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Cosmopolitan

Should Leggings Just Go Ahead and Officially Become Workwear?

Alexis Bennett, Madeleine Frank Reeves
2 min read
Photo credit: Claudio Lavenia
Photo credit: Claudio Lavenia

From Cosmopolitan

It's been approximately six years months since quarantine started and so many of us started our new work from home lifestyles and outfits, which, yes, often involved MANY pairs of leggings. (I'm sure I'm speaking for a lot of us when I say this.) But when the pandemic is over and we can go back into the office, will the stretchy pants finally be inducted into our workwear staples? Two Cosmo staffers discuss.

I'm Skeptical: Madeleine Frank Reeves, Deputy Articles Director

Photo credit: Hearst Owned
Photo credit: Hearst Owned

Listen, I’m firmly in camp Leggings As Pants. But wearing ’em to work? Not worth it. Because regardless of how you feel about them, someone at your job definitely thinks they’re unprofesh—and that someone may be the very same someone you need to impress on the day you decide “these Lulus are totally fine with a blazer.”

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Sure, comfort is important—and who could expect us to return to pants with real buttons post-lockdown?—but there are other options, friends! Like flowy slacks or my own go-to, the midi skirt. Loungewear vibes without the actual loungewear—or the judgy elevator eyes.

I'm Sold: Alexis Bennett, Shopping Editor

Photo credit: Ruben Chamorro - Hearst Owned
Photo credit: Ruben Chamorro - Hearst Owned

Leggings have come a looong way since the stretched-out, see-through days of yore. Some styles look just as fancy as actual pants. You can trust me on this: I once wore a pair of Spanx leggings while interviewing Victoria Beckham—THE queen of professional chic—and she said she...loved my outfit?! (Still basking in that moment.)

If you’re somehow not convinced after that anecdote, consider a looser style. The wider-leg ones I own could fool the strictest HR exec, but their material is so soft that it feels like I’m not wearing a damn thing. Working in them is like an upgraded version of the zillion pantsless Zoom calls I did this year.

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