Pants Party! or: How I Learned Everything About Joggers Naming
Amidst the quiet solitude, political upheaval, and cultural rancor of the recent past, I realized I needed to shop for new clothes. Most importantly, I required a functional yet comfortable pair of pants to get me through the atypical work days, evening chores, and masked weekends that made up the COVID-19 shelter-in-place experience. I wanted pants capable of carrying hand sanitizer, some extra P.P.E., and my usual personal effects, while maintaining a requisite level of modern cool and couth when it came to self-presentation.
Enter: joggers — the name for just such a pant. Athletic in style (implicitly designed for running slowly), they feature elasticized ankles, a bevy of pockets, and a tapered fit. These were the trousers that typified my needs, and thus began my online search for the perfect pair. What followed was an education in the sheer volume of brands and products that could exist for a given product category.
With just a little tabbed searching and the accompanying browser cookies, I was able to get advertising attention from (seemingly) every purveyor of jogging pants on the internet — from major brands and boutique fashion lines to gym apparel startups and deliberate “dropshippers.” The names that bubbled up before my eyes were a veritable catalog of “Naming Species” from Don’t Call it That and proved that in a very crowded market naming presented a distinct opportunity for differentiation.
As I began the hunt I was quickly met by brands suggesting I could go “Into the Wild’’ with their offerings. Western Rise paints a picture of meeting the sunrise in active wear, Edgevale and Tentree provide a pastoral setting for me to frolic in comfy pants, while Bearded Goat, Bearbottom Clothing, and Androgynous Fox bring resilient and playful fauna to mind. Despite the promising start, I continued my vision quest for cozy legwear.
Next, I found some brands embracing “High Class Gibberish,” including Imperio Athletics and Aristo Swag. The former rings a bit too militant for me and the latter sounds like something Tom Haverford would dream up.
Given that these pants are intended for physical activity, it was only a matter of time before the “Adrenaline”-infused brands rushed into the scene. Barbell Armageddon was first in line at the bench press when it came to these names — asking the question, “What if every gym rat was awarded a nuclear weapon?” And if I want to feel provoked or chided by a more athletically-capable brand, there is a strong candidate in Do You Even.
Some joggers brands try to channel the often-popular “Back to Basics” tone. The Common Theory offers a communal sense of design, Good Counsel — a brand “that embraces men of all sizes” — feels frank but supportive, and Public Rec implies that their joggers might motivate people to recreate in shared spaces.
There are also brands aimed at those fond of “Americana.” Freedom Industries presents an aspirational reference to a popular patriotic rallying cry, and 1620 calls out the year the Mayflower landed on Plymouth Rock.
There are several standouts when it comes to brands hoping to convey a kind of “Mythical” lore. Odysea Gear is Kickstarting a merino wool jogger with enough features to blind a cyclops, slay Scylla, and sail clear of Charybdis. Fabric of the Universe will fundamentally alter the way you stroll to the bagel shop with “fashionable designs that will evolve with current and future trends.” While Void Equipment and Thousand Miles want to show you that they can survive the unknowns of your weekend plans or traverse from coast to coast time and again.
Different brands jog the full spectrum of “Names as Statements” hemming and hawing between references to active endeavors and fitness, or admitting that most people will wear this piece of “active wear” while binging television and movies. While Sculpted and Grand Running Club imply a pursuit of physical fitness, Nonchalant, People of Leisure, and Chillax Wear are a bit more realistic about the habits of people who wear glorified sweatpants all day.
My inquiry into joggers took me to metaphorical research facilities like Bottoms Lab and Leisure Lab, ironically self-aware apparel producers like Just Hype, and fashionista cliques in Elevated Mafia. I crossed the “One Letter Off” fabricators of Platinum Scrubz and the “Utilitarian” realists behind Blankstyle basics.
This endeavor for comfy, functional pants revealed the staggering number of brand and product names that could exist for one specific item — in all, I tracked more than 50 brands and nearly 1,000 individual product names. I developed an appreciation for the variety of naming directions one could take to sell a specific trendy product, and essentially how creative companies could get. I realized that joggers were almost a leisurewear commodity en vogue — the fabrics, colors, and superficial designs being, effectively, interchangeable within the form. Ultimately needing a nice, long break from Instagram ads and internet advertisement self-sabotage, I settled on a pair of Taylor Stitch Après Pants. They looked comfy as hell and just seemed to have a certain je ne sais quoi.
Thanks to Rose Linke and Patrick Keenan.
