The Boom of Pro Club Sweats at MRHS

By Isabelle K. Grace J.

At MRHS there has been a spike in many fashion trends; students wear baggy pants, Y2K revival, and athleisure like Nike and Lululemon, but there has been a boom in sightings of these cargo sweats. Why?

Pro Club is a Los Angeles-based apparel brand that offers many everyday essentials—including these notorious cargo sweats commonly seen in black and gray. Young Geun Lee, South-korean founder of Pro Club, originally worked in an administrative role at IBM, but wanted to seek more, “better,” and “newer” opportunities, moving to Southern California. He branded it on “heavyweight” t-shirts meant for durability and longevity. Rather than traditional advertising methods, the brand grew quickly through word of mouth. This branding idea slowly shifted to loungewear and casual everyday streetwear to boost its reputation of durability and comfort. With its great branding, Pro Club quickly spread through LA, finding its way into many diverse communities, including MRHS. 

“I first saw them on my family, like they owned a lot of them; at family events, they always had pro clubs, and I wanted to join in,” one ninth grader explains, labeling the sweats as part of her family tradition. For some Pro club-wearers, they wear them as part of their culture. Pro Club has been around for a long time but has been a part of Mexican culture for multiple generations. Office Magazine     emphasizes the brand was and still is affordable and easily accessible to Latino and Black youth, making it a unifying brand across minority communities. Especially at Mountain Range, with a high demographic rate of 47.5% students who are Hispanic.

Bonnie, a sophomore, highlights, “I see a lot of people wearing them, but mostly my culture; we wear them a lot  just to represent how the brand fostered a lot of Latino fashion and culture. I see a lot of Mexicans wearing them to show support. But I do think they’re pretty popular among young people because they’re comfy and a little overpriced. It makes people look nice.” 

She additionally adds that Pro Club sweats have become “mainstream” even in non-minority settings and even gives a style description: “They’re streetwear; a bunch of Latinos wear it, but not just mainly them; the white people style it as cool streetwear as well.” 

This brand is universally outstanding through various ethnic groups and fits the cool, streetwear style many students seek to achieve.

10th grader Danna M. explains, “Everyone is wearing them because they’re expensive, and it makes them seem premium. They’re also very durable and good quality,” before adding, after 7 wash and dry cycles, “They still kept their form and quality without pilling.”        

These sweatpants have many students in a craze despite their price range of  $40-70, which extends outside of the typical high school student budget. Many students also speak highly of the quality and functionality of these cargo sweats. The quality overrides the high price. Some emphasize that they originally bought Pro Clubs for the peak fashionability, but the quality is just as up to par.

But will this trend last? Sophomore Pro-Club wearer Lyla A. gives her opinion on this: “I think they will stick around because they became popular because of the baggy pants trend, and everyone really likes cargo pants—but someone made them comfier by making them sweatpants, which makes them even better. Plus they look cool; they have a bunch of pockets and doodads hanging off of them.”

Danna is not so sure:“They will not stick around because it’s just a trend, and they’re low-key and not all that.”

Whether this trend lasts or disappears, Pro Club sweats have done what every trend does best: undoubtedly spark conversation and culture amongst a large community, and for now, that might be more lasting than the pants themselves.