"Jeggings"

Jeggings. What a funny word. And funnier still is that it's picking up. First, a popular jeans brand comes up with ultra-skinny pants and calls it "Jeans Leggings" (or something to that effect) and then before you know it, stores have racks filled with all sorts of "jeggings"--leggings made to look like jeans (maybe because they're cheaper).

I read an interesting article on leggings from Tiger Print, and I'd like to share an excerpt from it--it's called "Please, no legging behinds" by Katie Hinderer:

Leggings, pants and tights are all different fashion pieces. As such, they each have a specific use and while the lines can tend to blur occasionally on these items it’s important to keep these clothing items separate.

Leggings are not pants because they do not offer any structure or support. They are always skin-tight and form-fitting. And to be honest, in leggings it is possible for everyone to see every little bodily nuance we have. They do nothing to flatter our figure, re-proportion our silhouette or compliment our natural beauty. When worn alone we might as well announce to the world that our bottom half is the most important part and invite others to take a look. (Um… no thanks.)

What am I getting at? No matter how like jeans some leggings are, they're still leggings! What if everything meant as an accessory, accent or underthing is treated like a main article of clothing? Would you wear half slip as a skirt? How about a scarf as a shirt? Socks as shoes? (I'm thinking of "trendy" names for them now: skips, sharves and shocks. Maybe if some fashion guru said them, these words would catch on, too.)

Real fashion-forward people remember what each bit of clothing is for and how to wear them properly. If a fashion designer insists a camisole should be exposed and worn as a shirt, then that designer probably has no more bright ideas up her sleeve. It's one thing for them to try to pull that off (using photoshopped models in ad campaigns), it's another for consumers to snap it up without thinking.

So, let's be more discerning and give only the trends that really mean to make us look better and feel more confident the leg-up.

...as for jeans that look like leggings, if regular skinny jeans don't suit the trendsetter anymore, it might be a good time to remember what happens when people think micro minis aren't micro enough and short shorts aren't short enough: peek-a-boo, I see you!