What’s not to love about leggings?
They’re comfortable. They hold everything in. They’re great at making lazy outfits look sleek and stylish. They’re inexpensive. And there’s something so retro fabulous about them.
I for one am a huge fan.
But one of the most prolific fashion rule to emerge over the last few years is the danger of wearing a pair of leggings as pants. From Blair Waldorf to Conan O’Brien, it seems like everyone has a passionate opinion on the right way to wear this humble garment.
But as with most pressing debate in life, nothing is black and white. What if you’re wearing a tunic? What about running tights or yoga gear? What’s the rule on jeggings? Aren’t really tight pants pretty much the same thing?
Is it ever OK to wear leggings as pants? Or, why is wearing leggings as pants so frowned upon?
I’ve researched both sides of the argument, and have developed a few guidelines of my own to help steer me in the direction of what I feel good and confident wearing. After you read, leave a comment and tell us where you weigh in on this argument. Ready to debate this out? Read on, girlfriends!
Related reading: How to Wear Leggings: The Ultimate Guide to Cute Leggings Outfits
Table of Contents
Arguments In Favor of Leggings As Pants
With heavy fabrics, interesting styles, and the popularity of “skinny” cut pants, it’s understandable why some people would embrace the idea of wearing leggings as pants.
First of all, they’re super comfortable. The elastic waistline will feel good on your body all day long, no matter if you’re sitting at a desk studying for finals or lounging on a couch watching movies with your girlfriends. I love each and every pair of jeans that I own, but nothing compares to the stretchy goodness that a nice pair of cotton leggings can provide.
Second, a quality pair can support your hips and backside enough to function as a pair of pants. As long as the leggings are thick and supportive, I don’t see a need to discriminate against a piece just because it’s less structured than others.
Also, leggings have been a staple of chic girls’ wardrobes for decades. Remember how beautiful Audrey Hepburn looked in her signature pair of cropped ankle-length leggings and ballet flats, paired with a crisp white button-down shirt, or a black turtleneck? My mind also goes to ’80s bombshells like Cyndi Lauper and Paula Abdul wearing brightly-colored, high-cut leggings with spikey stilettos. The legging is such a cool throwback item!
Lastly, you have to admit that the right pair of leggings can make you feel super sexy and ultra cool. Both the shiny and matte lamé leggings from American Apparel are so badass that just wearing a pair will make you feel like Catwoman! Dark-colored leggings are very flattering and will make your legs look miles long, especially when worn with a pair of heels.
Related reading: The Best Leggings Outfits for Work
Arguments Against Leggings As Pants
On the flipside, I can definitely understand why many girls regard leggings as pants as a huge fashion faux pas.
Generally, leggings aren’t the most supportive piece in your closet. They’re easy to spot panty lines though, and they don’t do the best job of, well, giving your tush the lift and shape it deserves.
Second, not to get super graphic or anything, but, well, wearing leggings as pants puts you in the danger zone of accidentally ending up with a frontal wedgie-type situation. Wardrobe malfunctions are never a thing you want to spend the day worrying about. They’re distracting to think about, not to mention pretty awkward — for both for you and whoever happens to witness them.
Another big reason some girls are against leggings as pants involves the potential for revealing too much. If the leggings aren’t thick and opaque, they can easily be see-through, and if said see-through leggings aren’t covered by an appropriately long top, they can give passersby a full-on view of your anatomy. This isn’t a fashion statement that most of us want to make, nor is it something we want to be subjected to on our 7AM walk to class.
Lastly, wearing leggings as a pair of pants is just…well, a tad bit lazy. Not that that’s totally a bad thing — obviously, if you’re studying and just vegging out with friends, looking sharp isn’t going to be your first priority. But, some girls liken leggings to sweatpants or yoga pants, and think they should be saved for days that you’re running late or feeling a little under the weather. While I definitely think leggings are usually better than wearing sweatpants or (yikes) pajamas in public, I can see where it’d be a little bit sloppy to constantly wear them.
Finally — My Tips and Tricks For Rocking Leggings as Pants
Taking the best of both worlds, I’ve compiled a few rules of thumb for rocking a pair of leggings. Check them out below! (And for more, see our post on how to wear leggings.)
- This is very obvious, but the safest way to wear leggings is with a tunic that hits about mid-thigh. This way, you’ll get the look of leggings, but still have plenty of hip, butt, and crotch coverage. Always a good thing!
- If you want to be bold and wear leggings with a thigh-grazing top, be sure to go for styles with thick, opaque fabric and a good amount of support. Like I mentioned before, the very stretchy lamé versions from American Apparel are a small miracle.
- I know this is kind of awkward to talk about, but you want to make sure to have full coverage (and at least an inch or two of some wiggle room) covering your crotch. This part of the equation is completely non-negotiable.
- However, if you happen to be so bold, you can be a little more relaxed about how covered your backside is. Of course, this depends on how comfortable you are with your body, your personal body shape, how thick and structured your leggings are, and what sort of a top you’re wearing. If you have doubts, recruit an honest friend to tell you how you look.
- Jeggings are tricky. Some of them look just like real jeans, so it’s sort of a delicate line to walk. Personally, I find them to be a little to thin and unsupportive to wear with shirts shorter than tunic length, but if you have a great pair that you love, more power to you!
- Dark-colored leggings are absolutely the most flattering. I’m not saying they can’t be worn, but I’ve yet to see a pair of white or nude-colored leggings look right.
- For a relaxed yet chic look, pair cotton leggings with riding boots and an oversized knit sweater. Finish with a top knot or a loose side braid.
- Leggings are the perfect thing to pair with a dress that’s just a little bit too short to wear alone. If your dress is getting close to knee length, though, opaque tights will look much more chic with it than leggings.
- For a sexy look perfect for a night on the town, pair stretchy lamé or coated leggings with a longish tank top or silky blouse. Finish with edgy jewelry, your tallest pair of heels, and a box clutch.
- Wear black leggings with a chambray button-down and wedges for a breezy model off duty sort of look.
- If you dare to wear a regular-length top with a pair of leggings, balance it out with a long scarf and cardigan. You could also channel the ’90s and tie a sweater or shirt around your waist for coverage.
How do you feel about leggings as pants?
What are your thoughts on wearing leggings as pants? Would you ever wear leggings with a regular-length shirt? Do you think leggings come off as too casual for many occasions? What are the rules you follow to avoid a faux pas? Where do you fall on the legging debate continuum? We want to know how you feel about this issue! Let us know with a comment!
I would only wear leggings as pants if my shirt fully covered my behind. But still, I’d so much rather wear jeans and feel fully covered than wear leggings. My sister wears leggings all the time and doesn’t cover her behind, and usually it just doesn’t look good.
Since a lot of the time I see people “allowing” leggings on thin, attractive or fit girls and not on bigger or average girls, I would say the answer, for the sake of body positivity, should by always. Wedgies and genital cleavage aside since I think that IS too much, tight clothing showing body rolls or jiggly thighs should never be a reason NOT to wear something. If someone is comfortable with their body and likes their comfort, it’s not our job to crush that by policing them. Camel toe is yeah, inappropriate, but I think we need to be careful about saying when someone can wear something and make sure we’re not trying to tell them *who* can wear what.
The idea that I’d wear something or not wear something because some dude on campus would think something about me is a little messed up. I don’t dress for other people, I dress for me. I’m not wearing outfits because it pleases anyone else, I’m not here for visual consumption by other people, and I’m certainly not in charge of the gross thoughts or actions of other people. Also, to modify MY behavior to prevent nastiness from people who have no respect for other’s agency and privacy is kind of victim-blamey and I hate it. Men who take pictures of women in leggings without their knowledge and permission are the problem, not the women in leggings.
That said, do your thing, ladies. Rock whatever you want, as long as you feel good in it.
Just no. I’ve seen girls with perfect figures wear leggings with short tops and even without crotch outlines, something about the outfit just doesn’t look right. It’s not because it’s revealing either, because I have no issue with that. It just looks odd, just like how a pair of leggings with a knee-length dress looks odd.
ack, that being said, i’ve seen a few girls in skin colored leggings with camel toe. i think we can agree that skin color leggings should probably be avoided. with or without camel toe.
i don’t really see the big deal. i have a pair of exercise leggings that are thick and opaque. i’m not wearing them with crop tops, but that’s because i don’t wear crop tops. i’ve seen girls wear crop tops with leggings and rock them. most of my shirts come down to at least mid-butt, which covers the front. which is good enough for me. honestly, why are we staring so much at girl’s crotches and butts? that seems rude :p just let people rock their leggings, and be glad they’re not in sweats.
There is potential for poor judgement with any type of clothing – skirts show vpl as well, lots of bottoms aren’t supportive, and camel toe has existed long before the advent of modern leggings.
These leggingxpants hybrids aren’t the same as sheer tights or pantyhose, their distant cousins. They’re here to stay, so let’s accept them and recognize their flaws as the mistakes of their owner, not of the pants themselves.
Thanks for this article I used to be against leggings as pants but I’ve started to come around but I have seen the issues that you covered that made me weary of going full out so to speak. Thanks for sharing both sides along with styling tips.
I kind of wish that leggings could be worn as pants because it would make life SO much simpler, but the fact of the matter is that I haven’t seen a single person pull that off yet! So I believe that covering most of your butt and all of your “frontal cleavage” as you put it (hahaha!) is a must. Also, it hides your possible panty line as well! All dignity stays intact!
Personally, I don’t think that leggings should be worn as pants unless if their top of choice is covering their butt. Almost all the girls on campus at my school are wearing them.
Wearing leggings= you MUST have your crotch and booty covered! There are tons and i mean TONS of forums and websites created by guys, dedicated to showing pictures of women’s butts in leggings and yoga pants (my guy friends showed me this).
It’s gross, and I don’t want some creepy random guy taking a picture of my rear, or thinking sexual thoughts about me… So i always keep it covered! Plus it’s really no different from wearing tights as pants, or spandex as pants, and who would do that?! Keep it classy!
Buying leggings with thicker fabric (like a ponte knit) is key. Those cheap $7 Target leggings are always see through.
Heck I’m rocking leggings right now. And looking around campus, it seems about 1 in 5 girls at least are too. It’s midterms week so I’m also wearing a longish shirt with a tank underneath, a baseball cap and not a speck of makeup. Generally I save leggings for days like this. I definitely feel that longer shirts are necessary though. Not necessarily full coverage, but at least half.
The only times I’ve worn leggings as pants have been at home lounging around, in-door rock climbing, and Halloween costumes (I put together a pretty cool Ziggy Stardust costume one year). Otherwise, I usually wear an oversized tunic/sweatshirt with them or put shorts or a skirt over them. They’re chic, yet comfortable. I think some of the different patterned and leather-type leggings can be doable as pants. If you can balance it out proportionately without the wedgie/camel toe issue, then I think it can be pulled off.
The problem I have with leggings as pants is that I’ve yet to see a pair that don’t end up either causing some serious genital cleavage or go pretty much see through when someone bends over. Now, maybe I’ve missed seeing the actually appropriate ones because I thought they were just skinny jeans/pants, but it does seem like a fairly unwinnable battle. That being said – I would suggest the following simple tests to determine if a pair of leggings would actually provide enough coverage:
1) Do you have to wear thongs with them to avoid panty-line? This is pretty self-evident; if the only way you can avoid panty-line is to not have any lines where they would show, your leggings are too thin and/or tight and therefore won’t cover anything. This is not to say that your leggings should work with all underwear – we all have that pair that won’t even work under most suit pants, never mind leggings.
2) Wearing a pair of non-thong underwear that contrast your skin, can you see a light/dark difference when you bend over? If you can, your leggings are too thin to provide proper coverage. Don’t fool yourself, bending over will happen, and wearing matching colour briefs just makes people think they’re looking at your actual butt.
3) Wear whatever type(s) of underwear you’re most likely to wear with the leggings, then move around in the leggings for five minutes. Go up and down stairs (or pretend to by stepping on and off your couch or coffee table), bend over, sit down and cross and uncross your legs. Do anything you might do in a typical day and do more. And do NOT readjust your leggings at all during those five minutes. Then go look in a mirror. If the leggings are riding up and causing any kind of noticeable cleavage down there, they’re too thin and/or tight and they will absolutely do this to you during the day, which means you’ll either be constantly picking/readjusting, or you’ll be showing that all off.
Now, I love leggings, but I would never wear any as pants because I have yet to find a pair that don’t fail at least one rule. I might even consider some if they only failed rule 1, but that rule always seems to indicate that they’ll fail both other rules too. Now, if other people want to wear leggings as pants without long shirts despite failing my rules, that’s entirely up to them. I have, however, had a few friends try the rules and realize that they really weren’t OK with what the leggings they’d been wearing actually revealed. I wonder how many people aren’t aware of their true exposure wearing leggings as pants and wouldn’t be OK with it if they were.
Love your story! I am a big fan of leggings and love to wear them on my lazy days. Typically if I wan to wear leggings to work and still look appropriate I wear a longer dress or double up. Like yesterday I wore opaque leggings (tights) with my target leggings over them and I was not only warm enough but I had the support I needed. Paired with a front and backside covering shirt (thigh grazer) and a boyfriend blazer. Like you said just make sure you are covered and you can’t see through the leggings.