Remember the great leggings vs. tights debate?

I came down firmly on the side of tights. For reasons heretofore not entirely understood, traditionally I have found leggings: uncomfortable, fussy (always need to tug them up), too unstructured for my style, and often just plain unflattering (on me). I have tried and failed with the Lysee leggings (constantly crept down and felt too soft for me). Tried Hue. Tried other brands. Nothing worked.

So, big deal, right? Just forget leggings, already! Problem: I love the look on others, think they'd be super practical and they'd also offer me some variety in my loooooong winter worn with longer tunics—because I don't care for wearing untucked tops with fly front pants.

Hence, the ill-fated butt-vest.

Let us not return there unless absolutely necessary.

And yet, I am nothing if not optimistic and persistent! In making a purchase of a lovely dress from Club Monaco this summer I was perusing some of their sale offerings in order to bump up my order and qualify for free shipping. (Yes, folks, I succumbed to girl math.) On super duper sale I found these Amya leggings (in Finds) and on a whim I tried them.

Reader, I've kept them. Below are two quick "try on" outfits with NAS items bought around the same time. A few weeks ago, I actually wore the outfit with the purple EF top, but in hopes of extending the leg line, I chose black booties and rolled the leggings to show a tiny bit of skin (as per Angie's blog post). I think it worked reasonably well.

I like these leggings better than any I have ever had. Why?

• They are SIZED, like actual pants. This means they are more proportioned and fit better overall.
• High waisted, with a wide waistband, so they are more likely to stay up. (However, they still slip down a bit -- I will explain below).
• Fabrication is more "ponte" like and structured. They even have pockets in front. The faux leather strips also make them feel more "pant" like. So I can wear a knit top with them and still feel "pulled together."

Having said that, they still required some adjusting over the course of the evening. So leggings remain a problem for me, and I think I know why. It has to do with my particular combination of body type modifiers.

• I am on the small/ short side -- so overall, I need to take a small size.
• I have relatively slim hips but large thighs for my size; they "grip" the fabric and tug it as I walk.
• This wouldn't matter so much except I also have a larger bum and a rather long rise. This means that leggings in my size can be a bit short in the rise for me.
• The thigh gripping combined with the short rise means they are always falling down.
• If I buy a larger size they are far too big elsewhere, so that doesn't work.
• You can't really alter leggings (except in length) -- unlike pants.

A somewhat better solution to the leggings dilemma for me has been the BR side zip pants in Finds below. They fit small, though, so if you're considering them, be warned. Eep. if you have muscular thighs. That is where they are snug on me.

Do you have a brand of leggings you love? Anybody else here struggle with bigger thighs/ long rise? Can any one advise on the Danier leather ones? I would love to try those...if they would work... sigh....