Sets. We love them. By now, you probably do too. Whether you were an early adopter of the trend or finally embraced it after the 10th Instagram ad, you may find it hard to remember a time when your wardrobe consisted of anything but matching items. We can’t, and honestly, we’re not mad about it.
It’s certainly not the first time matching sweat sets have taken over the trend cycle, and the explanation for that probably seems simple. After all, there’s no easier way to put together a polished outfit than throwing on a coordinated top and bottom. Sets solve the eternal struggle of finding a pair of pants that look good with a new top (that you never end up wearing because you never could find the right pair of pants) and take one thing off the plate of our busy lives.
But why exactly did sets re-emerge with such a vengeance around late 2019, early 2020? Obviously it was the start of some "unprecedented times" but the trend of sweat sets were far from revolutionary.
There are a couple reasons we here at Sunday Forever have considered when talking about our set obsession. One is that they were perfectly suited for the state of the world at the time they emerged as a trend. The world was suddenly thrown into complete chaos but we were trapped inside with nothing to do but watch. If there are two words to describe a matching sweat set, simplicity and comfort would be the ones, and we were all seeking those two things as the pandemic continued to rage.
And since we couldn’t go anywhere, there was no point in getting dressed up. But the put-together feel of a matching outfit could pull you out of a slump after wearing the same reindeer pajama bottoms for three days straight. It seems like matching sweat sets were designed for a worldwide shut down and by the look of our social media feeds, we weren’t the only ones who thought so.
Another reason sweat sets may have risen in popularity over the last year and a half is that they’re reminiscent of better times. The last time matching sets had such a moment were the early aughts - when our biggest concerns were our Myspace Top 8 and whether Audrina would actually end up with Justin Bobby. The most iconic version of the early aughts set was the Juicy Couture Tracksuit , which was worn by celebrities from Paris Hilton to JLo and coveted by people like us. Confirming our theory that nostalgia may be at play here, it recently made a reemergence for its 25th anniversary.
A third and final reason that matching sets seem to be everywhere is that they’re the clothing of the future. Sounds corny, but it's what we as a modern society deserve. Chic, comfy, polished, and cozy - if 2021 has taught us anything, it's how to return to the basics. And what's more basic than a set of white joggers with a hoodie to match ? It's the perfect blend of all the most important things in a wardrobe, at least for us here at Sunday Forever. We want to look cute, we want to feel comfy, and we also want to save time so that we can do more important stuff than worry about whether we look presentable. Sweat sets let us check all those boxes and we personally believe that they're here to stay.