Jocasta Innes Diary

LEGGINGS

There have been hints of a comeback for leggings. They were spotted in
the Paris collections. Then some silly fashionista wrote them up in
last week`s Evening Standard, claiming that they were the most
unflattering garb known to women, enlarging the bum,drawing attention
to the thighs or - if you were lucky enough to be thin- making your
legs look like pipe cleaners. This guff ran alongside a pic of Kate
Moss wearing leggings and looking breezy and gorgeous. Since la Moss
is generally credited with a sixth sense for the latest fashion trend
this seems to stand her story on its head.
I have to declare an interest here. In my opinion I invented leggings.
It would have been around I984, as I recall, that I felt impelled to
dress like a torero. This may seem a strange caprice, but I always
felt happier in what one might call `tomboy' or androgynous clothing.
Think `panto' principal boy. Re-interpreted this meant a glitzy top,
with a bit of shoulder interest, and a pair of tight black,
calf-length leggings, though I dont think the word `leggings' had been
coined as yet. No such items existed at the time but the lovely
Gloria, a talented knitter, ran me up a dashing outfit, black and
silver lurex harlequin diamonds for the top, plain black for the
leggings. The top was fun, but it was the leggings I adored. I wore
them so intensively the knit went thin over the knees, and a moth
plague kept me busy repairing sudden gaps in intimate areas, like the
crotch. The day came when with shrinking reluctance and sorrow I had
to bin this sartorial treasure. By now Gloria had moved onto higher
things, like PR. However, mysteriously, coincidentally, black
leggings, reinforced with spandex or lycra were springing up
everywhere. O.K., maybe they didnt suit all women equally but ignoring
the vanity issue for a moment, it was clear women loved them for the
same reasons I did - leggings are ideal attire for women in a rush, no
underpinnings needed, a pull and a quick wriggle and your bottom half
is sorted. But the best thing was the way they made you feel - not
feminine, or glamorous - but sprauncy, neat, trim ( the lycra helped
here) and ready for action. I wore mine, as does Kate Moss I notice,
with ballet slippers. As luck would have it my youngest daughter
passed on several pairs of leggings to me a few months ago. ` Mum, you
like wearing these' she said kindly.At first I kept them for workouts
in the gym, then when time pressed I wore them to the gym, with boots,
so I was ready to leap onto the exercise bike in a trice, though I got
told off for keeping on the boots. Now, having rediscovered the charm
and convenience of leggings all over again it is all I can do to force
myself into jeans or a skirt. However I must admit that this neat,
practical, sporty attire does attract funny looks from Brick Lane`s
veiled Bengali ladies and their menfolk. I am still trying to figure
out whether this is their fashion radar homing in on a new trend or a
prudish recoil from such explicit, skin-tight clothing. Whichever, I
remain defiantly pro-leggings, for as long as my bum and my thighs
pass muster - I mean, what is the point of working out otherwise ? It
is not as if I dont know when I am beaten - I wouldnt dream of baring
my abdomen a la Britney Spears.. No way am I flaunting - leggings just
make me feel that little bit happier and ready-to-go, they are me, and
as I have indicated, I think of them as mine,but if you all want to
jump on the bandwagon I am cool - good ideas are for sharing. To me
the return of leggings flags up a gap in the market. A few years ago I
sat next to an incredibly sophisticated Italian boutique owner,
female, based in Milan. What was lacking in her market, she told me,
was designs which combined comfort and allure, like sexy sports gear,
easily shrugged into, but with an edge to them. `My customers like to
pretend they are athletic, they keep thin with diets - the gym is too
much work - but they all look for this ideal clothing, relaxed,
modern, but with style'. Maybe this is an impossible dream ? But I bet
the smart young designer who comes up with a cutting-edge solution
will be laughing all the way to the bank? Meantime I just keep on
wearing my daughter`s cast-off leggings, with pleasure and with pride.