The Great Leggings Debate

So a few months ago Rhode Island had the Leggings Debacle. An older gay man (yes it was important to the story at the time to note his sexual orientation) wrote a letter to the editor talking about how women over college age should definitely not be wearing leggings outside the house...ever. You can imagine how well that went down. I mean, in today's world women, most notably, stay at home moms, throw on whatever is comfortable and doesn't look like pajamas. The leggings craze was then born.

So over the last several years the unofficial symbol of the mom who just needed to get out of the house have been sporting yoga gear. They are easy to spot. Yoga pants/leggings, t-shirt, sneakers and a baseball cap typically with the hair in a pony tail. It was everywhere. It didn't matter if you were a SAHM, working mom on your day off, just running an errand, meeting a friend, the list can go on. It became such a craze that it became the focus of memes, poking fun and straight up nasty commentary.

I was one of the haters. I had to wonder if women over 40 who didn't actually practice yoga were just trying to look younger since all the 20 and 30 somethings were sporting them and looked cute in the process. To many people it made older women just seem desperate, chasing the next youth serum.

I was never outwardly mean, but I definitely thought it. Heck, I wasn't that nice about it when thinking about anyone who wore them on a regular basis. I mean, at least practice yoga. Stop trying to fake it.

That was the judgmental side of me coming out and it wasn't very pretty. Do I still think it's weird when people live in their yoga clothes and don't practice yoga? Why yes I do, but I no longer judge. What do I care what they are wearing?

Now the new craze is not yoga gear. It's leggings. Same concept, BUT way more fun. So in the last year, LulaRoe (LLR) has exploded. They went from a few thousand Independent Consultants (IC) to more than 100K. They are known for their extraordinarily soft leggings and crazy patterns. They also have dresses, skirts, and shirts. The shirts in their various forms all cover the "assets".

I stayed away from it all because I've always been terrified of too many colors and the few times I had tried leggings I hated them. They weirded me out. So this year I finally gave in and gave it a shot. My sister's friend gave me a pair for free with my purchase. I now own several pairs. I have fallen victim to the "holey controversy". Three of my 15 pairs have holes and are no longer usable. I'm annoyed and won't buy anymore but that's a story for another day.

The point is, I tried something new and scary even though I judged and judged harshly. I find that as a mom who just wants to raise her kids, I don't judge nearly as much.