The humble loungewear staple has become a lig htening rod for controversy. But you’ll never part us from our leggings, says Laura Antonia Jordon
IF YOU THOUGHT that baring your nipples, donning a political protest T-shirt or wearing a white dress to someone else’s wedding were controversial clothing moves, then you haven’t done a risk assessment on leggings lately. Because leggings, according to some corners of the internet, are loaded.
In January, the founder and former CEO of posh g ym gear brand Lululemon, Chip Wilson, chimed in with some un-spirational tosh to kick off the new year. Talking to Forbes he bemoaned the brand’s attempts to be ‘everything to everybody… You’ve got to be clear that you don’t want certain customers coming in.’ (Wilson stepped down as chairman in 2013 after saying , ‘Frankly, some women’s bodies just don’t actually work for it,’ after some leggings were recalled for thinning.)
Then, in proof that social media giants can act swiftly to remove troubling content when necessary, TikTok deleted the hashtag #legginglegs, which went viral after women began using it as a platform for sharing their thigh gaps. Searches now redirect to eating disorder charity information.
So, yes, leggings are a lightning rod for controversy. Why should we care ? First – and I can’t believe we still have to say this – obviously, because there is no such thing as a ‘right’ or ‘wrong ’ body for anything. There are bodies and there are clothes and you can do with both what you want. Plus, diktats about who can wear what are boring and just one of the reasons why the word ‘flattering ’ has fallen out of favour. Second, because we love leggings and, thigh gap or no thigh gap, we can’t quit them.
Thanks to their stretch and elasticated waists, leggings have all the comfort of their adjacent workout-to -slob -out cousins, the trackpant. That makes them, duh, a no -brainer for weekends and working from home days – but, but, but: if sw
