Yes, Leggings Are Pants and If You Don't Agree, You're Wrong

I possess more than a few unpopular opinions. I dislike burritos, don't find Parks & Recreation funny and have never enjoyed reading The Great Gatsby.

But there's one thing I find myself arguing about more than anything else: whether or not leggings are, in fact, pants. While leggings have been around for hundreds of years — and were originally made of two separate pieces! — the garment we know them as today didn't become popular until the '60s.

The question ever since: Are leggings actually pants? There are points to be made on either side of the debate, but I trust that after you hear me out on this, you'll agree with me.

Argument A: Leggings Are Pants

Here's my logic: It all depends on the opacity. If you are wearing leggings that don't reveal the color of your underwear (should you be wearing any), then you're good to go.

"Whenever you're trying to determine whether a pair of leggings can be pulled off as pants, first feel the fabric — it should feel thick," advises Lexie Sachs, the executive director of the Textiles Lab at the Good Housekeeping Institute. "If it feels like the equivalent of jersey T-shirt fabric, it's probably too thin." She recommends trying them on in good lighting and bending over while looking in the mirror to test the opacity.

Once you've figured that out, it doesn't matter what size you are, nor what you're wearing with them; the same classic pair of black leggings can look fantastic with a tunic, a T-shirt, a crop top or three different knit layers. It just depends on how you style the outfit.

One big reason I love wearing leggings as pants: By nature, they conform to my body. If your weight tends to fluctuate quite a bit the way mine does, wearing stretchy clothes saves both energy and money. Going denim shopping is infuriating, and I don't always feel comfortable wearing skirts or dresses, so a simple pair of yoga pants or leggings is the perfect solution.

I know some folks think that leggings are simply too tight to be worn on their own. The thing is, it's not exactly a secret that you have a figure, and if you're wearing tight jeans or a form-fitting dress, you're already "revealing" it. And there's nothing wrong with wanting to show off your body! Plus, if you're going to do so, you might as well do it in the comfiest possible way, right? It's a win-win.

Argument B: Leggings Are Not Pants

"Leggings are not pants," several articles on the Internet argue. This side is a little harder for me to work through because as you can tell, I'm biased. But for the sake of a well-rounded discussion, let's break down some of the reasons people believe that this wardrobe staple should never be worn as pants.

According to the above Tennessee woman whose rant about leggings went viral in 2015, leggings should only be worn with shirts that cover your butt and only in colors other than white ("Them's a big ol' no-no, you can see all kinds of stuff through them," she laments). Now, these folks wearing white leggings may simply not be following the primary rule of white clothes: Always go with nude undergarments.

Other folks raise the issue of weight when it comes to leggings. Namely, that if you're not thin, you shouldn't be wearing leggings as pants (if at all), which is a ludicrous notion that does nothing but promote body shaming:

On a regular basis, fashion magazines and blogs call leggings plus a crop top "off-duty model style," provided the wearer is thin. The shirt doesn't need to go over their butts, nor do they need to worry about being called sloppy or lazy for simply wearing leggings or even sweatpants in public.

So, why shouldn't the same apply to the rest of us? Poke around social media, and you can see people of all shapes and sizes wearing leggings as pants who look amazing.

The Verdict

You don't owe anyone an explanation for why you like to wear the clothing you like, nor should you change how you dress just because someone else doesn't think your body is "right" for a particular garment.

Leggings do, in fact, count as pants — provided they are opaque enough that they don't show your underwear. In my opinion, showing the mere outline of your underwear is no big deal. Lots of slacks, jeans and skirts show outlines (unless you're wearing a thong). So if you want to wear leggings as pants, I highly urge you to do so! You've got at least one fan in the house.

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