New Cool Ways to wear Leggings

I found some cool legging pics on this site, check it out:

http://www.glamour.com/fashion/2009/09/10-cool-new-ways-to-wear-leggings

Which leggings shall I buy?

Since that leggings nowadays can be found in every single shop there is and there is almost no brand or generic brand name manufacturer that does not make them, the decision should be made based on fabric alone. In terms of fabric, there are many possible choices, most popular and probably also most available fabric would be a blend of spandex, polyester, cotton and nylon, whereby the mix can wildly vary, but the end product does not seem to be that different. In this case, the best thing that you can do is try them on and see how you feel wearing them. It is very likely that you will wind up having at least a pair of these.

Additional versions exist in plain wool, which are preferred by people who have problems wearing synthetic fabrics and even silk. Silk leggings tend to be expensive, sometimes it is cheaper to purchase silk in bulk and have someone tailor you a pair. There are the knitted leggings, which were popular in the eighties and are still preferred by some dancers and exercise aficionados. Finally, there are the latex leggings, which I mentioned earlier, but latex in general requires not only getting used to, but requires proper handling. Not everybody is interested in spending time preparing latex leggings for being worn, but such preparation and the actual wearing of latex in general make the ordeal worth your while. Leather leggings do exist, although it is almost always faux leather being used, the difference to leather pants is next to non-existent, due to the rigidity of the material. Unless you are really looking for exactly that, you should not consider leather and similar for leggings at all.

The comfortable sell-point, does it work?

Ever since in 2007 the leggings made a triumphant return, but this time for men and women alike, people started using them as casual wear, around the house, just like they used to wear sweatpants. The main difference here is the snug cut of the modern day leggings, which are made from microfiber cotton and wool. The modern man or woman is apparently not comfortable in sweatpants anymore, the regular pants are not really something a normal person would hang out in, while relaxing in the comfort of his or her own home. So, it is the new solution, something that is meant to be the casualwear of today, even for the private outings outside of own four walls.

Unfortunately, people who did embrace the casualwear moment of the leggings craze, seem not to be content to wear haute couture leggings for such an outing. Interestingly enough, while people who are famous do prefer to get caught at premieres or events in brand name products, in private, the very same celebs prefer to wear actual casual wear. In cases where such garments include leggings, more often than not, in candid moments, when not in the focus of the watchful eye of the public, these famous people wear the same leggings as you and I – the cheap kind.

I do not want to ponder the “celebs are people like you and I moment”, but I would like to point out that actually haute couture has embraced a model of clothing and managed not to outright kill it. For some time now, hats are dead to the world. It used to be, not even a hundred years ago, that if you left your home without a hat, you were considered not properly attired. Almost everybody wore a hat back then, which resulted in haute couture picking it up and literally killing it. Nowadays nobody wears a hat. If someone wears a headwear, they put a cap, baseball cap or something similar on.

With leggings, this did not happen. People did happily embrace the new form of leggings, liked how they feel and substituted some if not most of their casual wardrobe – read sweatpants – with these newly rediscovered garments. While leggings, because of the tight fit, are not really more comfortable than loose sweatpants, they do look better on slimmer people, which makes the switch understandable. It is therefore to be expected that leggings have found a permanent place in fashion.

Skinny leggings – the latex breakthrough

As I have already mentioned before, many celebrities, film stars, music icons and socialites wear currently leggings, very skinny leggings to be exact, but of a particular kind. Latex leggings are making the rounds and have finally transcended the BDSM domain of latex, crossing over to mainstream apparel. Latex leggings can be seen everywhere nowadays, worn either as shapewear, or as undergarments or plainly open as pants underneath a longer shirt or overall. The outfits vary, are even very ingenious, but nevertheless, the main attraction of such an apparel compilation are invariably the latex leggings.

Interestingly enough it is not only female celebrities being spotted wearing skin-tight latex leggings, some male celebs such as Adam Lambert and Adam Levine have been spotted wearing skinny leggings made out of latex as well. But as long Beyonce, Rhianna, Pink, Lady Gaga, Miley Cyrus and also film stars such as Katie Holmes or Christina Applegate wear them, latex skinny leggings will just become more popular in time. Luckily for not-so-deep pockets, there are also brand names that provide latex leggings that will not cost you an arm and a leg, mostly available over the internet, which are certainly more suitable for common people. Some of them even offer personal measurement adjustments at no extra cost.

Black Leggings – Youtube Video

Skinny leggings

Skinny leggings, or rather skin-tight leggings are very much popular nowadays. They are very tight, and for some reason big haute couture houses have decided to manufacture such skinny leggings. Naturally, not many regular people will be prepared to pay extra, just to have a haute name on the label, but this move makes not only leggings a more popular item, it makes leggings into haute fashion. If such names as Chanel, Armani, Sass & Bide, Chanel and others are making leggings nowadays, very skinny leggings, then you know that they are here to stay.

As I have already mentioned, a plethora of stars and celebrities are wearing leggings nowadays, from skinny leggings to regular dressed down galaxy print leggings, making this fashion utensil, this former sportswear exclusive or even further back, necessity for colder regions, the new “it” thing. Hats are passé, bring in the skinny leggings. I am not sure if you grasp how ridiculous this whole leggings movement is, particularly since there is no discernable difference between leggings, pantyhose and yoga pants, other than what is written on the label. Yes, some fashionistas will profess to know a difference, but put them in a room with fifty of such pantsuits without labels and they will have no idea which is which.

Even more ridiculous are some prices that these haute leggings are going for, you can buy a fully functional used car for that money, whereby the aforementioned galaxy print leggings go for some six quid. There is no excuse for such behaviour. I guess if people are paying, they will produce whichever outrageous thing they can sell, there is no doubt about it, even if it boggles the mind. Such skinny leggings, as made by some couturiers and labelled as leggings as well, are indistinguishable from regular tightly woven pants. However, celebrities seem not to have taken the bait, because they are flocking towards a particular version of skinny leggings. Read on for more info.

The leggings of the stars

Ever since celebrities became a household entity, we have been obsessing about anything they do, wear, think, say, no matter what. Female celebrities enjoy particular interest, because women would like to be them and men would like to be with them. If a certain celebrity starts wearing certain apparel, it gets noticed and produces a lot of publicity for such an item, even if it is something regular people have no intention or means to own. When in the eighties several celebrities started doing exercise videos, leggings were introduced into the world as the next big thing – and the next big thing they were.

The original Jane Fonda’s Workout Book was originally published in 1981, the follow up video came out a year later. Already on the cover, Jane Fonda is seen in a rather enticing pose, wearing a pair of leggings. The leggings she wore were of the separate kind, each leg had its own. The very same year, in 1981, Olivia Newton John released the promotional video to her song “Physical”, a rather funny take on all the exercise boom, but in that video she also wore a pair of leggings. The movie “Flashdance” with Jennifer Beals followed in 1983, where from then on almost every movie or TV spot featuring dancers and exercise featured women wearing leggings.

The new leggings craze boomed. Cindy Lauper, Debbie Harry of Blondie fame and Madonna followed the trend and it went overboard from there. Interestingly enough, for leggings to become acceptable as outer wear, without additional skirts, hotpants or anything and without being susceptible to mockery by passers-by, it almost twenty five, even thirty years. In recent times, from about 2007, leggings have received a sort of a renaissance, a reawakening if you will, where even the haute couture embraced the concept and produces high-brow leggings for overpriced outfits.

Nowadays, leggings are everywhere. It seems that women use similar clothing apparel for casual wear all the time, starting with yoga pants, going over leggings to sweatpants, casual garments for women seem to fit the picture. It is not quite clear as of yet if leggings will remain or become something else altogether – in the United States leggings are often mistakenly referred to as tights – but for now leggings seem to be here to stay. At least as recent sightings of Rhianna, the Olsen twins, Hale Berry, Amy Childs, Victoria Beckham, Miley Cyrus, MillaJovovich and most recently Anne Hathaway in a pair of galaxy leggings.

Leggings, what they are and where they come from

Leggings used to be around for a very long time, come to think of it. Going back in time, some form or another can be found almost everywhere, starting with the American Indians to their counterpart cowboys. They used leggings to avoid being chafed while horseback riding. In Scottish Highlands people used to wear them, as did people in Europe centuries ago, but they were not a fashion item then, but a necessity. Certain military uses were reported as well, a couple of centuries ago, but the real fashion breakthrough came years later, during the 80’s of the previous century, when the entire exercise craze started. Jane Fonda and her famous aerobic video series contributed, as did the immensely popular Olivia Newton-John video to “Physical”. The sequence in the movie “Flashdance”, with Jennifer Beals then completed the hat-trick and suddenly leggings were everywhere.

Leggings nowadays are doing a sort of a comeback, where fashion picked it up in a retro-renaissance, after the late nineties abandoned the whole concept. Several types of leggings are being provided now, including leggings for men and variants such as jeggings, but nowadays leggings are not only two separate units, where each leg has its own, but are interconnected by some kind of a hose. To properly distinguish between pantyhose, tights and leggings, you need to be a fashion expert. I have not even mentioned the long underwear or yoga pants.

In any case, leggings are being fabricated by using a variety of materials, starting with the most popular spandex and ending with latex. There seem to be no limitation as to which material can be used, but seemingly leggings do belong to the shapewear category, whereas pantyhose do not. However, leggings seem to be more acceptable to be worn visible, where pantyhose are rarely worn without an outer garment. Be it as may, leggings are making a comeback now and particularly in sports and dancing enjoy an extended popularity.

As your host on this site, my name is Pamela, I will try and introduce you to the fashionability of leggings and will provide you with the knowledge you may need to decide which leggings would suit your needs and meet your expectations.