In Defense of Leggings: An Argument That Crosses Cultures
Buzzfeed's Amy Odell's presented a list of 23 reasons why leggings are the worst. Our friends at Slate vehemently disagreed. Here, an excerpt from a blog today by Amanda Hess that explains why:
Leggings aren't pants. No, they are not. And thank goodness! Pants are great if you're a woman with the perfectly-calibrated corporate-sanctioned ratio of waist to ass to leg. What are you, a ringer for the jeans industry? It's time to stop squeezing our lower bodies into constrictive denim prisons and instead envelope them in a forgiving cotton-spandex jersey. Never again will we be forced to choose between visible ass-crack and bulging muffin top. Whenever a woman steps out in leggings, the fashion police hiss: Leggings aren't pants. You forgot your pants. Put some pants on. Keep digging yourselves deeper, you guys. We'll be over here unwinding in the sartorial equivalent of a warm bath.
Leggings aren't tights. Right? Tights have exerted their control-tops over our torso-crotch areas for too long. They snag on everything. They warp in the wash. They create itches that cannot be scratched. The discomfort of the toe seam is, frankly, egregious. But it doesn't have to be this way: Sturdy. Footless. Washable. Leggings ...
OK, so the debate isn't quite on the level of drones. Safe to say that no one will be filibustering it anytime soon. But hey, it's Friday. Plus, the widely embraced stretch garments do seem to have taken a solid, if not disproportionate, hold within the African-American community.
Does this piece convince you that that's OK? Let us know -- or tell us "Who cares?" (even though we refuse to believe that you don't at least kind of care about this hotly contested social issue) -- in the comments.
Read more at Slate.
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