this is life in austin & aspen

I don’t understand how there is so much confusion over leggings. They are not hard. In fact, that is the whole point of leggings—to be easy to wear, easy to style. It is said that the Aspen uniform in the winter is skinny lululemon yoga pants (NO visible logos), a tunic sweater, riding boots, a big coat, and sassy scarf. Easy, stylish, and comfy.

AND YET.

“Tights are not pants” is the number four search term driving traffic to my blog, after #1 “leggings.” And here I thought I was writing about Austin, Aspen, and life. Apparently, I am only to write about pants or not-pants, as the case may be.

BECAUSE:

I continue to see shirts that are too short with leggings.

I continue to see shoes that are inappropriate (you can see skin between legging and shoe).

I continue to see leggings that are too thin.

I continue to see leggings that are just plain ugly (zebra, acid wash, and shredded all fall into this category).

I continue to see leggings that do not look like pants.

I think there may be some confusion between leggings and tights. Perhaps I need to clarify? Leggings are pants. TIGHTS ARE NOT PANTS (as the google searches leading here will tell you, although I do not understand why someone must google that. Wouldn’t the more appropriate google be “are tights pants?” to which I would hope google would simply reply “NO” sans search results, although that wouldn’t send me any traffic).

Leggings are thick, suck you in, and look good. Tights are something you add under skirts or dresses (you KNOW how I feel about shorts in the winter or at night); while they can be thick, suck you in, and look good, they ARE NOT PANTS. If you bought them folded over that little cardboard doohickey in the section next to the underwear, THEY ARE NOT PANTS. If you bought them in a pack of two, THEY ARE NOT PANTS. If you can see through them at all, in any way, in any light, THEY ARE NOT PANTS.

Leggings and tights can both be creative and fun, but should you go that route, they need to be paired with SIMPLE accessories. There are also some “creative,” “fun” patterns you should avoid: lace, tie-dyed, and the aforementioned just plain ugly styles. Here’s a hall of shame collection for you to enjoy, along with one example of what you should be wearing.