Not meaning to sound like a perve, but this but there’s fair bit of VPL (visible panty line), saddle bags (hip fat) and camel toe (surely I don’t need to explain that one) on show this season.
Leggings, worn badly, are to blame.
They’re in my local supermarket where women have just “popped” (in all sorts of manners) out for a few supplies. They’re in my local cafes and gym. And weirdest of all, they’re in my local CBD at peak hour (Bum crack for the office. Who would have thought?)
I should preface this by saying I’m in fact a great fan of the humble legging.
No fly-by-night trend, it’s been with us for the past five or so seasons and looks like it’s here to stay.
Worn in a demure way, with a nice over-the-bum tunic, shirt or skirt, leggings are funky and comfortable and suit women of all ages shapes and sizes.
I should also put in a disclaimer that I’m no high-fashion, stick-thin, cashed-up head turner myself. (Yes- I was the nerd in floral shirts, jeans and sneakers who hung out with music students and debaters in high school. But you could get away with it in the 80s and 90s.)
That said, I pride myself on my finely tuned “average person’s” barometer for good taste. And leggings teamed with short tops or T-shirts come firmly under the “too much information’’ radar.
Because here’s the thing: leggings are not jeans, nor are they pants.
Even their current season guise, jeggings, (leggings patterned like jeans… big with the teenage Supre set) are not pants.
Really they’d have to fit more into the realm of tights in terms of see-through factor, support and coverage.
And who in their right mind would just duck out for a carton of milk in tights, thongs (as in the shoe variety) and a skimpy T-shirt?
Doesn’t matter how skinny or otherwise you are, you look like you’ve forgotten an important part of your outfit. Like your skirt.
I’m not alone in my rantings here. There are Facebook groups devoted to this very cause, one in particular with more than a million ‘’likes’’.
Next time you’ve a spare few minutes to kill, try a Google Image search for “leggings are not pants” and you’ll see some anti-inspirational pictures of celebs and everyday people with it all hangin’ out.
It’s nice to know that even the likes of long and lean Agyness Deyn can get leggings wrong. So how to wear them correctly?
Adelaide stylist Lucy MacGill assures me leggings are indeed intended as a layering building block. Pair them with draped tops, and oversized or swing T-shirts with jagged edges, she says. Lucy would personally wear her leggings with a jersey top, leather and ankle boots.
For the more fashion-forward, she suggests pairing leggings with a long, man-style denim shirt (because denim on denim is back, baby! Eek!).
Alternately, if you’re after something comfortable to lounge about in, what’s wrong with the tried and tested trakkie?
At least it doesn’t display your cellulite to all and sundry at the Coles check out.
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