What’s Your Take On… Jeggings?
Posted by: Laura Cassidy on Aug 06, 2010 at 10:30AM
2 Comments
Our sibling mag, Portland Monthly, did a bit on jeggings in their August issue. I’m curious where you stand … in fact, I’m curious where I stand.
The thing with everyone wanting to discuss the whole vulgarity of tights- and leggings-as-“pants” thing is that the skinny jeans thing is often just as … distasteful. In my opinion, if your skinny jeans are skinnier than you are, they look just as wrong as a pair of footless tights under a T-shirt.
Well, okay, almost just as wrong.
The relative bulk-factor of denim does provide a little more modesty, sure. But don’t fool yourself: It’s not just the look of denim, it’s the sturdy weight of the fabric around your tush that makes the parading of it in public more acceptable. Thus, a pair of leggings made to look like denim – that is, thin, curve- and flesh-hugging stretch fabrics that have a faded, raw, or acid-washed feel but not weight to them – nah. That’s not going to cut it.
On a side note, a friend/co-worker told me she posted the Portland Monthly link to her FB page and someone had a pretty astute observation: if the marketing un-genius who came up with the jeans + leggings hybrid term “jeggings” had instead come up with “leans,” well, a lot more women would be buying them.
Then again, in my opinion, that wouldn’t necessarily be a good thing.
Tags: What's Your Take On...
If the name is changed from Jeggings to Leans, I’m in.
Hmmm … doesn’t seem like you read the Portland Monthly piece closely. The point seems to be that higher-end brands like Vince are beginning to embrace a trend that otherwise appears (and certainly sounds) trite and ridiculous — and are making their own sophisticated, upscale versions. Like those in corduroy and suede cited in the article. I have also seen them in leather. So, rather than being leggings spray-painted to look like denim, most are actually denim with greater elasticity. Because, let’s face it, the skinny silhouette in pants doesn’t seem to be going anywhere for the time being. This seems to be a trend piece on how designers and apparel companies are addressing it in a more accessible — and mature way — way.