Are They Leggings? Tights? I Don’t Care. They Are Awesome.

I have one pair of jeans. One.  But I never wear them. EVER!

Like every other woman in our country, I have spent hours in dressing rooms, wriggling my heiney in and out of skinny jeans, mom jeans and everything in between. I can get 5 styles in the same size and one won’t go over my thighs and another gives me droopy drawers, and yet another cuts into my tummy. After the equivalent of a Crossfit workout in a 3 foot by 3 foot room, I leave the heap of “no’s” at the exit for the fitting rooms and give up. I try to sneak out when that employee who slipped me the last 23 pairs over the door is off to find another so I don’t have to look her in the eye and let her know I’ve failed her.

Then along came leggings. I was slow to the party. It seemed like a grown woman should just wear pants for heaven’s sake. But the siren call was too strong, and I got a pair – just for around the house. Then I switched from jogging pants to running tights, and once I left the house in them for running, I realized that the whole world didn’t end; nobody gawked or stared, or if they did I was too darn comfortable to care. Next thing I know, I’m a legging apologist. 

Getting more serious here, one of my biggest issues with wearing leggings out in public was the potential for leading a man to stumble. Could a clothing item so body hugging be too much eye candy for some men to bear? But here’s the thing, the cause a man to stumble issue is a red herring, and after years of making it my problem, I’m done with it. I get it, men are visual creatures, but if a man is lacking in self-control to the extent that being covered in snug cotton from my waist to my ankles causes him to stumble, my friends, I’m afraid that is his problem, not mine. 

And speaking of appearances, I simply couldn’t care less what shape or size you are in your leggings. That, in my not-so humble opinion, is precisely what leggings are for. They’re the equal opportunity, fit all bodies, all the time wardrobe piece that you can wear anywhere from your living room floor to Target to a restaurant. If there is one thing that can unite women all over the U.S., it can and should be leggings!

Just do me a favor, if you’re considering that nude colored pair on the sale rack…just don’t.

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Articles by Alethea Mshar

Alethea Mshar

Alethea Mshar is a mother of four children; an adult child who passed away of a drug overdose, one typical daughter and two sons who have Down syndrome, one of whom has autism spectrum disorder and complex medical needs. She has written "What Can I Do To Help", a guide to stepping into the gap when someone you know has a child diagnosed with cancer, which is available on Amazon, and is publishing a memoir titled, "Hope Deferred". She can be found on Twitter as leemshar, and blogs for The Mighty HuffPost as Alethea Mshar, as well as her own blog, Ben's Writing Running Mom on https://benswritingrunningmom.wordpress.com/. She is also on Facebook as Alethea Mshar, The Writing, Running Mom.

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