What I’m learning about tights / leggings

Time to talk about tights and leggings again. It’s approaching a year since I added some non padded tights to my workout wear for the spin bike. I’ve become quite a fan of the form fitting pants. Those that follow my stories on Instagram probably have noticed. I’m still playing around and improving my confidence wearing them, but I’ve been really enjoying them.

Tights / Leggings What’s the Difference?

So are they tights or leggings or is there a difference? I know there is the term meggings out there for so-called men’s leggings, but I don’t like the term. I don’t think there is any reason to differentiate between men’s and women’s leggings. Leggings are leggings. Meggings doesn’t make them more masculine. Ok, back to leggings vs tights. You probably could argue for both sides. For both I think of skin tight stretchy pants. With tights I’d probably think more exercise, since I’ve worn tights for cycling and that is what they were called. Now my daughter has so called tights she wears under dresses and for dance, which you would not wear alone and aren’t for exercising. When I hear leggings I think the form fitting bottoms worn out and about as daily wear. Though I’ve been seeing photos of women that wear the same type for both exercise and out and about wear, so maybe they’re just leggings. Could it be material that differentiates the two? I suppose what I just said kind of goes against that idea. Now for what I like in material I could maybe use the material to make a difference between them. The ones I like for working out are a lighter weight and I guess a more polyester feel to them. These I would call tights. Then the ones I like to just wear for bottoms are a bit heavier fabric that is super soft. People describe them as buttery soft. I could refer to these ones as leggings. For now I’ll continue to use leggings and tights together.

The Fit of Tights / Leggings

With about a year under my belt and trying about three different pairs, I’ve formed some opinions on them. Guess biggest take away so far is a center seamed rear. Especially when there is a thong underneath. With that center seamed rear it helps to define the butt. I’ve been seeing it a lot with women on social media with their leggings. They adjust their leggings in the back to really give the rear definition. I’ve even seen clips on how to adjust them for both leggings and shorts. The ones I have without the center seamed rear have stitching that is kind of a u shape on the rear. To me it doesn’t do much aesthetically. They same goes for the front. It has kind of the u shape stitch to kind of give a pouch look, but doesn’t perform as a pouch and again not aesthetically pleasing to me. Now the pair I have is looser than my others so that may factor some in the fit and look, but I still don’t like the stitching look of my pair.

That brings me to the center seamed front. For me I like the look of it better. Maybe a pair with a true pouch might be good, but I haven’t seeked out a pair to try yet. If I’m going to be wearing something form fitting, I want it to look good. So if my bulge is going to be on display it doesn’t need to look frumpy. The center seam ones are doing it for me so far. Now I suppose you might get some of that so-called camel toe that people talk about on women with the male sack, but hey that is our physique and theirs. To me it is better to show the bulge than try to avoid it in tights and leggings.

Then I want a decent tight fit with them. They need to stay in place pretty well, so not having to keep pulling them up to keep them looking good. Then of course I don’t want to struggle getting them on, which also might mean they won’t stay up. I want a good firm fitting look.

When/where to Wear Leggings / Tights

Basically they can be worn when and wherever. Now for men, we get into an issue like swim briefs with them. They’ve not the norm like it is for women to basically wear them everywhere they go. They’re most acceptable in the gym or running though it seems shorts are an accessory worn with them. I’m finding it is something I have to work on my mindset like I talked about in my rock a swim brief post.

So far I’ve had limited experiences wearing them outside the home, but I’m working on it. Exercising at home they are a must, especially when I ride the spin bike. It’s not a stretch to take tights outside for bicycling. It’s something I’ve already done for years. It is one activity that has acceptance for tight fitting shorts and tights. I like to wear my soft ones for lounging around the house over exercising in them. The main outside activity I’ve done in them is hiking and taking the dog on walks. Neither one has been done in high traffic areas. Hiking it is usually just the parking lot I see people. Then walking the dog is usually just passing cars and a few houses. I haven’t really run errands, which required me to go into stores as of yet I’ve worn them to run errands that I stay in the car mainly. I might step out shortly to put a clothing donation in a donation box, but nothing prolonged. Working on baby steps for more public wear. I do think they are a great comfortable options for doing pretty much anything.

Some other uses for them that were touched on in the forums are base layers and PJs. The ones I wear for lounging would be great for sleeping in if I wasn’t an underwear sleeper. Then wearing them for warmth on cold days as a base layer would be a great option. Could use them instead of the traditional long/thermal underwear.

You probably have gotten the picture; I’m now a fan of the leggings / tights. They are another item for us guys, I’ll be trying to lead by example for normalcy and talking about. I feel it could be as challenging if not more so than breaking out the swim briefs. I hope to take my swim brief experiences to help guide me with my tights / leggings journey.