January 10, 2008

What to Wear With Leggings

I never should have bought them, but I got some leggings at Express after seeing my friend wear them (they look good on her but she's tall and thin!). I got mid-calf ones in black, blue, and green (the blue and green are kind of like jewel tones). What colors would you recommend for skirts? The black ones are pretty easy and I usually wear them with knee high boots, but I don't know what to pair the color ones with. I got a pair of black flats to wear with them, but boots are a lot safer for me. :/ My husband thinks leggings are dumb and a couple other blogs I read really don't like leggings, so I need some help getting the courage to wear them! And they looked great on you so I figured you'd be good to ask! M.

Dear M.,

don't say you shouldn't have bought them. Leggings are in style, lots of people are wearing them, stores are carrying them, so it's only natural to want to give them a try.

I was very reluctant myself, if you read one of my first posting on here, I was actually appalled that leggings were back. Mostly because of the 80s fashion's bad reputation. But then I felt somewhat relieved when I saw that this fashion flashback came with a modern/current influence as well.

So, this time around, leggings are not as bad as they were back in the 80s. Back then, it looked like nobody had an ounce of (fashion) common sense, so they (we) kept pairing them with fluo colors, leg warmers, headbands, and oversized t-shirts.

Today, luckily we have learned from those mistakes and we wear leggings in a more fashionable way.

Black leggings, as you said, are the easiest to wear. But don't wear them always with the same pieces, try something new. Like Fergie, try wearing them casually, with a long (not oversized) t-shirt and a pair of pretty pumps.

Another favorite pairing is with a tunic dress. But skip the knee-high boots, and wear flats. You want to show at least your ankles.

And, as you've seen in my previous post (thank you for the compliments), you can also pair them with a dress, for a more casual party look.

You can pair colored leggings the same way you pair black ones. But you need to pay extra attention to color coordination.

You can be conservative and wear the blue leggings with a darker blue skirt. I don't know how bright the jewel tone is, but if it's bright enough, there is probably no way to play it down, and I would just accentuate it and make it the focal point. You can pair the blue ones with black, gray, green, cream, and, if you dare, with red.

The green ones can be paired with green, brown, black, lavender, blue and yellow.

As for your husband, try this: one day wait for him at home wearing the black leggings, a black feather boa on your neck, and a pair of black pumps. And nothing else. I bet he won't associate "dumb" with leggings after that anymore. ;)

In closing, enjoy your leggings as much as you can now, because I have a pretty good feeling that their time is almost up. I will be surprised if they are still around next winter.


Anonymous said...

haha thanks for the great response to my question. :) I think I need to get some more flats! I only have one black pair but I like how they look better than I thought I would (I thought I would need a heel to make my leg/ankle look better but my ankles don't look as bad as I thought they would).

NY Spender said...

Great! Go pick up another pair or two! :)

Tala said...

hiiiiiiiiii- basically i think that the leggings look has been killed, but it is honestly so convenient. it can be dressed up or down, and perfect for various body types. i would def always recommend it. just like skinny jeans :)

Amanda said...

Thanks for answering that question! I just googled it and found this I have black, bright blue & hot pink. (any suggestions for pink?)