How not to wear leggings

I’ve decided to take on a ‘not for the weak minded’ fashion trend. Yes you guessed right; Leggings.

I’ve decided to take on a ‘not for the weak minded’ fashion trend. Yes you guessed right; Leggings.

So I’m standing with a group of friends somewhere in University of Lagos and then we look up and see this babe coming towards us. Now this was someone we actually knew; she’d finished from our department two years earlier so we naturally wondered what she was doing in school. But that wasn’t what was on our mind as she approached. I’m sure the corresponding looks on our faces could be interpreted as ‘What on earth is she wearing?’

Let me try and paint a picture: the chick in question was wearing a pair of extra tight shiny leggings of indeterminable colour. She’d paired it with an undersized top which was too tight and way too short, barely covering her stomach. Now I have nothing against leggings really (I have a black pair) but I believe that if you must wear them, you’ve got to have the body to work them; else you just look off. 

Now this sister is plus size.  And not plus size in a ‘Monique’ kind of way. She’s actually fat and short with all the wobbly fat hanging out in the ‘right’ places. And I'm not exaggerating. And to crown it all, her legs are not straight, almost bow even. So you can imagine our horror when she walked past in that outfit. I mentally cringed. She looked like a toad.

After this hurtful experience, I decided to put together a few tips on the dos and don’ts of wearing leggings.

Dos:

• Pair your leggings with a tunic. There are not many people with the body and attitude to get away with pairing a short top with a pair of leggings. Because your leggings fit so close to your body, your tunic or top should be long enough to cover your hips and rear. Anything shorter and you'll probably look like you're off to the gym. To balance out your look, since a tunic is roomy, make sure you're leggings are fitted. You can also add a belt over the tunic for some curves.
• Ladies who are fat, especially around the thigh area, should generally steer clear of leggings but if they must wear them, they should avoid bright or shiny colors and stick with black.
• Shiny outfits are best left for night outings and the same goes for leggings. Leave the shiny pair for nights out and stick with the matte for a casual look during the day.

Don’ts:

• Don’t wear leggings with a short top. Enough said.
• Please don’t wear leggings if you’re really fat or have not so great legs (bow legs and k-legs are more pronounced in a pair of leggings). Some fashion trends are just that, trends.

Follow these few tips, make the mirror your friend and I’m sure you won't go wrong. Most importantly, if you're going to wear a pair of leggings then please wear them with attitude.

My general rule of thumb with trends is this: if it doesn’t look good in your mirror, it doesn’t matter if every Tomi, Ngozi and Amina is wearing it, then it doesn’t look good, period.