Observing

[Geena75]

I work in retail. When I can, I look at what women are wearing. The weather is warming up and I have been noting the dominant trend, which has been on all winter as well: leggings! If you have a notion of getting out and blending, regardless of age, leggings are a way to go.

On another note, I helped a lady and her husband the other day and they looked to be in their 70's. The lady was wearing a cute short dress (mid thigh hemline) whiteish patterned with a blazer top and black nylons. She really looked sweet. Nice to see a look after my own heart.

[missjoann49]

I love wearing leggings, they are so comfy and I agree that they blend in to most settings

[AngelaYVR]

Ah well, there's always hope for next season. Honestly, I would have thought that judging by the overheard reactions of women who pass by that my city would have reached at least 20% skirt wearing but at the end of day, everyone wants to belong to the clan and that means jeans and leggings. People are, sadly, very dull.

[Crissy 107]

I do not think leggings are dull at all, I feel they can, for the vast majority of women be very sexy.
I have seen several guys at the gym wearing leggings and a pair of shorts.

[AngelaYVR]

I think it is dull when people dress identically, not that leggings are dull. Acres of choice when it comes to clothes and then opting to not deviate from one another. I just appreciate independent thought.

[Philippa Jane]

For me leggings around the house is ok but that to me otherwise is DRAB.
I would never wear them outside or what is the point of trying to be Feminine.
Being very old school I prefer to see women in dresses or skirts.
Sure (leggings)they are comfortable and on some females they can look alluring but for the most part they are for slobbing around.IMHO

[Kris Burton]

Unless standing out is the goal, blending in is important when en femme in the community. Geena points out that leggings are a way to go, but only one way. Leggings can be quite good looking and practical on many levels, but we have many choices that allow us to blend with style. I think we should keep our minds open and be creative in our fashion choices, as Angela suggests. More fun that way too I think.

[Helen_Highwater]

I've worn leggings out and about in the past, however it's always been with a top that came just below the crutch because no matter how good your tuck is, having the same look as GG can be difficult to achieve.

Hence I would say if you don't tuck then make sure you cover up your nether regions as otherwise it'll ruin any chance of blending as any bulge is a giveaway.

Beyond that it's still possible to blend in a skirt or dress. Just make sure if you're out food shopping it's something suitable, nothing too dressy. You can go a bit more "up market" if clothes shopping but again just keep it suitable for the time and place.

And who knows, a GG might see you in a skirt and think, " I think "I'll wear my skirt tomorrow if the weather's warm" and you'll be a trend setter as more follow.

[Debs]

Hi, Helen
what if you have nothing to tuck like me, lol soon be November and we can go shopping together again, anyway I diverse from the question, I'm going to my local seaside town on Tueasday next week, Im going shopping to Primark and the local shops to look at the trends for the coming Summer in the uk, so I will report them back to the forum, I suspect pleated skirts are coming back in and floral tops, Hmm not sure will check it next week, are High heels in or out this summer ? will have to check that as well

[GretchenM]

Around here in the winter a goodly number of men wear leggings with a pair of shorts. But when it gets really frigid I am sure they put pants on over the leggings. Layering is the way to stay warm. In the winter sometimes I wear leggings in drab. Besides a lot of people think I have great legs. Old man legs in the nude are not so great, but put leggings, tights on them and all the defects vanish.

I agree with Crissy that women who wear leggings can look quite sexy. Same with tights. I think Angela has a point about skirts, with or without leggings. They go together very nicely and it is much more comfortable than hosiery and more durable. Yet that combo seems to not be used very much. Hmmm.

[JuliannaS]

I've gone out many times in leggings, usually shopping. I usually wear a long shirt, or sweatshirt. I have about 20 pairs.

[Debs]

I must admit after tucking it looks fine, Ive gone out shopping in leggings and felt perfectly fine, actually quite female in the way its looks, didnt need to cover up. Not bragging, it just means ive got small parts, lol

[beckymarie]

If joining the leggings trend, please note that not all leggings are created equal. I've seen some pretty shocking displays (literally and figuratively) of women wearing leggings which more closely resemble inexpensive opaque tights. Also, please stay away from those that are skin toned, as from a distance, those can make the wearer appear exposed from the waist down. While I enjoy the comfort of leggings, I do not have the physique for them in public.

[Krisi]

Leggins are a good choice, provided you are wearing decent hip and butt padding. Without the padding, you are pretty much wearing a sign that says, "Man with a wig and boobs."

Even with the padding, many of us have pretty skinny legs and this can be a problem as well. I try to find leggings (they might be known as "pants") that are fairly loose in the thighs and the rest of the way down to disguise my skinny legs.

It's hard looking like a woman when you aren't one. ;)

[Jenn A116]

I love leggings. So comfortable. And they can help conceal unsightly leg hair/pimples/bruises.

[JuliannaS]

I don't wear padding under mine, which is why i usually wear something long. However, I have been called ma'am while out in them.

[Stephanie47]

I had to use "Google" images to check out what leggings can look like. IMHO, leggings are no big deal. Quite boring unless the leggings are reflective of some art work. They're just as boring as looking at the human masses passing by wearing jeans. I suspect FtM cross dressers are wearing men's jeans while MtF cross dressers are wearing women's jeans. Wow! For me, yes, it is the same jeans every day. However, it is the graphic tee shirt of the day that expresses my mind set. A woman wearing black monotone leggings does zip for me. Give me some art work. En femme, it is only dresses.

[1Ladyjade]

I was in court this morning. While there I decided to observe what women are wearing. What I saw was the female attorneys were wearing skirts. The younger ones above the knee the older below the knee. The aides were all very young and they were all wearing pants. Short almost Capri length and flats for shoes.
The state prosecutor was wearing a pencil skirt above the knee with 4 inch heels. She had several piercings in her ears including an industrial piercing. We are in Virginia so there was only one or two wearing pantyhose as we are getting into the heat of summer.
So basically more skirts than I thought there would be.

[Debs]

well LadyJade what should i wear when I prosecute you !!!!, lol

[1Ladyjade]

I hope you wear the finest, tightest pencil skirt you have.

[Di]

MOD HAT

Per the rules NO complaints on the manner in which others express themselves. This includes any complaint about the way females, males, transgendered, or any other cross-section of the membership DRESS!

Wear what you want and stop complaining about what others do or not wear .
(Not everyone but a few here that do this)
It always boggles my mind the CDs that complain they feel not accepted for wearing what they want out in public but are the some of the same ones complaining what others wear.
You do you and let others do the same.

Anymore editing of this post it will be deleted

[April Rose]

When wearing leggings, at home or out, I always go for tunic tops with a 32"+ length. In my size (XL) or 18 U.S. these are not the most common length, but they are not hard find. They adequately cover both my crotch and my butt and the longer hem gives a bit of a womanly sway, especially with some extra padding. Floral leggings, instead of plain add a little extra feminine touch as well.

[Fiona_44]

I like Helen's comment about being able to wear a skirt while blending in. To make my blending easier I just bought a denim skirt in a lighter shade that looks somewhat worn. Wear it with a tunic top, long t-shirt or sweatshirt along with a pair of sneakers and it makes blending in at the supermarket or wherever much easier.

[DianeT]

I promised my wife to make the experiment of stopping wearing hose and switching to thick, pants-like leggings (so she could wear hose herself more heartily with no second thoughts).
Since I wore hose every single time I dressed in my 43 years of practicing the art, I was anxious about the switch (and made no promise to definitively stick to it).
So I anxiously tried leggings for the first time in my last session in January...

I look fantastic in leggings!*

Love the dynamic silhouette (with forms). The Emma Peel style energy. The slick look with a jacket. Blends so well with boots, shoes. Can be pulled up even with a broken nail. And I miss hose, ok, just not so much.

And since it got me my wife's hosed legs back, you will now see my picture in the dictionary at the "happy camper" entry.

*Disclaimer: I am my own judge, so, there's that too.

[Geena75]

To be fair, I should mention that the retail in which I work is home improvement -- except on Sundays you wouldn't see a lot of skirts and dresses in the first place.

On leggings: I have three pair, only one is of thicker material (the grey ones). The others are fairly thin and smooth and feel more like wearing thick pantyhose. I ventured out eight short times in 2021, and only three times did I wear leggings, though, and twice was with a short dress. A dress or skirt with nylons or tights the other times and felt very feminine.

[audreyinalbany]

put me in the 'love leggings' category. They look and feel great and are super blendable

[NaughtyMichelle]

I like to wear short denim skirts to our casino trips, but I usually do some kind of leggings or patterned tights for comfort and to keep things somewhat modest.

[DianeT]

Philipa I don't subscribe to the "feminine = dress" concept. But to be honest we all have very different definitions of what "feminine" means, and what's true for a genetic woman isn't necessarily for our tribe, in our case I understand that feeling "feminine" can be better helped with a dress, at least those of us who were educated with this vision of femininity (count me in). But if you are curious you should really try women's pants or dressy leggings someday, I was so much into hose+dress-dot, and it really was an eye opener for me. For what it's worth I find my wife very feminine in a dress and hose, but I found her equally feminine (and may I say downright hot) the times she borrowed a shirt and tie from me. Women really kick it in this attire. Granted, they don't look like delicate, fragile little things anymore. To each his/her own, but personally I dig that.

[Fiona_44]

DianeT,

I had such a crush on Emma Peel in my younger days. She was so sexy!

[CynthiaD]

I see many women in my daily activities, and the trend is black or dark, single-color leggings for more than 50% of the women I see. I almost never see patterned leggings anymore. Next most popular is stressed jeans and then tight shorts. Skirts and dresses are a common sight, but not as popular as the aforementioned. During the summer months skirts become more popular because they’re more comfortable than other choices. I live in Texas, and it gets pretty hot in July and August.

Let me add that I love leggings and consider them extremely feminine, but a good tuck is essential. Nothing says "I am Woman!" Better than tight leggings with a smooth V front.

[susanmichelle]

I wear leggings almost daily but
Many are floral designs which I see as very feminine. One pair are baby phat leggings with sequins on both sides all the way down outside edge of cats. I get a lot of compliments when wearing them even though I?m getting ready to be 70 soon and know their younger styles

[Beverley Sims]

In the winter leggings are a must under a skirt or dress.