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I am always in leggings. They are fleece for the winter so I am warm and capri-length in summer. They are flexible and comfortable, inexpensive and easily washed, and I don’t get upset when my dog drools on me or kids have sticky hands — but they now seem too casual for public presentation. What can I wear in place of leggings that will still be comfortable, yet have some style? — Char, Troy, Mich.
Karl Lagerfeld, the longtime Chanel designer and coiner of many biting aphorisms, once dismissed sweatpants as “a sign of defeat.” It is possible that, were he alive today, he would say the same thing about leggings.
Long a gym and layering staple, leggings took a new dimension during the Covid-19 lockdowns as our need for comfort clothing rose and Gen Y decided they were synonymous with pants.
And therein lies the problem.
Our clothes carry with them memories of the times when they were worn. Putting them on can be like tasting Proust’s madeleine, sending you down a psychological and emotional wormhole and putting you back in the mental space of an earlier moment. Leggings now have so many associations with that uncertain and scary time when we were stuck in our homes, and the future seemed on pause, that continuing to wear them (at least outside of workout time) can make you feel equally stuck.
The way to move forward is to disaggregate what you still love about them — their ease, effectiveness and affordability — from the garment itself. After all, those qualities are not limited to leggings. They exist in other clothes, too.
Indeed, a whole subset of pants has grown up that could be called “pants that feel like leggings but look more polished.” They have a bit of stretch, elastic waists, the sort of fabric that can be thrown in the washing machine — and the cut of actual trousers.
I am thinking, for example, of the Everlane Dream Pant, with a built-in trouser pleat and slightly tapered legs; the Eileen Fisher Women’s Slim Ankle Pants with a cuff at the hem; and the Quince Ultra-Stretch Ponte Bootcut Pants. In each case, it’s the details — the seam, the finishing, the silhouette — that fools the eye into thinking it is looking at suit pants or their equivalent, while the materials (ponte, a thick knit with some give, is an especially good choice here) fool the body into thinking it is wearing leggings.
This is such a popular phenomenon that it has even led to the revival of that 1980s and ’90s classic: stirrup pants. Those are sort of halfway between leggings and pants, being loose enough around the calf and ankle not to resemble tights, but stretchy enough to feel like them. And the time for them is right, what with the current love of all things from the turn of the millennium.
Though I personally have reservations about the style (stirrup pants have a tendency to make the legs resemble carrots), it has the approval of Katie Holmes, that unexpected trendsetter, who was photographed wearing a pair in New York just before Thanksgiving, along with a dark denim peplum top.
If they are your jam — perhaps you have some stuck away in a closet, left over from the last time they were in style, and want to test the waters before investing in a new pair — update them by wearing the stirrup over your shoes rather than, say, tucked into boots That way they won’t make you look like a wannabe equestrian.
Then add a tailored jacket (see Hailey Bieber, who paired hers with a turtleneck and kitten heels) for a more businesslike take. It might even have some legs.
Your Style Questions, Answered
Every week on Open Thread, Vanessa will answer a reader’s fashion-related question, which you can send to her anytime via email or Twitter. Questions are edited and condensed.
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