Jeggings

This is the perfect example of a fad gone out of control. Everybody wants to wear skinny jeans now. A few years ago it was elephant pants. Cargo also went in style for a while. But nowadays it’s jeggings – jeans that look like leggings.

First of all you have to be realistic. Not everybody can wear skinny jeans. If you are not so tall, if you have particularly thick legs or wide hips, or a nonexistent butt, wearing super tight, form-fitting pants might not be such a great idea.

We can partly blame the Emo culture on media, like songs, videos and blogs that promote this kind of style. The hairstyle that goes with skinny jeans is the long bangs parted to one side covering most of your face. Punk rock is the common music of choice. Emo is like the new Goth.

You have to be aware of the origins of certain styles because if the culture and attitude of the style is not congruent to your personality, you will come off as a poser or worse, a fashion victim. Would you wear Gangsta and put on bling if all you listened to was Josh Groban?

You don’t have to follow the trend all the time. You don’t want to be a headless chicken running around aimlessly. Fashion IQ is a form of social intelligence. In any society, duplicity is always frowned upon, and it’s the same with fashion. If you are projecting to be someone you are not, people will take notice and most likely laugh behind your back.

I own a few pairs of skinny jeans but after wearing them once, I never wore them again. I have chicken legs, plus I don’t exactly have the ass of Brad Pitt, if you know what I mean. It was a mistake to buy them in the first place, and I learned my lesson. Nowadays I just settle for slim fit jeans and I’m very happy with them.

When buying jeans, the fit must be perfect at the waist and through the legs. The length is secondary, the fit always comes first. You can fold the ends or have them altered, but you can’t do the same around the waist and hip area. It should be a snug fit, not too loose and not too tight, especially around your butt.

I talk a great deal about wearing what fits you, not just your body type, but also who you are. In this case, you have to accept the type of body you have and own it. You can be big, you can be small, but as Nigel Powers wisely shared with his son Austin Powers, “It’s not the size mate. It’s how you use it.”