Comfort clothes go public

When the going gets tough, even the tough have been known to turn to macaroni and cheese. The notion of comfort food has long been with us as an antidote to stress, sadness, sickness and the other tribulations of everyday life.

But increasingly, comfort fashion is taking its place beside comfort food as an acceptable means of making oneself feel better.

Worse, it’s going public.

Newest on the scene is the yoga pant, a form-fitting stretch of cotton lycra-nylon or whatever that’s so unrestricting women have taken to wearing them with a sweater or jacket and cool boots and pretending they are real pants meant for school or office. In fact, they are exercise gear, although at prices around $100 for status versions by Lululemon and Athleta one might beg to differ.

The appeal here goes beyond comfort or caring, which is the domain of sloppy sweatpants. Running around in yoga pants says you work out, you’re too busy to change and you wear them because you can.

Except for those women who can’t but do anyway, visiting a host of really bad images on unsuspecting passers-by.

Then there are Crocs, the clogs made from foam resin that sold to the tune of $721 million in 2008. They come in every color, every size and new models including winterized versions that boast faux fur trim.

Despite the disdain of the fashion world and folks who object violently to their popularity on sites such as Ihatecrocs.com, they continue to sell in both original and widely knocked-off versions.

Blame Uggs, the Australian sheepskin boots that became the darling of young Hollywood when worn with minis and bare legs in the shade of palm trees. With big, round toes and flat soles, they make feet appear twice their normal size, which is generally not a look women would pay money to achieve.

But comfort rules big-time here. And so they have become acceptable  as fashion statements, the message being that the wearer doesn’t care how bad they look or what anyone thinks.

Could it be that as the world of high fashion becomes increasingly bizarre — mostly in an attempt to design things women don’t already own so they will be forced to spend money — there is some sort of backlash going on? Could it be that wearing something frumpy but comfortable announces an unwillingness to play that game?

Or perhaps comfort clothes really do work like a mound of mashed potatoes to soothe soles tortured by 6-inch platform gladiator sandals and jobs that stink. With summer just around the corner, there’s bound to be some new comfort fad.

Perhaps last year’s caftan will migrate into a muumuu, which is just a step removed from the housedress. Now there’s an idea whose time has come — back!