By In recent years, we’ve seen the meteoric rise of the fashion trend artfully nicknamed “athleisure”. In essence, these are clothes that you can either wear to the gym, around the house, or out-and-about, without at all looking out of place. If you’ve become familiar with the ever-changing number of commandments within my mental fashion Bible, you’d know that the value of versatility looms high; with that being said, while I don’t necessarily wear all that much athleisure, I respect it as a concept… and I’m particularly fond of leggings.
Leggings are fantastic articles of clothing to have in your closet for a number of reasons. Firstly, I don’t think anyone would deny the fact that they’re extremely comfortable; they aren’t restrictive in the slightest, and the range of motion they give you are unrivaled, perfect for if you’re planning on going for a run or if you just don’t like feeling hampered down by the clothes on your back. Secondly, they’re just easy. With leggings, there’s no drawn-out process nor any grand Napoleonic battle strategy for laying out your look for the day; pull ’em on, grab a top, and you’re good to go. I’m often told that I’m a chronic overdresser, and while this may be true as far as outings and social gatherings go, the people who say that clearly have never seen how I dress when I head to the store for a metric ton of overpriced sushi I’m certainly going to eat in one sitting. I wear leggings because there’s no commitment, no sinking feeling of having wasted a good outfit; they’re as easy as they are comfortable, it’s true.
Finally, I very much enjoy leggings because both women and men can reap the benefits of one of today’s most popular clothing trends.
Understandably, there seems to be a particular stigma attached to a man dressing in an article of clothing that seems to be uniquely marketed and tailored towards the opposite gender. After all, what guy would feel at ease dropping cash on a pair of pants that every yoga lady and fitness Instagram mom on the block wear? Toxic masculinity once again drops a turd in the punchbowl by dictating that putting on a pair of leggings is emasculating (a concept entirely created by said toxic masculinity) and makes a man less of what he inherently is. Reductive much?
I now speak to the man reading this article, who might now be thinking “hey, leggings seem kinda nice”, yet may also have an inkling of doubt, feeling that perhaps they’ll spontaneously grow a vagina (one of my favorite phrases from 21 Jump Street) or be mocked by the real, log-splitting, bacon-eating, beard-trimming, truck-fucking men of the world: who cares? Don’t let anything stand in the way of you dressing how you want. Leggings are, objectively, an amazing casual piece of clothing, so just own it.
So gentlemen, have you finally worked up the courage to own your very first pair of leggings? Yeah? Glad to hear it! Personally, I buy most of my athletic and leisurewear from the online retailer ASOS, and they have a decent selection of plain leggings (or meggings, as they call it). Many of them are geared more towards exercise, which is already pretty standard, but they also have some more casual pairs which I’d recommend.
I bought my first pair a few years ago, and I’ve never looked back. Hopefully, it’ll be the same for you. Join the legging (megging?) revolution!
ESTILAVIDA 