Not sure about these leggings? - YouLookFab Forum

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Not sure about these leggings?

anne

Veteran

A few weeks ago I tried out these new reversible leggings on the leopard print side. Wow. I loved them, felt so hourglassy and svelte! Honestly contemplated wearing a cropped top
But now, I have looked at the photo and... what was I thinking? I look stocky and stumpy.
I didn't actually wear that print out cos my daughters don't like animal print.
So Pics 2-3 are with the navy side out.
I had thought reversible leggings would be good for camping, extending the wear!
Your thoughts on the leopard print?

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Dressing

22 replies

Latest reply was from anne

Lucy

Veteran

I definitely don’t see stocky or stumpy! I don’t think anyone NEEDS to wear leggings with a crop top unless exercising - but to me these look sassy, fun and flattering - and I’d wear them with pleasure !

unfrumped

Veteran

I think the leopard print is fine & fun and would just wear like regular leggings with regular length tops , or longer tops, in colors that coordinate, which in this case is almost any colors!

Jenni NZ

Veteran

How much attention does any woman want to pay to the opinion of her teenage daughters?
Animal print is always a bit divisive. I didn’t like it myself in the past, it had a less-refined feel to it in my eyes previously but in retrospect I feel I was being snobbish- which unfortunately I can be. I had a rather snobbish mother and though she has been gone over 20 years it is hard to get rid of opinions you absorbed by osmosis growing up.
Now I like it and find it interesting. I like these on you.
You’re not the tallest person in the world and those of us who are short may get such body dissatisfaction feelings of stockiness at times, I understand that. However I try not to put those in print on the forum anymore as I have a feeling that some forum members find other’s body dissatisfaction distressing when they are trying to love their own bodies? I could be wrong about that.

KelleeW

I think the leopard looks great on you.

Sal

Veteran

You look great in them Anne - and I do agree with everything JenniNZ says in her last paragraph. ( I am tallish but have days of dissatisfaction as most of us do).

I added print leggings and whilst not as flattering as black they are more fun.

Suz

(website)

Veteran

Anne, the camera angle is to blame. You have a terrific figure. You're not tall but so what? You're fit, strong, healthy, and in good shape. The leggings look great both ways and honestly? It's always in the styling.

Zaeobi

(website)

Veteran

I agree with @Suz about the angle - how many people are going to see you in those leggings at the same height at which your phone is positioned in that first photo? If you felt confident in the feel of those leggings, there's probably a reason for that - you might look down & see stumpy legs, but no one else is going to look at your legs at that angle either, unless you give them a piggyback up on your shoulders (& if you can do that, then the reality is that your body is stronger & fitter than anything the mirror may say otherwise!)

Also lol @Jenni's observation about teenage daughters - I think it was someone else in the forum (can't remember who) that once commented it's almost like a rite of passage for teenage daughters to automatically hate whatever their mum's style is. My mother loved the very classic glam look - I'm talking a red lip, faux fur, animal print & musky perfumes. Spot the difference between her style & mine, haha! So yes, I'd advise to take their opinions with a pinch of salt.

You could always wear a longer top with the leggings at first, to give yourself time to get used to them, then work your way up to a cropped length eventually. Good luck!

LaPed

Veteran

They look like they fit you perfectly and I like both sides. Printed leggings, as Sal notes, will never be as conventionally flattering as solid dark colours, but they're more fun. I think the colours and scale of this animal print suit you and will pair easily with lots of different tops.

With gear in particular, I reserve the right to wear whatever colours or patterns I darn well please. Palm-print shorts, camo leggings, neon tees -- all fair game even though I'd never choose them for my "everyday" clothes. Gear has its own rules and DH and DS are not allowed to comment.

Preppy Pear

Veteran

You look very cute in the print! So much more fun than navy, which is my go to in leggings usually.
FWIW, I also just bought a pair of leopard print leggings for workouts that definitely accentuate my curves, and my eye is adjusting to the look on myself. I’m tall, but my my lower half is generously proportioned and my pear shape is highlighted in these, yes, with a cropped top.
For myself, I thought, if I saw these on someone else with a similar body, would I like the look? The answer was a definite yes.

anne

Veteran

Thanks so much for the responses.
Jenni and Sal, thanks for the warning about body positivity. The funny thing about this though us that when I took the photo I felt so body positive! I wanted to show you all these great new leggings that made me feel so great. I had never before felt like I could truly completely wear leggings as pants.

But then I saw the photo (a few weeks later) and felt deflated. I thought I had been kidding myself. It absolutely did not occur to me until Suz (and then Zaeobi) mentioned camera angle that that might be a factor.

Lucy thanks for the encouragement. I just meant something like a cropped sweatshirt when I said crop top. These leggings are too warm for most exercise actually. They are athleisure for me, apart from walks on cold days and camping, though I know Angie considers both those things as warranting a gear outfit.

Jenni and Zaeobi, I should point out that my daughters don't just hate everything I wear. They pay me compliments, are body positive, the oldest borrows my clothes and she just bought two tops the exact style as one of my new ones. They are just a bit funny about silver and animal print.

Thanks to all of you who also have printed leggings chiming in! I will feel more confident about wearing them

Diana

Veteran

Real talk, Anne? I think you look fantastic. I looked at that photo and thought, that is how I WISH I looked in leggings and a crop top.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

I like them, and you look great! I prefer the printed ones

Anonymous

Anne - I for one find it impossible to take a picture of myself that reflects the actual proportions, height etc etc. Wonky camera angles are a given unless you're a iPhone pro I love those leggings and think you look great in them! I'm wearing floral print leggings right now in fact - headed to the gym shortly. I'm not a fan of crop tops with leggings unless you're at the gym, but to each her own.

And - Jenni, if you're still reading this thread, I nodded along with every single thing you wrote . Right down to the snobbery part. I had the most judgmental mother ever, and fully admit to having those tendencies myself .

Elle

Veteran

Love the leggings on you and actually prefer you in the print. Trust your feelings and not some odd camera angle. If you feel good in them, you look good in them.

Anonymous

Still seeing hourglass-y and svelte.
While they may be divisive animal print the color way is a cool tone fractured neutral. Flattering and practical relief from solid colors and black.

Re mothers and daughters, similarities and differences can be so subtle, sometimes it's not the superficial details but something deeper. For example, having different styles but being equally opinionated about preferences.

cindysmith

Veteran

Stocky and stumpy? NOT.

These are cute, and who cares whether your daughters like them as long as you like them

Laurie

Veteran

Love your sporty looks, and how great to have reversible tights! I think the visible stitching on the print side is actually very flattering to your athletic figure.

Your girls sound healthy and self-assured. Well done!

Bijou

Veteran

Anne, you look great both ways. It is definitely a case of the angle in which you took the photo, vs when someone else takes the photo like in the two photos with your dark leggings.

Helena

Veteran

What Suz said!

rachylou

Veteran

I say pull them up a bit and show ankle. This happens to me... there’s something about being in athletic gear and not showing a little ankle that always strikes me as a little weird. Either that or I have to put on no-show socks. Maybe it’s because you’re supposed to be feeling hot when you’re being all athletic, lol, idk

Zaeobi

(website)

Veteran

Anne YLF! I agree that it's a good thing your daughters are ok with expressing their opinions so clearly - they may just have a poison eye for certain combinations, whether they're on you or not (but they may be more comfortable voicing it when it's on you vs on a stranger haha).

At the end of the day, what matters is how YOU feel in them. One trick I use when I'm feeling particular body hangups is to try on something WITHOUT looking in the mirror at first. Assess how it feels on you - does it fight against or go with the flow of your body? Once you've sussed that out, then go to the mirror or snap a picture (at a non selfie angle). If we try to do both at the same time, it often gets in the way of us really listening to how the clothing makes us feel without worrying about what others think first. I learnt this from Sally McGraw @ AlreadyPretty.com You're welcome to take a gander there for more tips, & I believe she's on the YLF forums too

anne

Veteran

Sorry, didn't get back to all you lovely commenter. Thanks so much for chiming in. Zaeobi, good reminder of Sally's tip (I used to read Always Pretty quite often, lead to it from the early Ylf days when Angie had a blog roll)
Laurie, thanks. So far the DDs are doing fairly well, and are pretty well adjusted.