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 comfy and flattering but additionally qualifies as precise pants? — Mary, Raleigh, N.C.
Yoga pants — that’s to say, leggings however with a better waist and constituted 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 house, too. Little surprise that, given the deal with well being and wellness and our more and more dressed-down day, they’ve turn into a primary a part of many wardrobes.
However because the return to work has picked up at the least some steam, so has the talk in regards to the precise “pants-ness” of yoga pants. Do they or do they not qualify? That is partially why they’re typically often called “boot-cut leggings” or “flared leggings” as a substitute of “yoga pants.” By borrowing the language of pants, they edge nearer to that class.
However let’s be sincere: Yoga pants will not be pants. Pants are there to reshape the physique in a roundabout way. To tailor it into a distinct silhouette — straighter, longer, extra flowing — within the eyes of the watching world. To offer 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 determination.
Fortunately, the stylist Tina Chai mentioned, there’s a center floor. First, attempt to perceive what precisely it’s you want most about your yoga pants. Is it the aspect of stretch? The elastic waist? The truth that they sit near the legs however don’t constrain them? The way in which they announce your exercise routine to the world? Then resolve which of these values is most essential. Most certainly, there’s a real-world substitute.
Certainly, an Italian model known as Excessive Sport has just about made its identify by providing very costly stretch pants with a little bit of a flare. (It calls them the Kick pants.) They’re constituted of technical cloth 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 comfy.”
Lastly, for some styling oomph, she suggests pairing your yogalike pants with a high or jacket in the identical shade for a monochromatic look. “It could actually 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 Model Questions, Answered
Each week on Open Thread, Vanessa will reply a reader’s fashion-related query, which you’ll ship to her anytime by way of electronic mail or Twitter. Questions are edited and condensed.
