Dress Pant Sweatpants: Tailored for Tweeting

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Search Twitter for "Dress Pant Sweatpants," and you'll wade into an endless stream of chatter about a garment that's sure to either save or utterly destroy civilization.

These polarizing pants — extra-comfortable terry cloth trousers that resemble classic dress slacks — popped up on the Internet just a couple of weeks ago. Thousands of tweets, likes, WTFs, and LOLs later, they're a bona fide hit for small S.F. clothier Betabrand, with production runs sold out through March.

So, how did these pants for business travelers and Casual Friday fans come to be?

Betabrand doesn't make clothes for taste makers; instead, it focuses on creating products that get people talking through a mix of fact and fiction. And yes, fashion. According to founder Chris Lindland: "As a Web-only designer, we want to weave sociability into each and every product we release.

Dress Pant Sweatpants are just the latest conversation-worthy creation of this 17-person company. Earlier Internet hits include Bike to Work Pants (302,000 Google results), Cornucopia Bags (15,000 Google Results), Black Sheep Sweaters (made of 100% black sheep's wool, for black sheep of the family), Vagisoft Blankets (softer than a silkworm's anus!), and Cordarounds (horizontal-corduroy trousers that drastically reduce crotch heat.)

And Betabrand's interest in "social style" goes well beyond product design; its Model Citizen app encourages fans — no matter how good, bad, or out-of-focus their photos may be — to become superstars on Betabrand.com. Since the application launched in June 2011, more than 2,000 customers have walked down Betabrand's online runway.

"When you take a spin through our site," says Lindland, "it looks more like Flickr than a clothing catalog."

Betabrand manufactures and releases 2-3 products a week. In late February, the company plans to unveil a line for women, an event that's sure to inspire a fresh wave of WTFs and WANTs — all by design.

About Betabrand:
Betabrand is an online-only clothing company that's designs and manufactures in San Francisco and ships to fans all over the world.   Their inventions are only available at Betabrand.com.

Founded in Fall, 2010, the company releases 2-3 products a week.  Principally a men's clothing brand, they'll be launching a women's line in March of 2012.

SOURCE Betabrand