I really feel nice when understanding and love yoga pants. I might put on them on a regular basis, besides I’m not positive they’re an alternative choice to common pants. Is there another for on a regular basis put on? One thing that’s as snug and flattering but in addition qualifies as precise pants? —Mary, Raleigh, NC
Yoga pants — that’s to say, leggings however with the next waist and made out of thicker materials than precise leggings (typically, although not essentially, with a little bit of flare on the ankle) — are clothes that, particularly throughout pandemic lockdowns, grew to become one thing of a pleasure to put on.
Prioritizing each consolation and motion, they allowed us to have our cake and snack on it at dwelling, too. Little marvel that, given the give attention to well being and wellness and our more and more dressed-down day, they’ve turn into a fundamental a part of many wardrobes.
However because the return to work has picked up at the very least some steam, so has the controversy concerning the precise “pants-ness” of yoga pants. Do they or do they not qualify? That is partially why they’re typically often known as “boot-cut leggings” or “flared leggings” as an alternative of “yoga pants.” By borrowing the language of pants, they edge nearer to that class.
However let’s be trustworthy: Yoga pants should not pants. Pants are there to reshape the physique not directly. To tailor it into a special silhouette — straighter, longer, extra flowing — within the eyes of the watching world. To supply a modicum of safety or social camouflage. Yoga pants, alternatively, are rather more about revealing the physique in a few of its glory. And revealing the physique within the office or on the road is a sophisticated choice.
Fortunately, the stylist Tina Chai mentioned, there’s a center floor. First, attempt to perceive what precisely it’s that you simply like most about your yoga pants. Is it the factor of stretch? The elastic waist? The truth that they sit near the legs however do not constrain them? The best way they announce your exercise routine to the world? Then resolve which of these values is most necessary. Almost certainly, there’s a real-world substitute.
Certainly, an Italian model referred to as Excessive Sport has just about made its title by providing very costly stretch pants with a little bit of a flare. (It calls them the Kick pants.) They’re made out of technical material and derived from just about the identical genetic materials as yoga pants.
To not be outdone, manufacturers like Alo Yoga have expanded their choices to incorporate pantlike kinds that however share many qualities with yoga pants (and are extra reasonably priced than Excessive Sport variations).
Wherever you store, Ms. Chai suggested that you simply search for “pull-on pants — no buttons or zippers.” Then, she mentioned, select a “knit that’s tightly woven and compact so it provides the pants construction, which makes them flattering, however with a little bit of stretch, which makes them snug.”
Lastly, for some styling oomph, she suggests pairing your yoga-like pants with a prime or jacket in the identical coloration for a monochromatic look. “It may take you from the workplace to a celebration or the airplane, all with the change of a shoe,” she mentioned. And possibly a solar salutation or two.
Your Fashion Questions, Answered
Each week on Open Thread, Vanessa will reply a reader’s fashion-related query, which you’ll be able to ship to her anytime by way of e-mail or Twitter. Questions are edited and condensed.
