It looks like some of the most criticized trends of fall—jeggings and harem pants—are sticking around this spring for another go. Browsing through new merchandise on some of our favorite retailers, we noticed that these styles were widely available, and, in some cases, more prevalent than before. As for harem pants, we assume that Alexander Wang‘s football collection had something to do with the drop-crotch staying in style, and becoming transposed into sweatpants. Over at Shopbop, you’ll find many of these offerings, which appear to be marketed less as a harem cut, and more as an athletic-chic style. Oak‘s merchandise, however, glorifies the baggy pant as a high-fashion item. Perhaps the most surprising is the availability of jeggings—denim leggings—at Saks. We counted over 20 pairs, and from some surprising makers. While there were styles from trend-happy labels we’d expect like C&C, Juicy Couture, and Joe’s Jeans, we also came across offerings from some more sophisticated brands like Rag & Bone and Alice and Olivia. We have to admit, when these stretchy pants haven’t gone acid-wash crazy, and just have a nice dark color and simple lines ... they’re not half bad. Dare we say that we might actually consider getting in on the jeggings trend if the wares were more classy?

What do you think of the return of these trends this spring?

Writer Sean Macaulay at the Daily Beast calls sweatpants “the universal wardrobe shorthand for sloth and lassitude” in “Our Sweatpants Nightmare.” He says the wearing of sweats in public is a result of young people’s lack of social responsibility and too-casual office dress codes. Well, this is basically how I feel about flannel pajama bottoms in public. Nothing conveys a lack of hygiene and laziness better than walking around in your PJs. While I can agree that sweatpants are inappropriate at the office, religious events, and most affairs, there are some places, I think, where it’s totally appropriate to wear a pair of sweats without looking as if you “gave up.” Read the guidelines for wearing sweats after the jump.

Check out this question sent to the Washington Post‘s Style Editor:

“Dear Carolyn: So I’ve been casually dating this guy from work. There’s so much chemistry between us, he’s funny and smart, and I think I’m starting to fall for him. But something he said at dinner irked me—he made some comment about how un-sexy sweat pants are, and how if the person he’s dating ever wears them, it’s a ‘dealbreaker.’ Well, so far he’s never seen me in sweat pants. But I wear them; they’re comfortable around the house. I asked, ‘What if a person is feeling sick or just lounging around their apartment?’ He made a grimace that said, ‘Still not okay.’ I just feel unsettled now. He does pay a lot of attention to what I wear and suggests clothes that will make me look better. Personal quirk or red flag?”

Yikes! We’ll say this: It’s definitely a dealbreaker for us when A) a dude tries to tell us what to wear and B) any man, woman, child or beast attempts to deprive us of sweet, sweet sweat-pant-ed lounging sessions. So much more advice, after the jump.

From Alexander Wang to Marc by Marc Jacobs, something rather odd happened on the spring 2010 runways during Fashion Week: Sweatpants became cool again. Whether we’re talking fleecy material dresses or actual sweats, they were everywhere and looked much more fashionable and much less Juicy Couture. As lovers of cool-looking comfort clothes, we fully approve of this move towards clothing that allow us to breathe just a little. [CBS News]

Remember those “True Love Waits” sweatpants we posted about the other day? Well, K-Mart is claiming that the sweats’ message has nothing to do with abstinence and that the bloggers who say that they do are making their own inference. Uh-huh. Cause true love waits for…the sun to shine? True love waits for…the NFL season to start? True love waits for…oh wait, BUSTED. Feministing has got total proof that K-Mart didn’t cover their tracks before lying. Check out the description of the pants to the left. Second bulleted item down, describes the pants’ “bold abstinence screen print”. Nice job ladies.

We didn’t wait and certainly don’t expect/want you to, but we just can’t help but think it would be really funny to wear these sweats to bed, with our boyfriend, to whom we are not married and living in sin. Because what says “Abstinence Rules!” like a big ol’ message on your butt? (Thanks to Boinkology for the link!) [$16.99, KMart.com]