Five ways not to wear leggings

I am a self-confessed leggings addict. I own about 7 pairs, one for every day of the week and I will almost certainly go through them all. I wear them in, I wear them out, I wear them out-out and I have been known to wear them to bed. Comfortable and versatile, leggings are my absolute favourite fashion essential, so when I see people wearing them in an offensive way, I become almost personally insulted at the defacing of my beloved clothing item.

Of the fashion faux pas’ so commonly associated with leggings, these five are my chief bug bears…

TUCKING YOUR TOP INTO YOUR LEGGINGS.

Now, this would perhaps be less offensive if people could do it right. The one or two times I have seen someone with their top tucked into their leggings without it bunching up, I have understood the desire to do so. It looked ok. But the emphasis here is on the number of times this has been a successful look. One. Or. Two. It’s not common and 99.9% of the time it is not ok. If you don’t have a muffin top why give yourself one by bunching your top into your waistband?!

ROLLING THE BOTTOMS UP.

As we get older, we know what size clothing we need. Having mastered this skill, why do some people feel the need to roll the bottoms of their leggings up? The visible seam appears to almost spite the seamstress who worked long and hard at sewing your leggings up for it to NOT be seen. Embrace the bunched bit at the bottom because when it comes to leggings, rolling your bottoms up isn’t indie, it’s just silly.

 ROLLING THE TOP OVER.

This seems to chiefly occur when leggings are paired with a crop top and they’re deemed neither high waisted enough to be ‘cool’ nor low slung enough to be casually indie, thus we see the tops of leggings rolled over, not only offending seamstresses everywhere yet again, but frankly, making leggings slaggy. There is a certain innuendo behind a rolled over legging which goes unappreciated and needs to be stopped. 

LEAVING THE HEEL TUCKED UNDER.

Admittedly this fashion horror story has largely been confined to the dark days of year 9 and 10 but I felt it’s a look which needs to be publicly condemned. Leaving the heel of your leggings tucked under with a pair of high heels is something which should never have been allowed to happen and is something we will never be able to explain.

WHEN THEY’RE JUST NOT THICK ENOUGH.

The absolute most common leggings pitfall. We’ve all seen it, and we all dread to be the one whose knickers are on show – it’s the most dangerous element to wearing leggings and when it happens, there’s no disguising it. Whether a brightly patterned set featuring the equally dreaded VPL, or a slightly skimpier option (in an attempt to avoid VPL) it’s not a situation we want to experience in any way, either as the criminal or the witness for reasons which don’t need to be explained.

So, students of Roho, I urge you to take note. The comfort and versatility of the legging is being exploited, and we must redeem its elegance.