Jeans, Leggings, Jeggings - Wear Them Right

Jeans, leggings and jeggings have become hugely popular in recent times. They fall under the casual dress code category and can be quite flattering on many ladies; the reason being that they sculpture the body of women giving them a sort of slim silhouette. They look trendy as well.

For this reason most ladies endeavour to have at least one of these items in their wardrobes and even if possible all three.

However, in as much as we appreciate the role these clothes play in enhancing our physical image, caution must be exercised at ensuring that should we opt to wear them, we learn the correct and proper way to do so.

Jeans
In actual fact, jeans are trousers which are made from denim materials. There is a huge variety of jeans on the fashion market these days. They come in different cuts, colours and textures. We have the boot cut, skinny, bell cut, carpenter cut, straight cut, combat cut and many other styles in the market.

Your figure in terms of your body shape should guide you in choosing the right type of jeans that would flatter your figure best.

So find out what your shape is and use that as a guide the next time you go shopping for a pair of jeans.

One differentiating mark of jeans is that the denim material used to make it is much harder and thicker than the material used for the manufacture of leggings and jeggings.

This enables the material to sit smoothly and snugly on the body without revealing too much physical details of the wearer. This is not the case when it comes to leggings and jeggings. Ladies with large hips would look best in flared or bell bottom jeans.

Pairing your jeans
There are literally hundreds of tops with which you can pair your jeans to. Since they are less revealing they can be worn with a long or short top.

Bell bottom jeans can be paired with tops that fit the upper body part and light clingy material. Care of course must be exercised if you have a large upper body and a smaller lower body part.

Leggings
These are a type of skin-tight fitting or form fitting trousers worn by ladies. Actually legging were created to be worn in order to keep the legs warm in cold weather and to protect the legs during strenuous exercise and can be worn by both sexes. In recent times this view has changed. Leggings these days have become decorative fashion attire loved and worn by a lot of ladies.

Leggings are made from nylon, cotton, spandex, lycra and in some cases polyester material. They extend from the waist to the ankles and in some cases to the mid calf. They also come in multitudes of colours and styles.

The one basic disadvantage of leggings is the extremely revealing nature of this attire. The material it is made from is actually intended to sculpture the lower body part. This makes it very revealing because it sits just like a second skin on the body.

It, therefore, means that whatever pot holes or bumps on your body will be exposed to public scrutiny and commentary if you do not wear your leggings properly.

Pairing your leggings
It is very appalling to observe ladies put on leggings in a way that completely exposes their body parts to the ever staring public.

It’s sometimes difficult to ascertain whether it is deliberate on their part to grab the attention of the opposite sex or just plain ignorance on what constitutes proper grooming and what does not.

All leggings are best worn with long tops. These tops must at least cover your bottom and your front ending at least at the mid-section of your thighs. This will ensure that the body is covered at least from behind and in front.

Should you decide to wear a Capri-length legging you can pair it with a short skirt for a trendy look. Under no condition what so ever should you wear a legging with a short top or one that barely covers your bottom. Not if you value your dignity as a woman.

Jeggings
Jeggings came about as a combination of leggings and jeans. That’s why they are called jeggings. As the name indicates, they are styled to look like tight jeans. They are made from the same materials used to make regular leggings but now styled and coloured to look like jeans. So you wear them and people looking at you from afar will think you are wearing jeans.

They come in various styles and colours and look very trendy when paired with an appropriate top and accessories.

Pairing your jeggings
These are also form fitting just like leggings and care must be exercised to avoid exhibiting your bottom and lower body parts.

Though not as revealing like leggings, nevertheless, jeggings typically mould your body and sit tight on the skin.

So endeavour to pair them with a top that is long enough to cover you appropriately.

The writer is a fashion consultant and provides training in personal grooming and etiquette.

She also runs Kobadem Boutique.
Email: [email protected]