An Alphabet Of Things I Don’t Like: L

~ beetleypete

Leggings.

The first time I saw a young woman wearing leggings, I wrongly assumed she was about to take part in a sporting event. But I was wrong, she was simply walking around the shops. At first, all the leggings I saw were grey marl, much like these.

It wasn’t long before black became the most ubiquitous colour, and could be seen worn by many women instead of jeans or trousers.

I didn’t really get it. They were not tights, (pantyhose) and not track-suit trousers. Rarely worn with anything covering them, the fact they had no feet section seemed to change the idea of the girls and women wearing them about what was acceptable everyday wear.

Some women who would never have been seen dead in public without wearing a skirt over tights suddenly thought it was acceptable to commute to work dressed like this. (She is wearing some. Look just above her shoes and you can see the bottoms of them.)

It wasn’t long before it caught on with the older age groups, though they sometimes wore a longer top to accompany the leggings.
(And yes, that includes my own wife. Though this is not her in the photo.)

I am sure that many girls and women find this clothing item exceedingly comfortable. But for my taste it lacks the class of either trousers, or skirt or dress worn with nylons. As I have said before, I am old fashioned. I accept that women should be free to dress as they please, and that my opinion doesn’t matter in the slightest.

But that said, I really wouldn’t be happy if my wife or girlfriend was walking around dressed like this.

Sorry, female readers. I don’t like them.

70 thoughts on “An Alphabet Of Things I Don’t Like: L”

  1. They are comfortable, but yes, I have seen some terrible examples and I wouldn’t wear them without enough cover. I am forever puzzled by the fact that some people are dressed as if they were always either going or coming back from the gym, and I refer to gym leggings, rather than “dress” leggings. I like them for the gym but not for wearing them outside (mind you, there are people who dress from top to bottom as if they lived in a gym, or a yoga studio). Anyway, thanks, Pete. Some of your pics are scary, but I’ve seen similar examples.

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      2. As the unfortunately already deceased fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld once said: “Anyone who wears leggings or the like without wanting to do sports has lost touch with reality!” 🙂
        In my eyes wearing this on streets is not fashion, its only laziness. Sorry! Michael

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  5. This is the female equivalent around here of the men with their butts hanging out showing me their briefs. I have no interest in other peoples’ underwear and have no idea why people seem so eager to show them off. (Boy I am definitely turning into a curmudgeon. Well, actually I was a young curmudgeon too ranting about men’s Speedo suits.)

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  6. The photos with this post are definitely the worst examples of how to wear leggings (except for maybe the lady in the red heels.). But I am a “woman of a certain age” who owns and wears leggings to work and manage to look professional. Firstly, they are thick enough as not to be almost transparent. Then, I wear them with a tunic that reaches at least to mid-thigh. Add a good quality pair of shoes and some jewelery and I promise, the outfit meets business code standards.

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    1. Thanks for your thoughts, Linda. I did deliberately pick two ‘bad’ examples, as well as some better ones. I am sure that you carry off your outfits very well, and look completely respectable.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  7. I put mine on for the first time yesterday as it got down to -3c, the goats don’t seem to mind, but then I do wear trousers over the top of them 🙂
    But you are right Pete, most of the tie they should not be seen outside 🙂

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  11. I don’t get it either. I always feel like they’ve forgotten to put on their pants! That said, I have seen them worn more like tights under a long tunic or dress. That makes sense to me as they become an accessory not the star of the show.

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  15. (1) Neither my friend, Robin Hood, nor his merry men see anything wrong with leggings.
    (2) Now that you’ve discussed the virtues of leggings, I’m thinking of dressing my pet centipede.
    (3) I once saw a bum begging on the street corner. It was begging for a skirt to cover its lumps.

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  16. Some of these are barely decent. Why would you go out on public showing your knickers? The grey marl ones are OK as long as you are slim. No one over 50 or who is not skinny should wear them unless underneath a long top.

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    1. Thanks for your thoughts, Jude. Even in a small town like Dereham I see quite a few of the ‘barely decent’ variety. 🙂 And before I left London, they were everywhere in that city.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  17. I wear leggings too, but the top covers my body to at least 6 inches above knees, so, it looks more like chudidar pyjamaa, the ethnic wear in India. Also, the material is not see-through. I can understand your dislike though, because I’ve seen too many women looking like what you shared. I would prefer seeing a bikini which at least justifies the show of skin.

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  20. oh i love leggings specially in the winter. they’re comfy and provide extra warmth. but i wore them appropriately under a mini dress or long top and definitely with style 🥰. way far from the above examples. 🙂 🙂

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  21. I do indeed find them very comfortable, though I hope I never looked like some of those pictures. They are useful for wearing under shorts, skirts or thin trousers in winter and when I taught yoga I wore them all the time to avoid having to get changed for every class

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  24. The problem with them is that the women who wear them in the most exposed way possible are always the ones who really shouldn’t. I think it’s much to do with culture/trends/fashions in attitude; when I was in my teens and twenties, if you had some fat bits you would wear something that camouflaged them. Now it’s all this ‘yay, be proud of who you are, you go girl, flaunt it’ stuff, with the result that you see young girls walking down the road with their fat muffin tops on display, belly-button pierced, etc.

    I wear them a lot. Yes, they’re really comfortable. I have slim legs and narrow hips, but would never wear them without something that was at least bum-covering length (like your wife), because a) my stomach is best covered these days, and b) it’s just… not very seemly. Though I doubt you could explain the word ‘seemly’ to some of the women in these photos! As you say, they’re really just like wearing thick tights with no skirt. I also wore them in the 70s with enormous tops, but they were called ‘footless tights’ then, and you could only get them in shops that sold gym and ballet wear. I wouldn’t wear them with heels; I only wear them with flat boots or sandals. They’re a casual garment.

    btw, both the woman in the red shoes and the girl at the cashpoint at the top look just fine!

    WordPress.com / Gravatar.com credentials can be used.

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    1. I found this in Spam, Terry. It was sent twice, so flagged as Spam.
      Thanks for your thoughts from a female perspective. I am used to them now, as around here at least 75% of all women seem to wear them all the time. But they are becoming more ‘revealing’, year on year, so ‘seemly’ is a very good word to use.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  25. Oh my word, Pete, I am so glad I’ve never seen that here. I do occasionally wear, under a dress in the winter time instead of tights as I’m allergic to nylon, I buy cotton leggings. I can’t actually believe that people walk around looking like this. I’m so glad I had male children.

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    1. I tried to pick two ‘nice’ examples, and two ‘bad’ ones, alongside the ‘normal look’ of the lady with the buggy. Wearing a long top with them, like red shoe lady, makes them a lot more acceptable.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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