And no, you should NOT wear them.
Just don’t.
Don’t wear them with a tunic.
Don’t wear them with dresses.
If you wear them to the gym, do not wear them to the store.
If you must go for that look, wear footless tights with a dress and cute shoes, but know that you’re projecting a sort of Zoey Deschanel quirky ingenue image.
A good rule I heard recently: if you wore the trend the first time around, you’re too old to wear it the second time around. Younger pastors, you should still forego the dreaded Legging just for propriety’s sake. I am AGHAST at the number of young women out on the street these days after whom I want to shout, “YA FORGOT YER PANTS!”
This has nothing to do with slenderness or fitness: leggings are wrong, wrong, wrong for any professional woman. Even these looks — some of which are pretty cute — are wrong for clergy. Sorry. I’m no fun sometimes, I know!
Carry on, pigeons.
I also have to resist the temptation to suggest that they go home and cover themselves with the rest of their clothes. The leggings with dress and BOOTS is too terrible for words as far as I am concerned. Even the model looks embarrassed with what she is wearing. Some of the others are cute, but…
I wear them at home all the time, though not in this beastly summer weather. But in the cool or cold weather they are great with a tunic or a big sweater or shirt. Soooo soft and comfortable (I get the as-much-cotton-content-as-possible ones.) and perfect for going from desk to yoga stretch to kitchen and back. I write sermons in them in the winter.
Perish the thought of wearing them in the public realm, however.
I do wear them to the gym when I can find something that covers my tuchus to wear with them. Yes, Caroline Divine says “tuchus.” And has a little dignity, hence the gym tuchus-covering. At home, however, I am alone and don’t care.
DAMN. Back to the store. [Not before you send me a photo of yourself in leggings. THAT, I would pay for.- PB]
Have you seen jeggings, the leggings made to look like jeans? Truly terrifying!!! 🙂
[YES! Horrific. – PB]
Camel-toe is NOT the ‘new black’. If you must wear leggings (or the ‘newer’ versions called jeggings or treggings), make sure that whatever you’re wearing with it covers your backside and front nether regions. Please.
I do wear footless tights with skirts and nice flats sometimes. Never for work situations, though. More often, though, if I want a light covering on my legs rather than going bare, I’ll go with micro-fishnets.
I read this blog devotedly but am not a pastor. I just love fashion. . I have a drawer full of leggings and wear them with dresses and tunics but NOT by themselves out of the house with a tshirt as some sort of substitute for stretch pants. At 56 this would not look very cute. But with the issue with the model in the dress, leggings & boots I do this in the winter to go to work becaue leggings are warmer than tights. I wear black leggings and black socks with the boots it’s warmer that way.
Actually I disagree with PB as leggings have been continuously in for a few years now at least where I am in Boston. [Darling, I LOVE leggings worn such as you describe — remember that if they’re in boots you can’t see them, first of all. Secondly, this is a blog for ministers (although I’m thrilled you’re reading, of course!) and we have different boundaries and image issues. Thirdly, why is there so little interest in fashion in Boston? It’s the dreariest city I’ve ever lived near, fashion-wise. – PB]
Sarah…do you wear the boots once you get to work or do you change into shoes? Just wondering.
At my seminary we call them “not-pants” and the use of them indicates whether you are an undergrad or graduate student… wearing not-pants to seminary would be instant death, and no belief in the resurrection could save you from that, [HA ha!! Love it! – PB]
I have image issues too I have a professional job in the real estate industry. I read this blog as I like the spin on current fashion and what ladies of a certain age should or shouldn’t wear even if I don’t always follow PB’s suggestions. The clothes in the NYT style section are fun to look at but I would have nowhere to go in them PB’s clothes suggestions are rather more practical for a range of professions.
I’ve evolved a personal style based around truly cool looking boots and metallic or brightly clogs and scarves the rest of my wardrobe more or less consists of black or other dark color skirts, longer mostly for work and shorter for weekends, sweaters and leggings because the colors are in the accessories if you wear this stuff with bright colored clothes you look like you should be in Barnum & Bailey.
I don’t know why fashion in Boston is considered something no one should admit to being interested in. Not like NYC perhaps because fashion is one of their main industries. Here the past Brahmin elite was rather anti-fashion perhaps that’s why this continues. But Boston has a fashion week so we are progessing. I have noticed that in Brighton/Brookline where I live the younger Asian women are dressed in the height of fashion like Fashion Week in Bryant Park. Hopefully this will trickle down. My late Mom wbo modeled her way through college and whose own mom worked in fashion might have liked the fashion sense here now it seems to have improved a little.
Not meaning to monopolize but wanted to answer Teri’s question. The Ugg boots (one pair is light brown, the other pair is truly cool brown folkloric embroidered ith bright flowers) I take off when I get to work and wear a pair of the clogs that I keep there because otherwise my feet would melt because if the sheepskin. Then I have 2 pairs of slouch boots and some black Dr Martens with gold flowers I wear them all day.
So I understand the problem with leggings and shirts, but I can’t for the life of me figure out what the difference would be in legless tights with a dress and leggings with a dress. They are the exact same thing except leggings are warmer, more comfortable, and more durable than legless tights.
That said, I’ve heard that HR at my employer once forced a woman to strip her leggings off midday even though they were worn under a dress so I won’t be attempting it at work. But the idea that bare legs under a dress is somehow more descent than leggings under a dress is completely illogical.
Any clergy person who could not pull off leggings while working (probably most, I admit) should be equally unable to pull off legless tights.
I used to live in Brighton MA too. I kind of liked the lack of focus on fashion in Boston as I was too poor to buy an ever evolving wardrobe. I wore lots of basics and black there and never felt out of place.
Indie, I think it’s the bulk of the leggings that makes the difference. Legless tights with a lighter-weight dress in the fall or winter (with a cardigan over all) I can see being okay. Similarly, if no one can tell you’re wearing leggings, no big deal. I wear them under dresses in the winter for warmth sometimes. The thing that I think is too youthful for most clergy is the short dress and leggings look.
Even worse, I recently saw stirrup pants in a retail store. All I can say is never again!
I think leggings are adorable…on pre-schoolers!
I am not a professional, but would not be caught dead in them, my ample figure would not allow.
I love all the fashion and make up advice here 🙂
Sorry PeaceBang, I usually love your advice, but you’re not going to convince me to stop wearing my leggings! I’m a 24-yr-old, part-time children’s minister, and I’m too poor to buy a summer and winter wardrobe. I use leggings in the fall so I can continue to wear my summer dresses without freezing. Since much of my ministry requires me to roll around on the floor, leggings also keep me from flashing people!
I’m not a minister and am toying with the idea of getting a pair of black leggings. (I wore tights just today for first time in a few months and was reminded of how uncomfortable they are!) But I would be totally bewildered by a minister showing up to church in leggings. It would be like seeing a male minister show up to church in tight jeans, or one of those mesh shirts.
I go for colored tights myself, but I am not in the clergy. I prefer colors that harmonize with the skirt being worn or are close to the color of
the boots or shoes, so that means having burgundy,
navy, blue, espresso, etc. For colorful tights check out We Love Color on the web. Probably the striped and the tie dye and other patterns are a bit much for the office. I agree that the “jegging” is abominable… Haven’t seen it worn to work, yet, but have seen student workers, and some others who should not be seen in spandex wearing leggings to work. (There is no dress code where I work, but since in a high tech, male dominated field, what I’m selling is BRAINS, revealing clothes are not it.)
NO! Really?! If you wore a trend the first time around you are too old to wear it again??? What will be left for me?? 🙂
[I KNOW! We’re all eventually screwed… 🙂 – PB]
S–I have a ton of coloured tights (purple, magenta, lavender, teal, olive, forest green), along with the traditional brown and black (and diamond texture on those two). Love them for office days, church, etc., but not ‘formal’ important meetings or preaching. I also like them with coordinating skirts. The greens can be a little tricky, because you can end up looking like one of Robin Hood’s merry men, or the Jolly Green Giant (or in my case, the Little Green Sprout…)
Legless tights? Do people mean footless tights? Because legless tights could get a little “Emperor’s New Tights”-ish.
Oh man. . . I loved the leggings and long shirt look and I may break the rule and resurrect it anyway. With a LONG sweater or tunic or a dress of course, and not for work.
When i was in div school people wore “cat suits”–remember those? Methinks the obesity epidemic will ensure those do not come back into fashion. At least we can hope.
The sweater I wore for my senior picture in high school–a magenta cowl neck–is in the stores this fall. very freaky.
“or the Jolly Green Giant (or in my case, the Little Green Sprout…)”
Dear Wendy,
You win an Internet.
That is all.
I am horrified by 95% of the leggings I see.
My other pet peeve: pantyhose are not leggings but I’m afraid a lot of the undergraduate women I see haven’t worked that out yet.