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The Maine Campus | The Maine Campus
Madonna once said she liked to wear them to business meetings. Infantrymen in World War II garnered the nickname “legs” because they didn’t wear them. In 1983, Jennifer Beals shimmed across the screen in “Flashdance” in a pair — when she wasn’t welding.
They’re leggings. They come in different colors and patterns, ranging from a modest navy blue or black to a metallic snakeskin or flannel pattern. They are worn with running shoes and high heels, with sandals and Uggs. Their attractiveness is debatable to some and unquestionable to others. However, their sudden presence in malls and classrooms, on your friends and girlfriend, is undeniable.
Fashion trends are usually resurrected years after their conception. This is nothing new. The unique trait about the return of leggings is how they are being worn — leggings have become pants. An entire demographic has decided it is perfectly acceptable to wear a T-shirt, a sweater, or a hoodie with leggings and no pants. An entire demographic has taken a trend and transformed it.
Women at the University of Maine are not exempt from this trend. Some like leggings but wouldn’t wear them in frigid Maine temperatures or without a skirt or pants, others aren’t fazed.
“I like to wear shorter skirts,” said Stefanie Veneziano, a third-year international affairs and theatre student. Veneziano said she likes to wear leggings with sweater dresses and tunics and the cold weather doesn’t affect her decision.
“I won’t wear leggings if it’s warm. I have no problem in -10 [degree] weather wearing leggings, as long as I have boots and a thick coat,” Veneziano said.
Brianna Potter, a third-year journalism and sociology student, feels differently.
“I don’t wear leggings because of the weather,” Potter said. “Hello people, it’s winter. And because they’re hot and clingy in the summer [I don’t wear them]. I have bought leggings from TJ Maxx, and I’ve only worn them on rare occasions.”
When asked if they do or would consider wearing leggings as pants, both girls were hesitant.
“Only if I’m at the gym, or if the top I’m wearing covers me. It looks awkward to wear a shorter top with leggings,” Veneziano said.
Wearing leggings as pants has sparked activity in fashion magazines and on the Internet. A notorious Web site, tightsarenotpants.com, has a manifesto against the new trend. The first three lines read, “Let’s be clear. The wearing of tights as pants is an abomination. Tights are not pants.” It goes on to list ways in which tights as pants are acceptable — hair metal, ballet, etc. — and offers printable flyers with its logo — an equal symbol with a slash through it, sandwiched between the words “tights” and “pants”.
Not all are opposed to the new trend. When asked if she wore leggings as pants out of comfort or because it’s currently fashionable, fourth-year zoology student Becca Bendure said, “I think it’s because I can.”
UMaine freshman Abbey Pelletier agrees. “I feel comfortable wearing them as pants because they are pretty thick and very comfortable,” Pelletier. “I think I wear them because they are soft and stretchy, and I guess you look better a little better than wearing really baggy sweatpants everyday.”
Leggings have a history extending back to the 15th century, which makes their current usage even more interesting. During the Renaissance, men wore stockings known as “hose” or “chausses” that were similar to tights and made out of wool. Native Americans wore long buckskin leggings that looked more like boots, and cowboys also wore buckskin to protect their legs from the elements. Before switching to combat boots during World War II, U.S. soldiers wore a form of leggings known as “puttees” to keep their legs dry and to provide negligible ankle support.
The form that most resembles modern leggings were worn by women. In the mid-19th century, women in France began to wear a form of leggings known as “pantalettes.” Pantalettes, worn under skirts to fully cover the woman, were often made of linen and eventually found their way into British and American dressing rooms. While pantalettes were the grandmother of modern leggings, they looked more like a pair of oversized linen pajama pants with lace.
Leggings had a mild resurgence in the 1960s, worn with skirts and simple shoes. In the 1970s, American designer Patricia Field claimed she had designed the modern legging. The 1980s transformed leggings from a practical garment worn by both sexes into a skintight garment worn, well, whenever.
Originally worn as exercise clothes, ’80s leggings became “street wear” and were worn with long sweaters and skirts. The cotton-lycra blend was worn by ’80s celebrities such as Madonna and remained popular well into the ’90s. When leggings appeared on various runways in the early 2000s, the trend peaked again. Clothing stores such as American Apparel and Urban Outfitters became popular sellers of the product, and it’s hard to find a retailer that doesn’t sell them today.
The evolution of leggings, from cowboys and dainty French women, to gyms and grocery stores, could be approached from different perspectives. Does a shift from utilitarian to aesthetic say anything about either generation? Do leggings as pants suggest high physical self-esteem among women or just a need to follow trends?
“I do think some girls wear them (as pants) to show off their figure but I also think some wear them because they are really comfortable,” Pelletier said.
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