We tried the viral Rag & Bone sweatpant jeans, and a year later, we're still wearing them

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One of the latest (and honestly most blessed) themes in fashion has been comfortable clothing disguised as something more formal. Take the viral Nap Dress, for example. We as a society love to say, "What, this old thing?" despite the calculation that goes into looking perfectly effortless.

The Rag & Bone sweatpant jeans are the epitome of this trend. I call them my "sweans," and they're officially my favorite travel pants. The French terry cloth is soft and lightweight enough to sleep in — plus, they pack down into a neat bundle I can fit in my carry-on. And yes, they really do pass for jeans. You can call it a bit hacky or whatever you like, but their realistic details prove we've come a long way from "jeggings."

Rag & Bone also has a few other styles in the Miramar line, including joggers, jackets, skirts, and shorts, all made with the same material.

Two of us with different body types tried the Miramar Wide-Leg Trompe L'oeil Cotton Pant. 

These wide-leg "jeans" are slightly baggy with a high-rise waist and 31.5-inch inseam. The drape of the material perfectly imitates real wide-leg jeans, and they're meant to puddle a little at the bottom (or a lot if you're short). This particular style comes in four different shades of denim blue.

I was amazed at how real they looked — right down to the faux fly and lightly distressed denim details.

The Miramar Rag & Bone sweatpant jeans are truly as soft as sweats. The printed-on stitches and rivets look uncannily real, and wearing them feels like sitting on a secret no one else has to know (except that you'll be so excited to tell them you might not be able to keep the illusion up).

I'm 5-foot-9, and when pulled all the way up around my waist, the inseam reaches a bit past my ankles in flats, so I'd definitely recommend these jeans for tall women. Thankfully, because the waistband is so stretchy, I have the option to sling them low and let the hems puddle around my ankles. 

The stretchy terry cloth sweatpant is perfect for springtime, as it's more breathable than fleece sweats. Rag & Bone claims these are washing machine safe and advises you turn them inside out before rinsing them in cold water and laying them flat to dry. Because they're 100% cotton, they're prone to shrinking if you put them in the dryer.

Sally is 5-foot-2 so the jeans are much longer on her, but she still can't get over how comfy they are. She even bought a second pair.

She says, "I love the look of a wide-leg jean but have also sworn off hard pants, so these sweatpant jeans are my dream come true! I'm short and curvy, so I knew these would be a little long on me, but I don't even care. I just safety pin them at the back of the hem to keep them from catching under my heels, and no one is the wiser." 

Putting them in the dryer helped shrink up the length a bit, but here's how Sally hems long pants with just a few safety pins:

I saw this hack on Instagram (Millennial here, not cool enough for TikTok). All you have to do is tuck the back hem of your long jeans up inside the pant and safety pin it. You leave the front of the hem unpinned, and it puddles/pools perfectly around your ankles without the back catching under your heels. You really can't see the safety pins at all when you're walking around. 

Samantha tried the Miramar Andi Ankle Pant, a cropped pick with a real waistband

Style editor Samantha Crozier tried the Andi Ankle Pant, which has a 27-inch inseam, a real button closure, and a non-elasticated waistband. This style is about four inches shorter than the original Miramar Wide Leg Pants, which makes it much more petite-friendly.

"I'm the same height as Sally, so I knew off the bat that I needed to try a cropped style if I didn't want to deal with pinning or hemming the pants. Lucky for me, the Andi Ankle Pant ended up being the perfect length.

As advertised, the pants are as soft as sweatpants, and the familiar terry feels great against my skin. But I have mixed feelings about the real waistband. On one hand, it truly completes the illusion of denim. The least convincing features of the original Miramar Wide Leg Pants are the drawn-on hardware and the elasticized waistband. With the Andi, you can wear a cropped top, and the illusion would still hold.

But the real waistband also makes these less comfortable. I've still found myself dealing with the same perils as real jeans — like unbuttoning them after a big meal or avoiding wearing them on a plane. You can tell that these are less forgiving because you have to buy them in your waist size, instead of relying on alpha sizing.

At the end of the day, it's up to you to pick whether you prefer a perfect jeans illusion or a stretchy waistband. "

Talia tried the jogger version and also became an instant fan.

Freelance author Talia Ergas reviewed the sweatpant jeans in her guide to the best joggers for women. "They even had my husband fooled, who insisted he 'never would have guessed' that I was wearing sweats if I didn't tell him. He was astonished when I had him feel the supersoft cotton terry fabric and the stretchy elastic waistband," says Ergas. "They accompanied me on a recent 6-hour road trip, keeping me super snug during the long drive but looking pulled together when we stopped at a restaurant for a mid-way lunch."

The short version is another favorite — they proved perfect for summer walks.

"These faux denim shorts have it all: stretchy mid-rise waistband, comfy terry cotton fabric, realistic-looking denim print complete with faux distressing, and the perfect four-inch inseam that was long enough to keep me well-covered, but not overly so," she writes in our guide to the best summer shorts for women. "They'd make an excellent choice for beach attire since they're way more comfortable than real denim, but can still pass as daisy dukes."

If you're as passionate about comfort as we are, the Rag & Bone sweatpant jeans are worth it. 

The Miramar sweatpant jeans are truly as soft as sweats. We couldn't recommend them enough — we just wish they came in a more inclusive size range (they only go up to an XL).

Once you've tried them, you'll likely have a tough time ever putting on real jeans again.