Buying women’s leggings is a game changer
In a previous post, I mentioned my issues with styling men’s leggings fashionably and why, in my opinion, it is hard to do that given the current choices available to men. If you missed that post feel free to read it here.
I went ahead and bought a pair of women’s leggings. I bought them at Costco, for $14.99… They rock!
Most men’s marketed leggings are spandex and sporty with a bazillion different patterns and prints and colors. Kapow’s offers a straight black pair of leggings, but it is still shiny and athletic-looking - because it is made of spandex. Pairing this kind of material and look with cotton or wool is very limiting. Sure you can through on a t-shirt or hoodie for a sporty look but how do you bring spandex pants into the office or on a date night?
You don’t.
Enter cotton leggings.
You can purchase cotton leggings for men from only one maker, that I am aware of. Formerly Jeffrey Scott - the tights guy - now sold thru Cut2Me Designs - they do have jersey cotton leggings available for sale. I have yet to try them. But given I can pick up black cotton leggings for $14.99 at Costco - should I???
I pulled on the pair I had purchased from Costco and immediately was floored by how damn comfortable they were. Seriously spandex leggings are comfortable but cotton is way better. It is a game-changer.
Add on the fact that they look so much more muted and toned down. They don’t take over your outfit they just hang out being awesome and allow you to layer on sweaters, button-downs, and other clothing without forcing you into the athletic and sporty look.
I mean seriously - women have it figured out.
So how is it wearing women’s leggings as a man?
Honestly, the fit is not that different. In my humble opinion center seam leggings made purposefully for men don’t fit that well anyway and I can’t say I noticed much of a fit difference between my Costco leggings and the Kapows I own. I did notice that one was $142.99 and much easier to style with all the clothes in my wardrobe and the other was a whopping $74.99 and basically a one-trick pony.
I was all set to be let down by the fit. I figured I was gambling $14.99 but even then Costco has a great return policy and I am in the place weekly so even then I wasn’t really risking anything.
Do they fit like my Nike running tight? Nope, they still have fit issues. But for the price, I really don’t care.
Why I am buying women’s cotton leggings again
Actually, I already have. I went over the H & M and picked up a pair of 17 dollar leggings on sale at 30% off. They actually fit a bit better than the Costco leggings. It is crazy!
My whole angle here is that the material is just way better for building a look and outfit around. Spandex leggings are great. I’ll continue to wear them for my workouts and running and around the house and as an athleisure look but if I actually want to wear an outfit and look sharp I am reaching for cotton leggings and the price point of women’s leggings is just too valuable to pass.
Making women’s leggings fit the male body better
I do have to do a few things to make them fit me personally in a long-term and comfortable way.
First I size up. This may seem obvious but it does help. Initially, I bought both a size medium and a size large in the Costco leggings. For reference, I generally wear a size small in men’s leggings or 30x32’s in men’s jeans.
The Mediums technically fit but they were tight, a bit too tight. Especially in the calf and lower thigh, this also meant they were a bit short. So I opted for the large. The large was slightly loose around the waist. In this case, the leggings are high-waisted, which I actually really liked.
But the way they gripped my quads but were loose around the waist meant that they were constantly falling down.
This is an issue I have with a lot of men’s leggings too - but in this case, they are fashionable cotton leggings so they don’t have a drawstring.
I had to get creative.
I opted to use a belt and simply wear the belt, not as a fashion piece but a function piece. It works great and I have done this with other men’s leggings before. The high waist helps here as well. I can place the belt and then fold the waist of the leggings down and over the belt and transform the high-waisted look into a regular hip hugger low-rise fit.
As for my experience with H&M, I bought the size large initially and they were too big. I had to size down to a size medium and they fit great! They stay up and I have plenty of room for the boys. These guys could market their leggings as unisex for how well they fit my male anatomy.
I mean seriously - how great do they look!!? The answer? Pretty freaking great!
Maybe we need to drop the gender specifics on leggings?
What I mean is - as soon as I purchased the leggings out of the women’s department they became my leggings. Who cares that they are marketed towards women. The same is true for men’s leggings. My wife looks just as fine wearing my Kapow’s. In fact, she loves the way they fit. Just because something is marketed towards a man or a woman doesn’t mean it can’t be worn by another gender.
I have really let this open up my eyes to clothing styles and looks that I’ve always liked but never wore because of the gender roles society and marketing teams use to organize the world.
My next goal is to build my entire wardrobe around the ability to gender-bend and play with looks and outfits that may be more female. An androgynous capsule wardrobe using black cotton leggings as a major staple in my outfits.
I am really glad I bought a pair of women’s leggings. It has been a game-changer for sure.
