Thursday, November 12, 2009
In the 1957 film “Funny Face,” Audrey Hepburn dances around in a black turtleneck and a pair of matching skinny pants. In 2006, Gap used footage of Hepburn in its ads for their version of the skinny black pant. Today, women can be seen emulating Hepburn’s look by wearing leggings as pants.
In the mid ‘90s, my mother dressed me in leggings all the time. Back then, leggings were about as cool as bicycle shorts, also a staple in my adolescent wardrobe. None of the hip, Abercrombie-wearing kids would dare wear them.
But, along with the return of ‘80s fashion a few years ago, leggings are back, and now the cool kids are wearing them, too.
Although it seems as if every girl on campus owns at least one pair, wearing leggings as pants has developed some opposition. The hatred may be fueled by misunderstanding — and abuse — of this trend.
To clear things up, tights as pants is not the correct verbiage. Of course, most men have never worn tights or leggings, so the confusion is understandable. Nonetheless, if women wore sheer pantyhose to class, their naughty bits would be on display for everyone, and the student body would be complaining to a different tune.
The real opposition to leggings as pants, is that, like any trend, wearers ignore the fact that they don’t look good on everyone. If you wouldn’t normally dress in tight, form-fitting pants or dresses this look isn’t for you.
No matter how popular leggings are, if they don’t flatter your figure, don’t wear them as your sole bum cover. If you’re comfortable leaving no part of your lower body to the imagination, go for it.
Don’t make your classmates or professors uncomfortable by wearing ill-fitted leggings that show off your panty line, give you a muffin top or create some camel toe. If this happens to you cover it up, or try going up a size. If you don’t have the shape to pull them off as pants, you can still wear leggings tastefully by pairing them with a long shirt that goes past your crotch and rear area.
When worn properly, leggings can work wonderfully in your wardrobe. On cold days pair them with a dress or skirt to keep you warm and look season appropriate. If you want something comfortable to exercise or lounge around in, leggings are the perfect fix. And if you’re going to the Border Showdown football game, wear them under jeans to protect you from frost bite.
If you’re still undecided about this look, consider trying a pair of knit skinny pants. They have the fit and comfort of leggings, but pockets and a zipper to keep the look of pants. Splurge on a pair from Marc by Marc Jacobs at Bloomigdales.com or a more affordable pair by Jolt available at Macy’s and Von Maur.
— Esposito is a Overland Park sophomore in journalism and film.
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