What are leggings? In this article we will provide you all the information we can find about leggings. What are they, their history, the different types and anything else we can find that will give you value.
The topics we will cover in this article are:
- What are leggings
- The history of leggings
- Different types of leggings
- Type of fabrics used to make leggings
- Popular brands making and selling yoga pants and leggings
If we miss something, we will circle back and update this post at a later stage, you can always contact us and let us know if there’s something we need to add. Enjoy.
What are leggings and how are they made video:
What are leggings? The history of the leggings
when talking about leggings we need to understand where it comes from, and where is it’s origin. The question What Are Leggings can mean several different things depending on the time period you are talking about.
For example: If you’re referring to the 60’s than leggings are considered to be an elastic close fitting garment typically worn by women to cover their legs, similar to leg warmers or tights.
If we were to go back to the 18th century, you would mean a cloth or leather that is wrapped around the man’s leg all the way down to the ankle.
However in the 19th century leggings were actually infant clothes where they were used to wrap the legs of the baby and matched with a jacket.
It was in the 60’s that the leggings bounced back into the mind of women and established itself forever as a fashion clothing.
In the 70’s people and women especially began doing aerobics and wear synthetic clothing, so the leggings found their rightful place in the hearts of all women during the 70’s and 80’s.
In modern days the leggings is officially adopted as everyday wear and women and men everywhere are wearing them as casual clothes and loving it.
The different types of leggings
While leggings are a very simple and basic clothing item, it can actually fit any type of body and every woman or man who loves wearing it on a daily basis.
There are actually several types of leggings that you should know about because they are quite different from each other. We will lay down the different types of them all below:
Compression leggings:
Compression leggings help with recovery and blood flow
Compression leggings are the new thing on the block, gained popularity in recent years, these are made from high tech fabrics that help with recovery and blood flow and high achieving athletes use them for better performance.
The footless leggings:
Footless leggings, for sure the most popular type
The most standard of all the legging types, the footless type is basically a regular fit leggings that reaches all the way down your leg just before your ankle. Think of tights, but without the feet.
The calf length:
Calf leggings – could be the most popular type of leggings
This type of leggings will reach just below your knee or to your calf. It is great for those hot days when you want to wear leggings during the summer and for working out while in warm weather.
It’s also a cool fashion statement for those who love the shorter style but still staying fit.
Stirrup:
Stirrup leggings, usually you see dancers wearing this type
For people who want to keep their leggings all the way down to their shoes, you will see this type mostly with ballet dancers or women who like to wear leggings with boots, running shoes or just those who don’t love that the leggings keeps running up their leg all the time ( I hate when this happens )
Footed:
Footed leggings, different than tights, don’t confuse the two
Don’t confuse these with tights, the footed leggings are more tight in the waistband and you should wear these like a regular pants.
Tights are normally meant to be worn under a skirt, and not as regular pants. This is the main difference between footed leggings and tights.
Here’s a summery of the types of leggings we covered:
- Compression leggings – versatile, help with blood flow and recovery
- Footless – Most popular, goes down to your ankle
- Calf length – Goes down to just under your knees
- Stirrup – wraps around your feet
- Footed – Wraps your feet like a sock
Now that we understand what are leggings and that there are a few types of leggings in the world, let’s dive into the types of fabrics.
Leggings can come in many variations of fabrics, each has it’s own style and feel, and you should choose the type of fabric that best suits you and your needs.
The type of fabrics leggings are made from
Leggings can come in a few mixes of fabrics, these usually include:
- Spandex
- Cotton
- Lycra
- Nylon
- Silk
- Wool and many more
Besides the fabrics we mentioned above and many other variations that can be mixed and mashed to create a specific feel and look. It would be impossible to list all the fabric types here because honestly clothing companies can use many different variations, but the general rule is a flexible fabric like spandex or nylon mixed with a more thick and stable fabric like cotton.
How many leggings are sold per year
If you ever thought to yourself how many pairs of leggings are being sold each year, you are right to think that the number is very high. Leggings are very very popular, and sales go through the roof.
It has been said that Americans spent on yoga and leggings around $16 Billion in 2016. So with an average price of $21, it’s safe to assume that more than 700,000,000 pairs of leggings were sold that year. That’s a lot of ladies stretching and exercising.
What is the average price of leggings
Until 2014: around $50
2016: $25
recent years: $21
In recent years, the average price of a pair of leggings was around $21. this is actually a decrease from $25 back in 2016 and that was also a decrease from $50 back in 2014. It’s amazing to see that while popularity rose like crazy, the prices actually dropped.
Popular brands offering high quality leggings
As leggings became more than just a fabric to keep your legs warm and more of a fashion statement and a favorite fitness apparel, brands started popping up everywhere and notice the huge potential these simple pants have on people.
Now days companies like Adidas, Nike, Under Armour and many more sell millions of leggings each year and this trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
We will try and update this page as much as possible with info about leggings and yoga pants and any other type of fitness pants, and in general, Best Leggings Daily will cover all things about the popular pants, so stay tuned.
