Thanks to Claudia Winkleman, leggings are now a sleek option if paired with a proper shoe and a smart top
W
ait, what? Leggings are back? I seem to remember I confidently killed them off about 10 minutes ago. Sorry about that. Turns out that the global fashion industry is no match for the colossus of modern culture that is Claudia Winkleman. Queen Claudia made black leggings – usually paired with a fancy blouse, or a delicious peacoat, or a sharp thigh-grazing blazer – her Traitors uniform, and now everyone wants to wear them again.
To be clear, the comeback of leggings is not about what you wear to the gym. Fitness wear is still steering towards looser fits. Think yoga pants instead of leggings, waisted running shorts instead of cycling ones. Leggings are back, but as a sleek day-to-night option, to be worn with a proper shoe and a smart top.
Setting aside the embarrassment of being publicly wrong, the return of leggings seems to me a good thing. First, because this is an item that pretty much every one of us has in a drawer somewhere. Black leggings are utility-level, like wellies or a swimsuit. And second, because I suspect – although, on my current record, I won’t be offended if you don’t take my word for it – their renaissance wards off, for now, the threatened return of skinny jeans, which is being whispered about on the edges of fashion. Skinny jeans will no doubt be back eventually, because everything always is, but they come with a lot of toxic, 2000s cultural baggage. Leggings are more comfortable in every sense.
