Leggings and Why They are Not Pants

If you've been to a high school campus, movie theater, shopping mall, or any other place where young girls abound lately, you've probably noticed this fad. It seems that young teens and twenty-somethings are beginning to mistake leggings as a suitable pants substitute.

What are leggings? They are body-hugging and made out of relatively thin spandex-like material. Meant to be worn under skirts or dresses, many are now taking it upon themselves to ditch the extra covering and ruin a garment that would otherwise be fine to wear in public. Without something worn over them, they show much more than any reasonable person wants to see. Frankly, leggings function essentially as a second skin and leave camels calling to request the return of their toes.

Before they were called leggings, they were footless tights. Yes, tights. I have nothing against leggings as an undergarment. They look fine under a skirt or even a long shirt than covers the rear end of the wearer. However, they are not pants and should not be worn as such. It's not a fashion statement so much as an open invitation.