fabrics, and maybe some different style details and that’s it. Well, we want to introduce you to another option that will expand your wardrobe and give you more outfits to create each morning.
In this guide, we hope to teach you how to wear the jogger, tell you what occasions it’s good for, and provide some styling tips that will have you feeling confident each time you pull this pant out of your closet.
Let’s dive in.
What is a Jogger?
We should start by defining what a jogger is. And we’ll be honest, the definition is a loose one, but there are a few main elements that are common on joggers – some have all of them, some only a couple. Generally, a jogger is a pant with an elasticated drawstring waist, cuffed hem, and slim tapered fit.
E-Waist
A lot of joggers have an elasticated waist with the fabric bunched up or ruched around the waistband. While intimidating at first, these make the pants extremely comfortable and will last in your closet quite a bit longer as you gain or lose weight. This is a major plus for joggers. Sometimes the e-waist, as its called, is only on the back half of the pant with a normal looking front-half.
Drawstring
Within that elastic waistband, most joggers also feature a drawstring element. These comes in a variety of sizes, shapes, and styles. Some are on the inside of the waistband, some on the outside. Some feature one cord, some feature two. These are primarily style choices and don’t have a huge effect on the comfort or wear-ability of the pant. A cleaner look with the drawstring on the inside might allow you to wear joggers in slightly dressier settings. And of course, with the drawstring, joggers don’t have belt loops.
Slim Fit and/or Tapered
Most joggers are a slim fit or a tapered fit. A slim fit is slim throughout the entire leg. The additional taper means the pant width gets more narrow toward the leg opening (where the elastic cuff is). The leg opening measurement is comparable to a skinny fit pant. This works great if you have normal or even smaller calves. It’s nice because there is less excess fabric which gives it a cleaner or sportier look. Of course this fit can be tough for folks with larger calves, as the small measurement usually means the fabric or pant is getting caught on your calf which gets annoying very quickly.
Cuffs
One of the most common defining features of a jogger is a cuff at the bottom or leg opening. It’s like a mini elastic band for your ankle as opposed to your waist. Sometimes these cuffs will be adjustable with a string to make it tighter or looser depending on how you like to wear it. Many joggers might feature a short zipper to narrow the leg opening.
Knit vs. Woven Joggers
There are two main classes of joggers (like fabrics) - knit and woven.
Knit joggers tend to skew more closely to sweatpants although we’ve seen some sharp looking knit joggers that plenty of folks have dressed up more than they could sweatpants. The main difference between sweatpants and joggers is the fit. Whereas sweatpants are baggy and loose, joggers tend to be slimmer fitting.
The more versatile joggers are made of woven fabrics (similar to your button up shirt). The fabrics run the gamut from ripstop to cotton twills to plain weaves. Each has different benefits and each fabric will signal a slightly different end use.
When to Wear Them?
So when should you wear joggers? Joggers are casual pants and should really only be worn that way. Again, there are formal tailored joggers out there that are super cool, but it’s a tougher look to pull off if the rest of your outfit isn’t perfectly on point.
Which Tops are Tops?
Like in most outfits, your choice of shirt is going to help define your look. There are a variety of outfit choices with your joggers, but here are a few of our favorites.
With a Button-Up
Wearing joggers with a button-up shirt is your dressiest option for an otherwise casual look. It’s best to keep the shirt on the casual side too so look for a chambray, washed poplin, or even oxford shirt. Try cuffing the sleeves and leaving the shirt untucked. Since joggers tend to be for warmer weather, it’s not the best look to combine with a flannel.
With a Sweatshirt
This is your sporty option. Sweatshirts are casual, so this look is best for running around town, doing errands, or even heading to the gym. Different silhouettes like hoodies, crew-necks or zip-ups all work well. If you’re wearing knit joggers, a knit sweatshirt of the same or similar color will make it look like a sweat suit so keep that in mind.
With a T-Shirt/Polo
This combination can go a lot of ways. A t-shirt combined with knit joggers will look like sweats that you would wear around the house. Dress it up a bit by wearing a polo and combining with woven joggers.
A Note on Shoes and Socks
One of the most important aspects of pulling off joggers is not wearing socks that show, especially if your jogger has an elasticated cuff. This might be a new concept for you, but we can’t tell you enough how silly it looks to see socks underneath that cuff. We haven’t seen someone able to pull it off yet. In terms of what shoes you wear, well the rest of your outfit will help dictate that. If you’ve chosen a sweatshirt, t-shirt, or polo (basically something on the casual end of the spectrum), grab a pair of sneakers (high tops or low tops). We think a nice clean leather pair of sneakers is extremely versatile.
If you want something a bit more polished, grab a derby or blucher shoe, maybe even with some broguing. There are a bunch of hybrid derbies that have a leather upper with a sneaker sole that look great with joggers.
We hope in this guide we’ve helped demystify the jogger and have added a new pant option to your wardrobe.
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