On leggings and jeggings

I have been asked for my not-so-humble opinion on jeggings. Frankly, I try not to think about them, in the same way I try not to think about those pajama jeans someone is selling on late-night infomercials. They fall into the category of 'things one wears when one's need to be comfortable trumps one's need to look groomed', along with Uggs, crocs, scrubs and velour tracksuits from Victoria's Secret with the word PINK emblazoned across the ass. There are absolutely occasions when it is appropriate to wear these things -- when you have the flu and need to go get more Tylenol, for instance, or when you are an underappreciated health care worker pulling back-to-back shifts in the ER. I will also accept wearing these things to college classes; I have been an undergraduate myself, and know what it's like when "sleep" slips to fourth or fifth in your list of things to do.

The thing is, all of those are circumstances in which fashion is not a priority. They are circumstances where you don't give a monkey's about how you look, as long as you won't be arrested for going outside like that. They're also circumstances in which you probably have meals and bathe "when I have a moment", and may be going two or three days on minimal or no sleep. If you're wearing things like pajama jeans or jeggings or crocs outside of these circumstances, you're creating the distinct impression that you didn't care what you looked like when you dressed yourself, which is probably the exact opposite of what you were going for when you bought the damn things. This is especially true when you're wearing leggings or jeggings with a very short top -- since they're made of thin stretchy material, you inevitably either have panty lines that are visible from space or look like you're going commando, which are really not things to which you wish to draw public attention.

Well, maybe you wish to draw public attention to them. I don't, and "fashion" says you shouldn't either. If you're going to follow the dictates of "fashion", you should at least do it right.

As for drawing a line between jeggings and actual pants, I'd say if they're made of thick enough material to support pockets and a working fly, then they're extremely tight stretch skinny jeans, and can be worn as such. If all of the jean-like detailing is printed trompe l'oeuil, then they are officially leggings, and need to be worn with a dress/skirt, or at the very least a top long enough to cover your entire backside. If they're not completely opaque under all visible light sources, then they're not even jeggings at all; they're textured tights, and it is absolutely mandatory that you wear something over them, if you are aiming to not look like a blind streetwalker.