Each fall semester brings new blood and excitement, but throughout campus you can hear whispers.
A freshman trash-talking “the uniform,” a grad school student rolling their eyes and denigrating leggings.
I was one of them, too, three years ago.
I was a too-cool, alternative, anti-mainstream wannabe who thought dyeing the ends of my hair made me punk rock (spoilers, it doesn’t, even though it looks amazing).
When I saw a girl in a big shirt and Nike shorts, I gloated in my superiority. But leggings?
Leggings were a goldmine of condescension. My Facebook shouted: “ATTENTION LADIES: Leggings are not pants!”
Leggings are not only pants; they are, literally, the best pants.
The leggings most girls wear around campus are from waist to mid-calf or ankle and opaque.
If they don’t qualify as pants, what are skinny jeans?
Are they saved by virtue of denim?
What about the bastardization of jeggings; are they also immune from the hatred leggings receive?
This hatred of leggings seemingly comes from nowhere other than a hated of a comfortable style that isn’t professional or dressy.
Should we also ban shorts?
Should we ban tank tops?
Should college campuses shift from an area of comfortable learning to a place of strict dress codes? Is it high school revisited?
Leggings are the epitome of comfort. If I had the wardrobe for it, this alternative, edgy ne’er-do-well would wear leggings every single day.
Frankly, hatred of leggings is a way for groups to be condescending and rude in a socially acceptable way.
In November 2013, Cory Ferraez wrote an article regarding women’s fashion on campus, and he repeatedly insulted the intelligence of women who dare to dress comfortably on a campus they pay thousands of dollars to attend.
Why is dressing comfortably akin to being ignorant? Why is dressing comfortably seen as lazy, and, even if it is lazy, why does that matter?
Others criticize leggings by saying they don’t look good.
I offer a well-articulated, “So?”
I’m a big girl, and I like how I look in leggings. If a stranger feels the way I look in my clothes isn’t pleasant, they have the right as an American of looking literally anywhere else.
If wearing leggings is wrong, fine.
I’ll be wrong—we’ll be wrong—but we will look like goddesses doing it.
And for men who aim to join the trend that just won’t die, I welcome and salute you.
Any man brave enough to join the legion of comfort will be honored and welcomed.
If you’re quick to criticize, take a moment to examine your opinions and your philosophical stance opposing leggings.
Holly Baer is a senior religious studies major from Florence.
