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leggings: if and how
Jul. 1st, 2009 10:16 pmI've been observing an overlap of trends of late.
1) straight or wide trousers with shrunken tops. My first and most dramatic awareness of this was the sports bra/phat jean combo from my raving days, but this seems to have been the mainstream proportion (with dropped waist) since the late '90s/early '00s.
2) retro 80's look of big on top, small on the bottom - tunic tops, "boyfriend" jackets, or body-skimming dresses over skinny jeans or [cringe] leggings. The tops got longer as the waistline got lower and I gather the narrow jean has been gaining on bootlegs since around '06 or so, but didn't notice genuinely tapered pants until last fall.
There's some crossover - I'm seeing a lot of tunics worn under shorter jackets, for example, or fluttery cardigans over loose pants - but by and large the tops that look good with one trend aren't so hot with the other. Last time I shopped it was starting to look like fluttery tops/slim bottoms were winning out though, so I might be having to make some wardrobe changes - not necessarily to keep in style but in order to replace what gets worn out.
My standard work uniform is wide legged trousers with slim, short blazers and usually a tee underneath (because it's hard to find button-downs that fit; but that's another post). Last fall I got a pair of skinny jeans after seeing them all over Italy and liking anything I can wear with my knee-high boots, but I'm not sold on leggings yet.
Part of it is memories of 80's legging abuse, and part of it is the dearth of tunic tops/dresses to wear over them 'cos that's how they're being worn now - I like the drapey-without-sloppy look but again, it's hard to find tops that fit my bustline.
There's also my feeling that capri-leggings have something indefinably.... girly? Playful? Otherwise "not me"-ish about them, something that reminds me of the horrible legging/baby doll dress combo from high school that was out of character for me then and wildly unprofessional now.
But skinny black jeans? I might get a pair of those. 'Cos with a tiny jacket and the right boots they're (corporate) badass.
1) straight or wide trousers with shrunken tops. My first and most dramatic awareness of this was the sports bra/phat jean combo from my raving days, but this seems to have been the mainstream proportion (with dropped waist) since the late '90s/early '00s.
2) retro 80's look of big on top, small on the bottom - tunic tops, "boyfriend" jackets, or body-skimming dresses over skinny jeans or [cringe] leggings. The tops got longer as the waistline got lower and I gather the narrow jean has been gaining on bootlegs since around '06 or so, but didn't notice genuinely tapered pants until last fall.
There's some crossover - I'm seeing a lot of tunics worn under shorter jackets, for example, or fluttery cardigans over loose pants - but by and large the tops that look good with one trend aren't so hot with the other. Last time I shopped it was starting to look like fluttery tops/slim bottoms were winning out though, so I might be having to make some wardrobe changes - not necessarily to keep in style but in order to replace what gets worn out.
My standard work uniform is wide legged trousers with slim, short blazers and usually a tee underneath (because it's hard to find button-downs that fit; but that's another post). Last fall I got a pair of skinny jeans after seeing them all over Italy and liking anything I can wear with my knee-high boots, but I'm not sold on leggings yet.
Part of it is memories of 80's legging abuse, and part of it is the dearth of tunic tops/dresses to wear over them 'cos that's how they're being worn now - I like the drapey-without-sloppy look but again, it's hard to find tops that fit my bustline.
There's also my feeling that capri-leggings have something indefinably.... girly? Playful? Otherwise "not me"-ish about them, something that reminds me of the horrible legging/baby doll dress combo from high school that was out of character for me then and wildly unprofessional now.
But skinny black jeans? I might get a pair of those. 'Cos with a tiny jacket and the right boots they're (corporate) badass.
