Can we revisit jeggings/leans and how to wear them? - YouLookFab Forum

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Can we revisit jeggings/leans and how to wear them?

April

Veteran

I probably missed a few conversations on this topic while I was MIA last year, but can we talk about legging jeans (jeggings, leans, denim leggings, whatever)?

I bought my first pair while I was stuck in a mall one afternoon, waiting for the soccer team to finish a social event. SO/DH -- who is a major fan of anything form-fitting -- is of the opinion that I should never wear anything else.

I like them much better than I ever liked skinny jeans because of the stretch. I have skinny calves and regular-sized thighs and always found my skinnies uncomfortably restrictive.

But since I had decided that skinnies were not for me, I'm unused to styling them and would like to hear your thoughts.

Do legging jeans follow the "rules" for leggings, or are they considered pants? What, for example, is the shortest-length top that you would wear with legging jeans?

Dressing

15 replies

Latest reply was from anne

cjh

(website)

Veteran

I probably would never wear jeggings, but from the viewpoint of a viewer, my recommendation on the length of top or tunic would be one that fully covers the fanny and falls below the crotch in front. This coverage includes when bending over. Even better would be a mid-thigh length dress, or even longer to the top of the knees.

This would completely cover the jeans styling of the jeggings, but in my book they are really leggings, or thick footless tights because of the extreme form fitting style.

The exception to this is if wearing a close fitting knit top that comes to the low hip, but covered with a longer drapy cardigan.

Take this with a grain of salt because I, sad to say, am no longer very young, though I try with all my heart and budget to be fashion current if not forward.

Deborah

Veteran

April, IMHO I think jeggings need to be treated like leggings. So I would wear long tops, hi low tops and tunics over them. Having said that a friend of mine has a gorgeous pair of jeggings in a fabric that is more substantial than leggings and more the integrity of a pant, and she wears them more like jeans than leggings, wearing shorter, fitted tops. It works for her Rectangle body shape and while not skinny, she is evenly proportioned and seems to carry it off. I tend to think the it really depends on the wearer.

Claudia

Veteran

I also prefer my heavy, good quality jeggings over most skinny jeans for comfort and fit. I have a couple of pairs that have working pockets and a zipper with button fly and they truly look and feel like traditional skinny jeans but don't stretch out and bag as much and overall fit better because they move and conform to my shape.

My choice in wearing them is when I tuck into tall boots and I do cover my bottom/crotch area with a mid-thigh tunic top or sweater, or I wear a longish blazer or cardigan over a higher layering piece that still covers this area.

I also wear form fitting, thick ponte knit pants but wear these un-tucked with booties and other regular type shoes, but still covering up my bum area with my top.

Diana

Veteran

Personally, I ask myself these questions:
--Does it have a real waistband and fly? (i.e. NO elastic waist)
--Does it have real seaming? (no painted on seams)
--Does it have real pockets? (again, not painted on). Personally I think no pockets at all is veering into leggings territory on very tight jeggings.
--Does it adequately hide the details of my butt/crotch? (no camel toe, butt crack, etc)
--Is the fabric woven, not knit?

If the answer to any of these questions is NO, then they are NOT PANTS and the entire butt/crotch must be covered. =P With NOT PANTS, my rule is that if the bottoms suddenly vanished, I would not get arrested.

If they do indeed qualify as pants, then I think whatever you feel comfortable with is fine!

With that said, I personally prefer the look of skinnies (with 2% or less stretch) because I think a little bit more structure make a nicer shape on my pear shaped body.

Queen Mum

Veteran

I like Diana's assessment. I have a pair of legging jeans that I treat as regular jeans as they are substantial enough that I don't feel naked in them. That said, I do think that I always wore them with a top that covered my bum, but didn't ever feel the need to wear anything any longer as I would with regular leggings. With regular leggings, I would have more than half my thigh covered.

ETA- I'm pretty sure the jeans in outfit #4 here are my legging jeans.
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....ecent-wiws

and in this thread 1,4,5, and 6 are my legging jeans.
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....ent-posted

are these the type you're talking about?

Suz

(website)

Veteran

I think Diana's test is perfect.

There are leggings...and there are Jeggings, or Leans as we sometimes call them here - denim with more stretch but still actual jeans, with pockets, zips, etc.

I am a slim hourglass-rectangle who has curvy thighs/calves. I wear my jeans-leggings (with zips, pockets, etc.) just the way I wear any jeans, with any length of top, tucked, untucked, whatever. They are super comfy. The only issue I personally need to watch is footwear. If I am not careful, because of my curvy legs, I can end up looking a bit cartoonish. Hard to explain...but the look works better either tucked into knee high boots or with flat shoes or wedges; if I wear it with a daintier heel it doesn't feel balanced to my eye. But that is just MY legs - which sound quite different from yours.

If the article is knit, it is a legging and I would definitely wear a crotch-and-bottom covering top, like a dress or a tunic.

April

Veteran

Thank you all for chiming in. Kim -- your examples are very instructive!

Diana, that is an *extremely* helpful set of guidelines. I had not realized these variations existed since this is the first pair of legging jeans I'd ever tried on.

Here's the breakdown. My legging jeans are:

-- Calvin Klein brand, extremely dark wash
-- Woven not knit
-- Real seams
-- Real pockets in the back, sewn-shut faux pockets in the front
-- Real zipper and button in the front, not pull-on style
-- Nothing vulgar showing due to clinginess (at least not during a brief try-on -- I suppose all-day wear is the true test)

I should also add that these are a size 2, whereas I usually wear a 0 or 00, so there is a little more ease in them. Mine do not look as tight as these, especially in the calf: http://www.zappos.com/calvin-k.....ch-legging

I know, I know -- a photo would help, right? I'll get DS on the job when he comes back from his dad's. I can barely photograph my own front, let alone the rear view.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

I have those same "jeggings" as QM and I wear them much the same way as I wear any other skinny jeans because they actually have real pockets, are substantial denim fabric (although stretchy) and they fit well without being tight or pulling anywhere. In fact, because of the stretch, I wear them with greater confidence than one pair I have of of less stretchy, more traditional skinnies that tend to pull just a little across the hips if I'm not watching my diet.

Honestly, there are some skinny twill jeans out there that are made with fabric so thin and light that they look far more unflattering when worn tight than some nice thick jeggings.

Queen Mum

Veteran

April- those should be fine to wear with pretty much anything. They look very substantial. You should be just fine.

Aziraphale

Veteran

I've noticed that the label "jeggings" can be applied to very different garments. Sometimes it means very thin leggings with a faux-denim finish, no front zip and fake pockets. I'd wear this type the same as I'd wear real leggings -- with a dress or tunic -- because they're so thin your underpants show through.

Other products labeled "jeggings" are in fact just very stretchy skinny jeans. The ones you have appear to be just that, and you can absolutely wear them just as you'd wear normal skinny jeans. I have two pairs of such jeggings, with a front zip and real pockets, and I wear them a lot in the fall/winter as jeans. They are good in that they don't bag out at the knee, like normal jeans, and they are easy to stuff into boots, but the downside is that they are clingy enough to be suffocatingly hot in warmer weather.

JR

Veteran

I like Diana's guidelines very much on this too.

catgirl

Veteran

I usually wear both my skinny jeans and legging-like pants following the same rule, a longer top. It's more flattering on me anyway as a waistless IT, but I don't want to be mistakenly in the leggings-as-pants crowd. Some fabrics are in a grey area to me - ponte, for example. But I tend to err on the conservative side.

I did recently wear the Gap denim "leans" with the Only Mine zip sweater, which I felt might be too short in front but got okayed here.

http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....ne-sweater

April

Veteran

Waistless ITs, represent!

Keix

Veteran

All of the new jeans I've added to my wardrobe this year have been jeggings. They are SO much more comfortable than skinnies on my proportionally larger thighs and waist. (Although I'm a waistless rectangle with apple tendencies, not pear-ish at all.)

I wear jeggings as I would normal jeans and not usually with a long top. To me, leggings = not opaque when moving around/bending over, which requires the rear to be covered; jeggings are made with the same visual opacity as denim, so I treat them as regular bottoms.

That said, my jeggings MUST have 5 real pockets and a zipper fly. Fake front pockets are probably OK, but I want them for practical reasons. I like Diana's checklist of questions! FWIW, I wear knit leggings as a winter substitute for tights and require a dress/skirt that's long enough to wear with bare legs. I don't own any ponte pants, but they are a knit fabric so I'd probably err on the leggings side rather than the pants side.

anne

Veteran

I don't make a distinction that they must have a waistband and fly. So long as these items are covered I don't think it makes any difference.

I don't wear skinnies at all now, only jeggings made with denim and with an elasticated waistband. While I do usually wear longer tops, occasionally I'll wear a shorter one, as in this post
http://youlookfab.com/welookfa.....led-it-off

April, from the look of the pic you posted, I think you'll be able to wear them like jeans