Tights are tights

hmm. good food for thought Natalie. I certainly used to be opposed to tights as pants but i do see your point. Maybe my brain needs a little refocussing on what the real issue is here.
P.S super cute illustration! If I looked that hot I'd wear tights as pants for sure!

THANK YOU.

I so agree with you. Who cares what others wear? Why are people so jealous and obsessed with slamming girls and women for wearing tights?

Peopke should wear what they want and people need to STFU.

Personally, I have been wearing tights as pants for years, simply because I actually like my legs! Haha. Tights are the best. And so are jeggings. I love how you can style tights with bigger tops, I think it's extremely arty/carefree and also comfortable. I mean, you can look fashionable and then go do some yoga or something. Not that I do yoga, but if I did, I would!

I'm glad it may have prodded you a little bit! Some people are getting quite worked up over my post, which baffles me!

And thank you :D Fat Gaga will rule all!

It does make me so sad to see women hating on other women. We're totally ping ponging negative messages between ourselves and running our self esteems into the ground :(

You are a MAVERICK! I wear a lot of leggings, but I feel like I would probably be howled down on the street if I didn't at least wear a top that would cover my butt. And that's an awful thing to have to internalise, but it's hard to counter THAT MUCH interfering body hatred on the street. But talking about it is good. Talking about it at least gives us the opportunity to point out the problems and the personal risks one must open themselves up to to be free of society's awful nitpicking.

In other words, WEAR YOUR TIGHTS WITH PRIDE! *high five*

You said: When I’m out and about and I see a person taking risks in personal styling by maybe wearing only a t-shirt and tights, I applaud loudly inside my heart and declare them my Personal Hero of the Day

Why not tell them? Wouldn't it be nice if people saw other people wearing things that made them a hero actually voiced that out loud instead of in their head.

Although also, why should wearing what you want to wear be a 'heroic' action? That indicates to me that it's something out of the ordinary (although I guess maybe it is)

:D
It's almost like it's a revolutionary message NOT to hate on other women's bodies!

I would LOVE to compliment people who take risks with fashion but there are issues with doing that. Personally, I have social anxiety disorder so just being out in public is a challenge some days. And then you might have good intentions by approaching a stranger, but it may not be received very well. It's all frought with issues that scare me a little, to be honest. That's a sign of how effed up society is too, probably!

It's true, someone with heroic style is taking risks and doing something out of the ordinary! We have so many rules in our communities about the body, and what we should and shouldn't wear, that breaking these rules can come with a penalty. :(

This came along at exactly the right time for me! Thank you. I regularly wear leggings and tights as pants (because what the hell else are they!!!! they cover your legs!), and have to occasionally ward off flack about it. I also got into this dumb argument (http://molls.tumblr.com/post/482218287/complime…) yesterday… your post kind of makes up for it.

Oh noooo, that post zaps serious Sanity Points :(
I'm glad I could help though, I have been frustrated over this whole issue for months!

Clothing is whatever you make of it. I have what I think are pretty good legs for a fatty but I have a bum that won't quit. So I wear slightly longer tops over my leggings if I don't want to go the full dress look. I have seen fattys with massive legs wear tights and leggings with small tee shirts and I think they look great. I have also seen the way some people look at them and even point and snigger. These same people obviously don't take much pride in themselves. Dirty jean cuffs, muffins tops and sheer white tee tops that show off the fried eggs. I'm not particularly shy any more, so when I saw one white trash “lovely” in the above, I casually said, “Have you seen yourself in the mirror lately?”. Now here I am trashing someone else, and perhaps it was wrong….but forgive me :D. I couldn't stand by and let someone have a go at a fatty who was beautiful, took care of herself, had awesome hair and clothes, be abused by someone who didn't look like they or their clothes has seen soap in while. I'm happy when people feel comfortable in their skin. I'm getting better and better and you guys who blog and showcase your clothes and style have really helped me with that. I'm glad I googled “fat blog” one day a couple of years ago. My life has been much better because of it.
Natalie, you are gorgeous. I wish I had your lips. Wow!

You know, I've mostly loathed tights as pants because usually the material too thin and look as though you're half-dressed (Lady Gaga), not because of how a woman's legs look.

I just find the slightly translucent effect of cheap nylons detracts from a really good casual look. It reminds me of growing up in Woodridge, surrounded by woman who would walk out of the house in their husband's wife-beater shirts, ripped tights and ugg boots. No-one can carry that off.

However, since discovering plus-sized opaque tights I'm very turned around on this issue. I love a good coloured tight now.

However #2, I'm sick to death of all the plus-sized offerings being mostly short tunics and tights. I've never liked this look on me. It's too “gamine” for my curves and I always have the shirts hanging out from my enormous E-Cup breasts. Just a bad, bad look. I like a nice, fitted dress (to show off my curves) that isn't so short that it shows off my arse when I bend over, and some rocking coloured tights.

I'm all for everyone else rocking the tunic/t-shirt and tights look, and more power too them. I will now follow Cat's lead and congratulate them as well.

Great post Nat.

Fair enough! And also you are posting about it here, which adds to the 'global discussion'!

This was so refreshing to read. <3

I can't believe some of the backlash to this article. I mean, seriously? I think Hawaiian shirts are awful and noone should wear them. HAWAIIAN SHIRTS ARE NOT SHIRTS PEOPLE – NOONE WANTS TO SEE THAT. And OMG, don't get me started on acid wash.

Seems like a misplaced anger to me and the politicising on something not worth politicising.

THANKYOU!!!! I hate the policing of fashion. Why can't tights be worn as pants? Or as arm warmers or even as a hat if that is how someone wants to wear them?

Bah Humbug to fashion police!

THANKYOU!!!! I hate the policing of fashion. Why can't tights be worn as pants? Or as arm warmers or even as a hat if that is how someone wants to wear them?

Bah Humbug to fashion police!

Tights as hats. BRILLIANT.

I've seen footless tights worn as a shrug; and why not?!

I have a few very short dresses and skirts that I like to wear with skintight black leggings. I was wearing a new black dress with cute skulls on last weekend, with black leggings, a red belt, red shoes and a red headband. I felt fabulous!

I say let's go back to the 15th century and embrace tights as pants.
http://www.artsender.com/gallery/images/100003B…

I can't agree with you on this one. And it's not because I don't think fat women should hide their legs, their bums or their figures. I'd feel the same way if Kate Moss or Jennifer Aniston were walking around in tights for pants. I don't want to see it because I feel ALL women should not show off their bums in that way, with only an extremely thin layer of polyester or nylon fabric between one's bum and the rest of the world. As I've written elsewhere on this topic, I'm fine with leggings and tights under a short skirt, long tunic top or sweater, as long as the bum is covered. But I don't want to get that up close and personal with any person's bum, fat, thin, in-between, male or female, unless they're a sexual partner.

love the drawing <3

It has NOTHING to do with a negative body message. Tights look gross as pants on girls who are a size 2 as well as ones who are a 16. Same with leggings. They ARE NOT pants. it looks sleezy and so lady gaga. NOT fashionable at all.

about body immage… and your comment about nudists… i'm not one… but i DID once go on a small vacation with a casual boyfriend to a very conservative NON sexual family oriented type nudist camp in New hampshire once… i can definitively say that was THE most relaxing vacation i EVER had… (there werent many families there honestly) but there were LOTS of larger people and older people… and even the skinnier people who out in most public places people would be thinking she (or he) looks PERFECT by societies standards when you met them up close and nude you realized that almost everyone even the “average” or usual “way hotter than average” by societies standards have sometimes odd flaws or quirks… like one lady had somewhat hairy nipples, not that you'd notice unless you were within 20 feet of her but she did… and people there are the LEAST judgemental people i've ever met … and there was NO stress… at that point in time i was VERY hung up still some on my weight problems though most people wouldnt have known it… but within a day there i felt comfortable walking around fully nude… it was SO awesome for both me and my partner at the time that he and i decided to stay an extra day.. even though we were normally very sexual people with each other and while we were there we had to restrict “play” time to at night in our cabin… however it WAS the most wonderfull weekend i've ever had… one of the people who OWNED a cabin there even had hooked up and broadcast wireless internet for anyone to use who was staying there.. so i was even able to bring my laptop out and use it for more than just reading (i read ebooks on my computer is cheaper than buying regular books) and wireless internet hadnt even been an advertised thing there…

[...] I only have to look as far as definatalie.com to find a counter argument. Natalie urges against the recent trend of policing what counts as pants [...]

I am very, very adamant on the TIGHTS ARE NOT PANTS stance, and it has nothing to do with body shame. It's just bad fashion and looks good on no one.

Why doesn't it look good? I was hoping that those who are so invested in what other people are wearing would delve deeper into why they are so invested but so far I have heard nothing but body shame.

I also dislike tights as pants. I think it's because they tend to stretch/crease/bunch up in funny ways about the bottom-to-thigh region.

I really don't think it's about body negativity, because I don't have a problem with seeing fat women in short skirts, tight pants, shorts, or nothing at all. I just really really don't like tights.

On the other hand, I do agree that a lot of the “tights are not pants” rage I've encountered does have a lot of body-snark behind it.

[...] you know how I feel about body shame that is dressed up as fashion advice. It’s bogus. No one should be harassed, mocked or attacked for wearing clothes (or NOT [...]

Sorry but I'm on the tights are not pants side when people don't cover their butts. No matter what shape someone its, the material for tights is too thin. I don't want to see a butt in detail, the same way I don't want to see a thong sticking out. For anybody. Its like…too…something.

So swimming pools and beaches are a problem to you then?

I detect your sarcasm, but I'll take your query seriously. It's appropriate to wear a bathing suit at the pool or beach, whereas I don't feel it's appropriate to wear leggings as pants at work, at school, etc. Under a skirt, long tunic, etc, fine. But not under a shorter top or sweater. I work at a public high school and see many young girls wearing leggings in this way, under a short top or sweater. It leaves extremely little to the imagination, especially if the leggings are made of very thin, nearly see-through fabric, and I don't feel it's appropriate or necessary.

By this same token, I don't like to see people on the beach or by the pool wearing a bathing suit that shows too much. It's not necessary to wear a bikini that looks like next to nothing, unless you're in your own backyard by your own pool or in your own home. What you do in the privacy of your home is none of my business. But in public, I don't feel it's necessary or appropriate to wear clothes or bathing suits that leave little to the imagination. Have some respect for yourself.

Great article on why people shouldn't be afraid to wear what they want because they're worried their body isn't 'good enough'. We're completely against you on 'tights-as-pants' but with some of the commenters here that tights-as-pants are a stupid look no matter how skinny or fat you are. Also, if one really didn't care what other people are wearing then why do you put people who wear daring fashion up on a pedestal and consider them heroic?

At this point, tights-as-pants is far from heroic or original or daring. It's a fad. It's big enough to take a picture a day of someone on our campus doing it with very little effort. You're allowed to make fun of 80's hair after the fact, but you're not allowed to make fun of stupid fads as they come up? That's as bad as the fashion police.

Fat or skinny, man or woman, tights as pants is as thirtiesgirl has said: unacceptable.

I have actually seen slim girls wear tights as pants, and then bend over, only to have the fabric stretch and show me that they weren't wearing underwear underneath.

As for the argument about wearing a swimsuit at the beach — it's the beach. Would you wear a bikini to work? Or lingerie to go see your new BF's family? It's not a question of WHAT you're wearing, it's WHERE you're wearing it.

There are times and places to wear certain things, just as how wearing very opaque tights to do ballet or other types of dance is acceptable.

I am ALL for body acceptance, and loving the way you are and showing off everything you've got…. but just cover your front & your bum; that's all we're asking.

I'm firmly a member of the “tights are not pants” school of thought. I also endorse “bunny slippers are not shoes” and “'formal shorts' is an oxymoron.” It's not about body-hate, it's about having some sense of decorum and appropriate dress for a variety of circumstances in our culture. I'm sure that this makes me hopelessly out of touch, and I'm willing to make exceptions if you're wearing the fashions of a culture in which bunny slippers are considered the appropriate shoes to wear to a job interview, but in the United States in 2010, tights are not pants.

I'm a woman from the “tights are not pants” school too, and also not because I hate my body or anyone else's body, but simply because I'm really tired of seeing the girl in front of me in yoga's underwear. That is something I can go without daily, and apparently she is not aware that unlike many pants, lots of tights are still seethrough when “opaque”. It's a courtesy, in my mind, to not flash my naughty bits to everyone around me — that is why I am a firm believer in tights not being pants. I think everyone else can at least do me the same justice. I love seeing form-fitting clothes; I do not, however, care to see your vag about 1 foot from my face.

I understand the objection to “Tights are not pants” if people are hating on fat women more than skinny women, or are judging the “attractiveness” of the look based on their opinion of the body underneath. But what if a person just straight-up hates a certain look? I got so sick of those “live strong” bracelets, I was not a fan of the “hair-bump” ponytail when every woman at my college was wearing it, and now I don't like Ed Hardy shirts, no matter what the wearer looks like. And for me, it's the same with tights as pants. I see it all the time, it's unoriginal, and I don't like it on people society at large considers unattractive. Sometimes I just want to not see pudenda, though they are very nice in other situations.

Are you of the opinion that it's impossible to hold any critical opinions on fashion or fads without body shaming?

Tights are totally pants!

I will say, though, that even though I support pant-tights, some situations call for a more traditional kind of pant. For example, if you work at a cafe/retail shopfront where the uniform is 'all black', this probably doesn't extend to black underwear, tights and a tshirt.

Tights as pants aside, I really like your drawing.

I hate the tights-as-pants deal simply because I don't care to be seeing anyone else's panty line/thong/ass. It's not about body hate, because I honestly could care less how someone looks and think everyone's positively gorgeous, but that generally, the material tights are made of is far too thin to actually properly cover someone's underwear/butt, and I don't care to see it.

i love your reasoning but still have to disagree. everyime i am walking up the subway steps and a girl wearing tights as pants is walking up the stairs in front of me…and i get an unwanted glimpse of her…you know…it makes we want to should PUT ON SOME REAL PANTS! it's not about body hate at all…it's about keeping privates private!

Tights are indeed tights. If they were pants, they'd be pants. Tights are in the pantyhose family of clothing. :)

I'm very fat-acceptance. I'm a fat chick myself. I'm also pan/poly and like to look at curvy girls. But tights just aren't pants. Tights worn *as* pants are just tacky, and they're tacky no matter what size you are.

I don't think I've actually ever seen someone wearing tights as pants. Now, I've seen someone wearing a t-shirt as a dress…with tights under it. Which is perfectly socially acceptable. Anyway, who makes these rules?

I like to cover up my Parts (yes, I'm that vague about them and yes, I capitalize it in my mind). But for me it's more about being picky on who I let see them than being ashamed of them. Anyone who HAS seen me naked can certainly tell you that I'm not ashamed, my size-18 jeans notwithstanding. I'm beautiful in the nude. I could write you a beautiful poem about me being nude.

That doesn't mean I show that beauty off to just anyone. For one thing, that would just make the people I DO show it to feel less special. For another, I'd really like to think that I've put at least some distance between myself and, say, my cat, who flashes her parts at me in order to clean them whenever I'm trying to eat my dinner.

All that being said, go ahead and wear your tights as pants. Or your t-shirt as a dress. You have my permission. Oh wait. You didn't ask for it. You didn't have to. And that is what I think these “tights are not pants” people are missing.

err… are we talking about dress codes in the US and A? Cos it seems that gals only wear tights as pants in that beloved country. No-one ever EVER wears them like that in the UK… if they did people would think they were mentally retarded. It's only in the US that there's total confusion about tights, pantyhose, leggings… whatever. In the US tights are called leggings, footless tights are also called leggings. What's more, trousers are “pants” and you think it's ok for men to wear tights! There is no distiction between tights and pantyhose in the UK, or the rest of the world for that matter – tights are tights, either sheer or opaque, and leggings (that can be worn as pants) are a different creature altogether.

Not to make a big deal about semantics, but the whole tights/leggings distinction is a regional thing; I've never been confused over the terminology. Pantyhose, on the otherhand, are always pantyhose; they are woven a different way from the heavier, opaque tights and are meant to match skin tone. Much of the external confusion over whether or not to call tights “tights” or “leggings” comes from their knit – are they nylon, or nylon-cotton weave? Are they lacy? The latter are sometimes called leggings, though honestly, I've never heard footed tights called “leggings” anywhere, except by gents who don't know better.

Also, men can wear whatever they damn well please. I thought people in the UK were hip to that.

That really just isn't true that people don't wear tights as pants in other countries. I'm an American expat in China and I think the tights as pants are rocked WAAY more, by women of all ages, in Asia. And I previously lived in a college town, the very epicenter of the tights trend in the US.

Also, I've noticed that certain, bigoted people in the UK seem to think that Americans are often confused about the meaning of words, victims of ignorance as opposed to regional difference. Seriously, GET OVER IT. You no longer get to be the arbiters of what defines the English language. I teach my student the words SOCCER and PANTS. I also teach them football and trousers because I want them to be comfortable with any version of English they encounter in the future, but your rubbish is no more or less correct than my trash.

THIS.

I mean, if Definatalie's talking about tights as in opaque pantyhose, then yeah, those are not pants and shouldn't be worn as such. But if she means tights in the sense of leggings, those can be worn as pants, though they're about as attractive as biker shorts. :P

[...] Definatalie.com: You Can’t Bully Me Out of My Skinny Jeans, and Tights are Tights [...]

I wear opaque black tights as pants all the time. I love it with a long, form-fitting top and a belt accentuating the smallest part of my waist. Very hip, very fashionable. Pair it with a cute pair of heels and bangles and you're all set.

[...] am a lady who loves tights. Several of my recent (and most popular) posts are about tights. Or leggings. By now you might have noticed that I use those words interchangeably but yep, I mean [...]

I am going to go with most of the comments and say that no, tights are not pants. And shirts are not dresses. But sometimes, sometimes there is a shirt that is almost a dress. But not quite. Or a skirt that is awesome, but perhaps a little bit extreme for everyday street wear. And that is where the grey-area tights come into their own.

That said, the whole FA movement has sort of made me rethink this line for myself. I mean, it was only ever a personal preference. I don't really wish to see ANYONE's buttcheeks while I'm casually walking down the street. Then again, I don't wish to see a lot of things that I end up seeing, and I'm perfectly able to get over that. But there have been a few incidences where acquaintences of mine have vocalised that 'fat girls shouldn't be allowed to wear tights' in which case my response has been 'fuck you! They totally count as pants!'

Essentially, my ultimate opinion is, my opinion of someone else's body and wardrobe isn't worht a damn, and I should keep it to myself.

I love love love your Fat Gaga pic – do you mind if I use it as a profile pic if I give you credit?

Tiffany not only explored the various jewelry processes of the time,Silver Tiffany but also branched out into new metals, such as platinum, Tiffany Jewelrywhich at the time was considered very hard to manipulate.Tiffany BraceletsIt seems to be the case that unusual colorations appealed to Tiffany, like the opal.Tiffany EarringsHe also preferred gemstones that were either opaque or translucent. Turquoise, jade,Tiffany Necklaces carnelian, lapis, moonstones, and opals were all chosen for their ability to filter light. Emphasis based on color was very prevalent in his works.

I think it's wildly promising that people have started wearing tights or leggings as pants. After all, what were tights for originally, if not for holding in our lumpy parts? They are constricting and designed to make us look smoother and leaner. So I love the idea at thumbing our noses at this – we're going to appropriate them and wear them as outwear and flaunt our real shapes.

Tights are not pants; they are tights. I personally don't like them worn as tights…but if someone else does it, it's not my problem. I'm kind of a liberal prude, if that explains anything.

I realize I’m a bit late to the party here, but I really wanted to weigh in on my hatred of leggings (without longer tops) and see-through shirts. I’m working really hard on my own body acceptance, and I read through everything here before I posted. I also carefully considered why I hate the leggings with short shirt trend.

I’m a survivor of early childhood sexual abuse. It’s taken me a long time to talk about it even somewhat openly (like I told my parents about it last year only two short decades after being molested). So I think part of it is my discomfort with seeing other people’s genitals in a public space. Maybe it’s old fashioned, but I think naughty bits are private. By which I mean they shouldn’t be for public consumption in spaces where they are unexpected (say the mall or school). It’s triggering for me. I don’t go to nudist colonies for this reason, but I think in the public domain I should be able to go about my day without seeing people’s junk. Also, as a social worker with many victims of sexual abuse/ children who have been exposed to inappropriate sexual contact, it’s a battle to teach kids appropriate sexual boundaries. I think when we make private parts into public domain, it clouds the message and makes my (young, kindergarten age) kids confused about why they shouldn’t be publicly masturbating, engaging in sexualized play, etc.

I think that is a valid point. Private parts are nothing to be ashamed of, but they are private. However, leggings/tights on women don’t show genitals. I understand for a person such as yourself who has been scarred it may be difficult but where to draw the line?

I feel like a lot of commenters missed the point of this post! WHY ARE WE ASHAMED OF OUR “NAUGHTY BITS”? “You can’t wear tights because then I might see your underwear! And have to acknowledge the fact that you have genitalia! You’re a dirty animal!”

Maybe these commenters are actually dirty animals too, since they just can’t seem to avert their gaze when they see somebody’s body.

Loved this post, but the comments, notsomuch. What has always struck me as *highly* hypocritical, is the rant that tights are not pants, and everyone is disturbed at seeing other’s ‘naughty bits’ ~ however having visible pantie-lines is apparently ALSO completely unacceptable!! You really can’t win when it comes to fashion, so you might as well rock yourself out any way you please. =)

No one really has the right to tell anyone else what to wear, and looking away is ALWAYS an option.

I’m going to agree with Amy’s comment.. it has nothing to do with body hate when i say tights are not pants. pantyhose are not pants either. as amy said- bunny slippers are not shoes. This is true for skinny people, fat people, hopelessly gorgeous people, and everyone else who wears tights as pants. wear tights- go ahead! regardless of your size.. just put some shorts or a skirt on over them (a look i’m still not overly fond of but that’s not the point).. you can make them short shorts or a mini skirt if you want to.. but tights by themselves.. are not pants.

Slut shaming is not ok here. Comment deleted.

Read the post again.You don’t get to tell people what to wear.

Maybe I just shop at malls with a more exhibitionist clientele, but I am definitely seeing clefts on the women I see in tights. Not to mention pretty clear differentiation with buttcheeks.

And for the record, I don’t mind skinny jeans (regardless of weight) or panty lines. I think part of my issue with leggings is that the material isn’t thick enough coupled with the tightness. If they were thicker, I think it would be less upsetting.

When I’m having a Fat Day (more accurately, a body hate day), tight pants and a relaxed fit shirt with a flattering neckline and shaped-but-not-fitted waist do wonders for my confidence. Especially with pretty shoes. I hope you don’t mind my $00.02 from a design perspective about who “should” and “shouldn’t” wear tights, hopefully I have avoided too many implicit value judgements with the following…

What makes legs and hips and buttocks aesthetically pleasing is not size but shape, and larger girls’ lower bodies tend to have a sensual shape that thinner girls rarely approach. Tights/leggings are a shape-based garment too often mistaken for size-based. Tights don’t care about size, they only care about shape, and they are merciless.
Tights are made for shapely legs. It’s a freakin’ design fact. Pants, no matter how tight or flattering, disguise the shape of the leg/butt/hips, whereas tights merely put a layer of colour and texture over the existing shape (which is, of course, why they are so intimidating to so many women who have the legs to wear them but wrestle with self-image). When you rock tights, you are rocking your own legs. Often, confidence and leg don’t match up because of size-obsession.
If your legs lack definition then it doesn’t matter what size you are, tights are not your ally. They may be comfortable and sleek but they are also doing you no favours.
If your legs are well-defined then it doesn’t matter what size you are, wear the hell out of tights, seriously. They were practically invented for you, so f- the haters and take what’s yours.

I don’t want to see people’s underwear or the outline/suggestion of their genitals in a public space. That is why I am generally against people wearing tights as pants. What’s so wrong about that? It’s the same reason I don’t care to see excessive cleavage, or butt-crack, on people in public. I’m not sure that this viewpoint constitutes body-shaming as has been implied.

Why are body bits so offensive to you? I think your objection to completely natural, beautiful body parts needs to be examined before you start projecting your own stuff on other people’s bodies.

It’s pretty hurtful to suggest that people with legs that “lack definition” shouldn’t wear tights and conforms to the body policing that I propose is so harmful.

It’s a fair point. I guess the answer would have a few different layers to it (for me anyway) – e.g. that, in our culture, genitals and other areas like breasts are ‘private’ so seeing them displayed in a public arena is confronting; I am not offended by people’s “body bits” at all but it is jarring to see them in a context that is not expected.

I think my ‘bits’ are beautiful but I still wouldn’t put them on public display, which is my choice. I should clarify as well, I don’t actually think anyone should stop wearing tights as pants if they feel like it, it’s a free country and I don’t have the right to judge them.

However, I still feel uncomfortable when having to see other people’s ‘bits’, I didn’t mean any offence by it, it’s just a matter of subjective personal preference which I think is fine, everyone has their own preferences about what they do and don’t feel comfortable experiencing in different contexts but it doesn’t automatically follow that a judgement is being passed, it’s just the feelings you experience, which in light of all our cultural conditioning (be it wrong or right I don’t really know) is understandable.

Which is precisely why I avoided making any such suggestion. What I was trying to say (and perhaps I wasn’t clear enough) is that if your personal values include presenting your body in a conventionally “fashionable” or “stylish” manner and you do not naturally have the triple-s leg curve, wearing tights is not going to meet your aesthetic goals. From a conventional fashion design perspective, size is not a big factor when it comes to tights, and merely having thin legs does not automatically make tights a “stylish” option.
Dress according to your personal aesthetic and comfort values. If conventional fashion aesthetics are not a part of your personal values, and you like the way tights look and feel on you irrespective of your leg shape (or size), then conventional style perspective is irrelevant and doesn’t apply.

In retrospect I should have been more precise in my wording.

[...] musings on tights as pants, from Definatalie. Also featuring a sketch of Fat Gaga which I want to be the first in a very long [...]

When I can see a control top seam at the top of the thighs, it’s not pants. Leggings and things of a more opaque quality are passable, but anything sheer should be reserved for undergarment territory. It’s not about shame, it’s about decorum and dressing appropriately for day to day life. I’ve been a size 4 to now a size 12 in my adult life and I have the same basic “rules” of what is and isn’t wise for public wear no matter what my size.

this is rude! it’s not appropriate to go nude in day to day Western culture, I don’t see anyone wrong with someone objecting to that. bodies are beautiful and assholes are lovely but excuse me if i don’t want to see yours at the grocery store.

[...] Tights are Tights After being so horrified at the amount of body and fashion policing I saw when it came to the issue of “tights as pants” I wrote a post about tights just being tights. The reception was split quite evenly in half, with the anti-tights as pants group dealing in a lot of body shaming which was frankly awful to read when I was moderating comments. [...]

its kindve hard to define why i dont like tights worn as pants.. (irrespective of size) It feels inappropriate-like they are dressing way more intimately than they almost would want-the whole point of dressing sexily for a special someone is because its unique-its special that someone knows what you look like naked or basically naked. I dont know if im exactly invested in what other people are wearing too much (i wouldnt comment on it) Perhaps it is maybe because the top of tights/pants is designed to be covered -mostly- by clothing , its a bit like someone wearing a shirt inside-out, and so looks a little odd.
We are invested in other peoples appearance because it says so much about how they want us to see them. Why else would describing someone else as well-dressed be a compliment? Clothing is simply skin-substitutes to preserve body heat. #yet we put a presentation value on them.

I’m a fat girl, and I try not to flash too much of my unflattering rack, but I’m getting tired to cover as much as possible because “it’s not pretty”. I do wear short skirts and minidresses, I love them, careful to have my bottom covered at least when I’m standing… but you know, when you have a big ass nothing seems enough.
To me here is where I draw the line: if you are wearing a dress, or a skirt, even if very short, wearing see through tights or leggins is perfectly ok, polite even. I do not like young girls wearing leggins with a normal lenght t-shirts beacause they do seem to have forgotten something, but I think is mostly my fashion taste than a problem with their way of showing their bodies.
I also think jeggins are awfull, and somebody should pay for inventing them, and often they go way too up between the back cheeks, but again I think it’s stupid to say that every way to wear leggins/tights/jeggins is wrong. May be if you see me you’d think “god she’s way too fat to pull that off” but not “those are not pants”.

(sorry for the bad english)

Isn’t indecent exposure an offense?

Are beaches a problem for you then?

i like the general idea of your post. one should never be ashamed of one’s body. but i have to disagree on the “tights are not pants” equals body shame part. for me it’s about respect. i love my body, even the private parts (for example i happen to be very proud of my bosom. i don’t know why, i just love it ^^), but there are certain parts of it that i feel are not appropriate to be shown in public. not because i don’t like them, but because i respect other people’s right as well as my own to choose how intimate with one another one wants to be. it is offensive to me to be forced into a situation that has a heavily sexual context to me with people i don’t want to share it with.
for example a bikini at a swimming pool is just fine, because it is appropriate for the situation and i decided to take part in an activity that involves such little clothing, while seeing someone wearing no bikini top and a g-string bikini bottom would make me feel uncomfortable. it’s the same with tights: if they are worn in public i expect the one wearing them to make sure, that their bum is properly covered with another item of clothing not out of shame but out of respect for those around them.

I say a lot that tights aren’t pants. And I never, ever body shame (well, I do sometimes, but I always catch myself and stop/fix it).

I just don’t think that tights are pants. I really don’t. They aren’t proper pants.

Unless your shirt is long. But a short shirt with leggings for pants is a big no-no to me.

I always wear leggings by themselves (by tights I assume you mean leggings…sorry, I live in the UK and am not familiar with American/Australian terminology!). I couldn’t care less if people think it looks bad – I think I look good in them and they’re very comfortable. Yes the material is clingy and shows off my shape…but I think it’s sexy and I applaud any girl who has the confidence to wear them freely. Sorry but you cannot see my “bits” because I wear underwear and opt for slightly thicker material, not anything totally see-through!

Why is a bikini appropriate for the beach? I have pale skin and do not like to tan, so a bikini is not essential for me. I wear a t-shirt and shorts. If a bikini is “appropriate” as you say, then anything else should be at any time too.

You might not be body shaming, but you are fashion policing.  What gives you that right?

Tights are tights. They are items of clothing that our meant to be worn on our legs under other items of clothing. HOWEVER, why do we just let it stop there? Why don’t we let people wear their clothing whichever way they want? Why can’t they be creative with their outfit choices and stray away from the norm? I would find this akin to wearing tube top as a skirt. It was an item not MEANT to be worn one way, but the wearer saw different potential in it.

The majority of people commenting here aren’t just talking about THEIR personal preference, but are fashion policing OTHER people’s choice of how to wear clothing. They are find the site of natural human bodies even in clothing repulsive and I find that sad. Seeing someone’s panties, bra, or even genitalia won’t kill you and I’m sorry if it offends you, but you need to realize that we are all one in the same. We’ve been so conditioned to think that we need to hide our “naughty” bits that the mere flash of a pantie causes uproar and disgust. Seriously? We’re all just humans who have nearly the same body parts as the next. People seriously need to get the fuck off their high horse and realize that people should be able to wear WHATEVER THE HELL THEY want without being scrutinized for it. 

I may sound overly progressive, but it annoys me to see people scrutinizing people doing anything different from the norm. 

Um..no…  I don’t know what puritanical village you live in, but in my small town USA nudity is legal, even on the streets.  I don’t recall having run into, or ever seen any nudists, but it is not an offense.  My town is also very fitness centered, between all the Gyms, dance studio’s, yoga studios, martial arts studios and cycle centers, there are plenty people wearing leggings and/or other tight fitting athletic clothing.  I encounter them at Starbucks, at the grocery store, at the bank.  Not once did I ever think I was looking at someones genitatlia!  That just blows my mind.  Just because something conforms to the body, you consider it indecent exposure??  I’m surprised how many people walk around with thier mind in the gutter.

…thank you :)