Wait, what? Leggings are back? I seem to remember I confidently killed them off about 10 minutes ago. Sorry about that. Turns out that the global fashion industry is no match for the colossus of modern culture that is Claudia Winkleman. Queen Claudia made black leggings – usually paired with a fancy blouse, or a delicious peacoat, or a sharp thigh-grazing blazer – her Traitors uniform, and now everyone wants to wear them again.
To be clear, the comeback of leggings is not about what you wear to the gym. Fitness wear is still steering towards looser fits. Think yoga pants instead of leggings, waisted running shorts instead of cycling ones. Leggings are back, but as a sleek day-to-night option, to be worn with a proper shoe and a smart top.
Setting aside the embarrassment of being publicly wrong, the return of leggings seems to me a good thing. First, because this is an item that pretty much every one of us has in a drawer somewhere. Black leggings are utility-level, like wellies or a swimsuit. And second, because I suspect – although, on my current record, I won’t be offended if you don’t take my word for it – their renaissance wards off, for now, the threatened return of skinny jeans, which is being whispered about on the edges of fashion. Skinny jeans will no doubt be back eventually, because everything always is, but they come with a lot of toxic, 2000s cultural baggage. Leggings are more comfortable in every sense.
There is a view that leggings are back because our culture is, depressingly, obsessed with being skinny again. It is certainly true that on the catwalk progress towards body diversity looks to have stalled. In online fashion discourse, there is much talk of the “Ozempic effect”, meaning demand for form-fitting clothes from people who have lost weight on GLP-1 drugs. My observations suggest that this is more a phenomenon in the US than the UK. At fashion dinners in New York these days, a lot of guests seem genuinely uninterested in food, waving away sharing platters without a second glance. In London, you still get the sense that people are having to use willpower to ignore the bread basket.
I like to think that leggings can be about the desire for a sharper silhouette, rather than a smaller one. Wearing loose clothes head to toe can be challenging to make work without the silhouette feeling floppy. Quite often, I think I want to wear a cotton shirt and a pair of pleated trousers, but my reflection in the mirror looks off. A bit lethargic, maybe? Usually, I end up swapping the shirt for a more snug-fitting top, and perhaps draping a sweater over my shoulders to balance the silhouette. But I am starting to see that keeping the shirt, and switching the trousers for leggings, could be an alternative route to adding a bit of zip. To make leggings work, you need some polish on the top half: a collared shirt or a tailored blazer. Also, a shoe that has a neat covered toe works better than a sandal: polished loafers, ballerina flats, even a heeled court.
I can tell you with absolute confidence which are the best black leggings, because my most beloved pair came from what also happens to be Claudia Winkleman’s favourite legging brand: Spanx. I know, I know, that sounds terrifying – the word Spanx, to many of us, conjures up first-generation shapewear in which you suffered and couldn’t wait to get home to take off. But I promise you that Spanx leggings are blissfully comfy. They are sturdy enough to make you feel confidently held, but nothing squeezes or digs in. They are expensive – about £100 for black, although seasonal colours can be found cheaper on sale – but I’ve had mine for at least five years and washed them a zillion times and they haven’t lost their ping, or faded.
The ones you want are the Full Length Leggings in Very Black. Very Black because it is a perfect dense, matt black – I’m not a fan of a shiny knee – and full length because leggings that end three-quarters of the way down your calves look like athleisure. All the way to the ankle bone is what you want, smarty pants.
Model: Laura Brown at Milk. Hair and makeup by Sophie Higginson using Davines, Dr Sam’s and Merit. Styling assistant: Charlotte Gornall. Sunglasses, £125, Ace & Tate. Earrings, £300, Dinosaur Designs. Jacket, £349, Nobody’s Child. Ring, £37.99, Pilgrim. Leggings, £148, Reformation. Boots, £54.99, H&M
