The Surprisingly Chic Sweatsuits You’ll Live In This Holiday Season.

Over the last year or so, I’ve gotten into matching sweatsuits. I have a real appreciation for them, especially this time of year, and I’m loving how much better the options have gotten. The newer styles feel less like traditional sweats and more like an outfit you’d actually put together, with beautiful fabrics, flattering proportions, and little details that make a difference. They are, dare I say, really chic.

And you can find great options at every price point. So for today’s Splurge, Spend & Save, I’m comparing three similar sets at three very different prices, looking at the fabrics, fit, and details to see what you’re actually getting for your money.

Splurge: Varley DoubleSoft Matching Set

I love Varley. The pieces have a beautiful, relaxed shape, and the matching sets look more like casual separates than traditional sweats.

The Hawley Half-Zip is cut slightly oversized, with dropped shoulders, a substantial zip collar, and wide banded hem and cuffs. The Wide-Leg Pant has an elastic drawstring waist and a seam down the front of each leg, which gives it a cleaner, more trouser-like look than a typical sweatpant. Together, they’re a really pretty combination.

DoubleSoft is a double-faced knit, meaning both sides of the fabric are finished to feel smooth and soft, so the inside feels just as nice as the outside. The half-zip is 72% viscose, 23% polyester, and 5% elastane, while the pants are 81% viscose, 15% polyester, and 4% elastane. The viscose gives the fabric its softness and fluid drape, the polyester contributes to its structure, and the elastane adds stretch.

We talk a lot about natural fibers around here, but I’m telling you, this fabric is something special. It’s very different from the cotton fleece sweatshirts most of us grew up wearing. It’s lighter, smoother, and skims the body rather than adding bulk. It feels rich.

Sizing runs from XXS to XL, and while there aren’t separate petite or tall sizes, the pants come in 28-, 30-, and 32-inch inseams, which solves the length problem for a lot of women. Both pieces also come in a lovely range of matching colors, from ivory marl and taupe marl to black, navy, and coffee bean.

This is the set I’d recommend if you travel often or practically live in comfortable separates. I wear mine with slim leather sneakers, my everyday jewelry, and, when it’s chilly, a long wool coat. It’s one of my favorite closet splurges.

Shop the Varley Hawley Half-Zip Sweat, $148

Shop the Varley Wide-Leg Pant, $132

Spend: Lou & Grey Scubasoft Half-Zip and Joggers

Lou & Grey has always been a good resource for comfortable, easy everyday clothes, and Scubasoft is the fabric the line is known for. It’s made to resist wrinkles and pack small, which makes this the set I’d reach for first for a Thanksgiving road trip or a long travel day.

The half-zip has a zip collar and a drawstring hem, so you can cinch it slightly at the hip or leave it straight. The matching pants are joggers, with an elasticized waist, slash pockets, and elastic cuffs, and that’s the one real difference in silhouette from the other two sets.

The fabric is 85% rayon, 9% polyester, and 6% spandex. Rayon and viscose are the same basic fiber, a regenerated cellulose made from wood pulp (viscose is the most common way rayon is made, and labels can use either name), so this is a close cousin of Varley’s DoubleSoft. It actually has a slightly higher rayon content than either Varley piece. That doesn’t make it better, but it’s a good reminder that price and fiber content don’t always tell the same story. The extra spandex gives it noticeable stretch, which you’ll appreciate on any day that involves a lot of sitting.

Both pieces come in XXS to XXL in regular and petite, in three heathered colors: light oak, silver lake grey, and brown malt. The joggers have a 27½-inch inseam. At full price the set is about $180, but LOFT runs promotions so often that you’ll rarely pay that. Right now they are on sale for an extra 40% off.

Shop the Lou & Grey Heathered Scubasoft Half-Zip Top, $89.95 plus 40% off

Shop the Lou & Grey Heathered Scubasoft Joggers, $89.95 plus 40% off

Save: Old Navy Bounce Fleece Matching Set

Don’t sleep on Old Navy, they have some real gems if you know what you are looking for. Their Bounce Fleece is a good example. If you like the look of the Varley set but would rather not spend that much on something you’ll mostly wear on weekends, this one gets you most of the way there.

The half-zip has a loose fit, dropped shoulders, and on-seam pockets, and it’s a little shorter than the other two, hitting around the waist. That works in its favor, because the trouser sweatpants are high-waisted, with an elastic waistband, a relaxed fit through the hip and thigh, and a wide leg.

The fabric is where you’ll notice the biggest difference. The half-zip is 66% polyester, 29% rayon, and 5% spandex, and the pants are a nearly identical blend made partly with recycled polyester. But the bigger story is the construction. Bounce Fleece is a spacer knit, two layers of fabric joined by a layer of yarns in between, which gives it more body and a springy, cushioned feel. It holds its shape and has a more structured look, where the rayon-heavy fabrics in the other two sets are softer and drapier.

The overall effect is a little sportier, which is no drawback for travel, errands, or a cold walk after a big holiday meal.

As always they have a fantastic inclusive size range. Both pieces come in XS to 4X, in regular, petite, and tall, and the top and pants share three matching colors: oatmeal heather, heather gray, and hearthwood.

Shop the Old Navy Bounce Fleece Half-Zip Pullover Sweatshirt, $49.99 plus extra 50% off

Shop the Old Navy High-Waisted Bounce Fleece Trouser Sweatpants, $46.99 plus extra 50% off

Which Would I Choose?

All three have something to offer, and the right one depends less on price than on how you’ll wear it. Varley is the one I’d splurge on if I wanted a set I’d wear constantly. It has the softest, most fluid drape of the three, the wide-leg pant has a lovely line, and the three inseam lengths make it easy to get the fit right.

Lou & Grey is the practical middle ground and my pick for travel. You get a similar rayon-rich fabric with more stretch and wrinkle resistance, plus petite sizing, as long as you’re happy with a jogger instead of a wide leg. Old Navy is the smart buy if you prefer a little more structure, and it’s the clear choice if you need a wider size range or petite and tall in both pieces.

Whichever you choose, don’t assume the most expensive set automatically has the best fabric. All three use the same family of fibers, blended and knit to behave differently. Buy the one that fits your body and your life, and then wear it all season.