SWEATPANTS. If you need an excuse to stay in your sweatpants all day long — then mark today your favorite day on the calendar because January 21 is annually celebrated around the globe at International Sweatpants Day.

It is hard to believe that those casually soft trousers are close to 100 years old, and although they come in all different styles, colors and fabrics today — the original sweatpants were made without frills in a simple knitted gray jersey pant. The first pairs of sweatpants were designed by the French clothing, footwear and sports equipment company Le Coq Sportif in the 1920s, by owner Emile Camuset. Sweatpants were originally designed for the comfort of athletes.

Then in 1926, the US clothing company Russell Athletic reinvented Le Coq’s sweatpants by changing the fabric material from wool jersey to a soft, comfortable cotton. Even though sweatpants, as we know them today, were invented in 1926, they didn’t really take off until the 1960s and 70s.

In the 50s, sweatpants were not deemed acceptable or respectable to dress in outside of a gymnasium or university campus. They survived through the 60s and 70s only because of the popularity of athletes and then in the 1980s sweatpants were embraced by hip-hop culture, spilling over and out of the gymnasium for the first time since their invention.

In the 21st Century, sweatpants become globally accepted and an accepted part of everyone’s wardrobe, from fashion icons to big stars to the regular, average Joe.

In 2010, International Sweatpants Day was introduced to appreciate the nice comfiness of sweatpants and they have been celebrated on January 21 ever since. Did you know that outside of the United States, sweatpants are called tracksuit bottoms, track pants or trackies.