It has become socially acceptable to wear leggings as pants, and they can now be seen not only at the gym, but also at cafes, grocery stores and even the work place. With high quality brands offering opaque, thick leggings, more and more women deem them acceptable for almost all occasions. This year’s athleisure trend now makes it okay not to change after the gym. So have leggings become the new pants?
Many American schools are banning them from the dress code for being too revealing. People like blogger Veronica Partridge have decided to stop wearing them as pants so as to avoid being sexualized by men around them. It seems leggings are causing a lot of controversy these days. The debate continues: are leggings the new pants?
Many argue that leggings are extremely revealing, and can be a visual distraction for those around. As principal Robe MacKinnon said of his school’s decision to ban leggings: "My take on this was focused on the idea that the school is a professional work-space and that some outfits that might be appropriate in some settings are not appropriate for all school settings”
Others will counter argue that if leggings are distracting to men, maybe it is they who should be taught differently, not women.
Whatever your take is on the issue, you can’t deny that leggings are sinfully comfortable, and that it can be hard to choose to wear your regular pants, when you have a pair of leggings in your closet. Perhaps leggings will never manage to completely replace pants, but they will hopefully continue to inspire more comfortable clothing.