Leggings and skirt length (follow up to Angie's post today) - YouLookFab Forum

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Leggings and skirt length (follow up to Angie's post today)

Kari

Veteran

Well, I am trying out leggings. I *think* I have the same zipper pair that Angie does - they were from the INC department in Macy's and very stretchy but opaque - but I am so baffled about what skirt length to wear with them. I am subtitling this post "Goldilocks and the black leggings" because I feel like I'm constantly saying "This tunic is too short! This skirt is too long!" I've been trying them out for the past couple weeks and haven't hit on what "just right" looks like yet.

Here are some experiments including extremes that I *know* are too short or too long. Could you leggings-savvy ladies let me know if there is anything that is "just right" in the mix?

The leggings experiments are all here: http://s645.photobucket.com/al...../leggings/ "Youlookfab" is the password. I tried each outfit on with flats and heels.
In order:
1. Red dress, knee length
2. Teal dress, mid-thigh ("Just right?")
3. Denim pencil skirt, knee length
4. Black tunic, clearly too short (Feeling like an unnamed Hollywood celeb who routinely forgets to wear pants...)
5. Mexx dress, clearly too long (I can't believe how stumpy I look in this dress just by adding leggings!)

The only garment that I am pretty sure is the right length is the teal dress. (I don't own any other mid-thigh skirts.) Wearing leggings with one dress only, and a dress that isn't my favorite either, feels like a waste of money, and I'm not planning to buy anything else for a while. If this is the only dress that is suitable to wear with leggings, no biggie - I'll just return the leggings.

Also, I don't mind giving this look a miss if I can't make it work, so if this is not the best look for me I appreciate your honest feedback.

I would be extremely grateful for feedback - I'm completely unsure about how to manage proportions with this look!

Dressing

17 replies

Latest reply was from Kari

marianne

I have no idea about the desired proportions, and I am just starting to explore the look, so please take it with a (huge) grain of salt. I really like the red dress, and the skirt - with flats and I like the mexx dress with heels. The black tunic seems kind of short to me. The teal dress I am not very sure about - I like it with flats but I think it may be too short. I also think the skirt outfit would look great with a blousy top - somehow I feel that would look nice with leggings.

cciele

Veteran

Hm, I think people here have different opinions on skirt - legging length. I'm of "the longer the skirt, the longer the leggings" camp -- basically, avoiding too many horizontal lines close together that break up your body.

That being said, I like the teal dress the best. I think it's perfect! The red dress is a bit long for my taste. The pencil skirt could work, but I'd like to see it with a shorter top. It was hard for me to see exactly where your black tunic ended, given the darkness and the mirror behind you; I think your assessment that it is too short is correct though.

I think you should keep the leggings and play around some more. You can totally pull off the legging look!

Maya

Veteran

These aren't universal rules by any means, but just my personal preferences.

-I do not like leggings with skirts. No offense to everyone who has tried it and enjoyed it. I just feel that it cuts the body into too many horizontal bits. Again, it's personal, but I guess I'm just saying that if you're not into the look, it might not have anything to do with proportions or anything--it just might not be for you.

-I really think the best dress/tunic length for leggings is mid thigh. I don't like the look of just a tiny bit of legging peeking out from a dress. It looks odd to me, like your bloomers are sticking out unintentionally. My perfect length is around 32". Definitely too short for a dress, but long enough to give good coverage. Basically, if I find a top too short to wear as a dress, it usually works with leggings.

With that said, I feel that most of the dresses in the album are too long for my taste. But again, this is really a subjective thing and I'm sure others might disagree. I like the teal one a lot though and think it looks great with leggings. The black tunic with the belt is a little short but the overall idea is FABULOUS! I love it. I would keep the leggings around if I were you. Right now I have 3 leggings, one more pair on my wish list, and ONE tunic that I can wear with them! I plan to gradually increase my tunic collection over time. It's totally worth it. It's such a comfy, easy, versatile look!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

We are legging twins, Kari :0) (I'll chime in later, but for the mean time, you look HOT in leggings). There will probably be differences of opinion on which proportions look best. Which outfit do you like best?

For my body, I like this length of legging and top best WITH flats:

http://youlookfab.com/2009/04/.....-body-bag/

http://youlookfab.com/wp-conte.....-Large.jpg

I like lots of different lengths of skirt or dress with different lengths of leggings. It’s a question of getting ALL the variables right like: colours, silhouette and heel heights. It’s fun to experiment!

Kari

Veteran

Hmm, lots of varied opinions so far! Thank you all for the feedback and encouragement - I am kind of freaking out because this is a very new look for me. I still have misgivings about whether this look is flattering on me with the pieces that are currently in my wardrobe.

Marianne, a blousy or banded top is on my "maybe wish list" for next year. It's not something I'm in the market for right now, and I don't currently have any in my closet (or a pressing need for one), but it's a look that I'd love to try if I ever find the right top.

Cciele and Maya, the horizontal lines are mainly what is throwing me off - I'm freaking out a little looking at the pictures because the concept of skirts or shorts ending no longer than just below knee length is so drilled into my head right now - I'm afraid that I'm massively shortening my leg line. I have actually scrunched up these leggings a bit, so they could go as far down as my lower calf (not ankle length, but several inches higher.) But then I really look stumpy.

Angie, I would love to be leggings twins if I can make it work. My favorite combination is with the teal dress, but even then I don't think it's a 10 for my body. I love the length of the dresses you sport in your pictures, but I have nothing that hits me at that length, and I'm not sure if it's worth keeping the leggings around just in case I find the right dresses or tunics next year.

devin

(website)

I agree with Maya on the leggings barely peeking out. I also think it looks a tad odd.

I think the teal dress length looks best on you. For me personally I like about mid thigh length, maybe a bit longer, but I am a shorty.

Louise

Veteran

I use a rough rule of thumb for myself- i've a knee length and mid calf length pair of leggings. I prefer shorter dresses with the shorter pair and longer dresses with the longer pair. I feel i look wrong in the proportions the other way round x

Inge

(website)

Thank you for posting these pictures Kari! You've inspired me to try more legging looks myself.
I am absolutely convinced that you can pull off leggings (the zippers on this pair are a fantastic detail!)!!

Red dress: I think this could work if you kept them zipped up completely or at least a bit more, so we can see more black on the side of your leg. Edit (after seeing the 2nd picture): yes! I like them with the ballet flats.

The teal dress looks marvellous Kari! I like the first look best, with the ballet flats.

Skirt look: not bad with the ballet flats, maybe a slightly longer pair of leggings would be better here?

Tunic: I would definitely try it with a slightly longer tunic too. Love it both belted and unbelted.

Mexx dress: this I like best with heels.

Goldilocks CAN wear leggings!-)

shiny

Veteran

I think the teal dress is perfect. The red dress is close - what would happen if you belted it? I think this would take the hem up a bit?

The Mexx dress - this one is longer than knee length, isn't it? What if you had it shortened to the ideal above the knee length for wearing with leggings? (I think you need to have this one shortened anyway?)

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

Kari, you look SUPERB in leggings. Hold onto them for future use even if you don’t have 10 tops to wear with them at the moment. I'm sure you will get more use out of them eventually. Here we go:

1. Red dress - a little long, but almost there. Gorgeous frock, btw!

2. Teal dress – KILLER combo. You have it down with both heels and flats! My fav length of top and leggings for you.

3. Denim pencil skirt – Fabulous! You look a little more eclectic and I like it! Works with both heels and flats.

4. Black tunic with heels – looks great, but I can’t really see where the top ends and can’t say for sure whether it’s flattering, but the idea is fantastic.

I guess I like tops and dresses a little longer over leggings at various lengths because it looks more polished and elegant. I hope we have convinced you to keep trying this look :0)

(I'm with Shiny on shortening the Mexx dress. Pretty though).

Anonymous

I like the shape of the dress in the second picture but it seems very dark. I like this with flats.
I also liked the outfit with the zebra belt.
Please don't give up on the leggings look. I'm sure it will work for you and you will learn so much about proportion along the way.

tarzy

Veteran

Congrats for pushing your envelope and trying this! I agree that the teal dress is about the perfect length for you. (I also prefer the zippers closed, for a sleeker look, but no one else seemed to think that.) You can definitely wear this look - I'd say keep searching for another dress similar to the length of the teal.

I'm still struggling with tops for leggings myself. I found another black dress (on sale at LOFT) that might work - I'm going to play around with it today. (I have not found anything but black tops so far, for some reason.)

HannahC

Yay, Kari in leggings! Awesome!

I actually love the red dress with leggings exactly at the length it is now ... I guess I am in the minority.
The teal dress is an absolute winner!
The back tunic is very nice, but so much black overall ... I wonder, whether it is better to wear another color leggings when wearing black on top? Maybe grey? I guess Angie recommends black in all situations, though. It might be that it is just a bit hard to see all the details in the photo, and in real life the difference of textures provides enough interest.

Kari

Veteran

Okay, you ladies have me convinced to at least keep the leggings and work with them and the teal dress.

I agree that the Mexx dress needs to be shortened whether with leggings or no. It's not too bad when I wear it with heels (without leggings), but I think it's a little too long with flats. (How hard is it to hem mesh - not raw-edged?)

Tara, I think I prefer the zippers closed when I'm wearing something longer but like them open with the teal dress, but I agree that it's a different look.

Shiny, great idea about belting to take the dress length up. I don't think it would work on the red dress, though - it is fitted under the bust and has a very slight empire seam, so I think belting would look kind of funny, but I'll give it a try just in case.

The black tunic is 100% too short for leggings - it just barely covers my behind and I would not be comfortable wearing it out of the house without jeans or clams. I just don't own any other tunics right now, so unless I find a mid-length tunic for a fantastic discount, I'm not planning to buy any more soon. I will keep working at pairing leggings with my shorter at-the-knee skirts (denim and navy) since that's all I have right now. I don't mind the leggings poking out just a few inches below a dress/skirt hem when I see the look on other people, so hopefully it doesn't look too awful on me.

Thank you all for offering your opinions and advice - you are helping me make sense of how the look could work on me, and I'm very grateful for the feedback.

yublocka

(website)

Veteran

Kari I really like you in leggings so I'm glad you're keeping them!!!

I like them with everything but the shortest and longest dresses you have pictured.

However one comment I have for both you and Angie is regarding the unzipped look: whats up with that? I like the zip when zipped, but unzipped it looks a bit messy to me!

Vani

Veteran

Ooh! More legging ideas! The zippered leggings are too fab, and I'm happy to see, right up my alley. Here's what I think:

I like the leggings best with the teal dress and denim skirt. You just look fantastic in that color!. I've tried that look before and I kinda liked it. The black tunic looks fab but I'm with you on the length.

Goldilocks rocks!

Kari

Veteran

Tam, I kind of thought that the half-unzippered look was similar to clamdiggers that are notched at the hem - kind of a cheeky peek of calf. But I agree that the zippered look is much more polished and sleeker. I tried both styles in my experiments just because I'm trying to get a feel for what works for me.

Niva, I am actually (and nervously) trying it out today at work with the denim pencil skirt.
http://inkariswardrobe.blogspo.....mbies.html

Thanks to both of you for your encouragement!