Quite frankly, I sympathise with you all and I’m disappointed you would slight me by thinking I could not show an ounce of empathy towards your cause. I know all too well about trying to find the right pair of jeans that will tick all the boxes. I, myself, being a man who is blessed with a rather big bum and big thighs but a small waist, have experienced your very frustration but on a smaller scale, I concede. I can only realise that this is a problem women have been facing for most of their lives but with all types of clothing and on a much larger degree. Predominantly, leggings, choosing a pair that has to match a checklist criteria such as something that either fits comfortably around the legs, fits around the waist, measures in length (for you taller ladies) or whether the material is thick enough so you’re not constantly revealing yourself on the walk to the coffee house or dominating the squat rack. By no means are these options impossible to combine, as long as you’re willing to part with hundreds of cash, if not, like most, then you must at best choose two boxes to be ticked; you cannot have them all. Almost like a viscous Venn diagram that is cruel to you no matter what. Nevertheless, if you have been feeling a sense of nostalgia and have been reminiscing about certain past instances while reading this, I’m not here to offer a solution but I am here to show I understand, and I am willing to venture and find a suitable alternative until I can develop a solution, in the meantime let me hear your thoughts.

Now let’s jump into the context of where the idea of leggings stems from, obviously you want something that you can move around in and exercise without hesitation or concern. However, who came up with the design and why is it that most of the standard pairs are not made to be practical or with quality materials. Looking deeper into this we can see that the design originates, unfortunately, from a sexist perspective. It was back in the day when designers assumed that women should not have useful elements like pockets attached to their clothes, I mean after all isn’t that what a handbag was for? Jump forward to this day and age, we can realise how ridiculous that is and if only they had asked women how they felt and what they wanted, there would be a massive opportunity to dive into a market without displeasing the consumer in such an ignoramus fashion. 

Size, this has always been a touchy subject when it comes to a woman but nothing makes it worse, than when you realise the UK average is considered too large for mainstream outlets and media, that they would rather their products were worn by one type of woman, the tall, slim ‘model’ you witness on the headlines of the top grossing fashion and fitness magazines and the runway, we can picture them now. We all know one size fits all is full of cons and even to begin to assume you can fit everyone into the same style and shape of clothing is to only assume that 50% of our population is pretty much indistinguishable. It’s a ridiculous notion, I know, and you definitely shouldn’t have to be paying top end prices for such a simple request. 

Guess what, having wide hips doesn’t necessarily mean having a wide waist, some people are built differently. On the same note, being naturally thin and not having that many curves is completely normal too and shouldn’t be forgotten in the trends to a progressive society. We all know too well what Kim Kardashian has done by ushering in a new age of unattainable body goals, let the body dysmorphia intensify.The term “hourglass figure” doesn’t mean what it used to anymore and is now more synonymous with “slim thicc”, this change in nomenclature has even gone as far as manipulating popular fashion websites into ascertaining models with similar figures to match this buzzword. Having a different body shape, that is purely due to genetics, should not dictate your mood based on a trend, as like any fad, they will inevitably change drastically, and you cannot possibly alter to suit each change so do not be disheartened, we cannot all be Mystique. Most importantly, most of these trends are only attainable by going under the needle (liposuction, Brazilian bum lift etc.) and in no way reflect the blood, sweat and tears of a raw gym session.

To finish what must sound like a bit of pointless rant at this point, let me just say I sympathise with your cause. So what better way to know what women want out of their leggings than to ask women themselves, to assume anything else would be tantamount to the very thing I’m trying to criticise, so if you would do me the honour of filling in this survey I would be forever in your debt:

A survey about leggings (please click to open survey on a new tab)

And one day I’ll hopefully be able to pay it off with a damn good pair of functional leggings that aims to cover your style and functional concerns. After all, what does it matter the opinion of a man who has never worn leggings in his life? Doing the survey proves your voice matters most and I’m here just to navigate and learn from the conversation.