For a bit of stretchy fabric you wear to the gym, leggings have become something of a hot potato in recent times. There was the brouhaha caused when United Airlines banned two teenage girls in Denver from boarding a flight for wearing leggings. More column inches than you might have expected were dedicated to whether this decision was sexist—a United spokesman said “absolutely not”—and whether it is, in fact, appropriate to sport leggings out and about when you certainly have no intention of breaking into burpees or jumping jacks.
If you’re familiar with the off-duty wardrobes of supermodels (Kendall Jenner, Gigi Hadid, Miranda Kerr, Gisele Bündchen, and so on), then you’ll know that leggings are the backbone. Jenner wears hers with hi-vis yellow jackets and Louis Vuitton bags while Kerr favours the leathery kind that fits like sausage casings. Man Repeller founder Leandra Medine wears her white Outdoor Voices pair with mules from The Row and a quilted satin jacket that wouldn’t look out of place on HRH, as well as with New Balance trainers and a sparkling Chanel bag.