Leggings (as pants) not permitted after Labor Day....or during any other season

As you are well aware, the Muses have long raged against fellow fashionistas sporting leggings as pants. In fact, we regularly chant to one another, “Leggings are not pants!” and can be heard muttering the same when walking behind anyone wearing a short shirt with a pair of leggings. Though we love, love, love Joanna Goddard, the goddess behind A Cup of Jo, we happily disagree with her recent praise of leggings as pants, and her patronage of the $68 EmersonMade bag o’leggings. We wholeheartedly stand by our original battle cry of, “Leggings are not pants!” VPLs* abound in leggings, and many leggings do not offer the coverage you need. Don’t believe us? Don your beloved leggings and stand next to an open window while the natural light streams in and take another peek at your derrière.

However, being the reasonable gals that we are, we’re here to say that there is something behind the slim, sleek, silhouette of black pants – and we agree, this is something to crave! Audrey Hepburn, anyone? The sight of that little pixie prancing around in her slim black pants and flats is something we all adore and aspire to. But the answer is not leggings. The original name for these pants is “cigarette pants,” and while that name is a bit antiquated, the look is not.

Take a peek at J.Crew, for example (another brand that Jo frequently plugs). The “Minnie” pant offers the look that we all desire, but gives us an actual pants version of them in both wool and twill.

Bottom line (pun totally intended), save the butt-bearing leggings for under tunics and dresses, and score a pair of slim, figure-hugging pants like the ones from J.Crew. Your rear-end, your figure, and your mother will thank you (and us).

End rant.

*VPL – visible panty line.

white jeans after Labor Day? YES WE CAN!

It's almost Fall, which makes this little East Coast Muse giddy with excitement: boots and trenches and sweaters, oh my! (This, of course, isn't really the same for our sweet West Coast Muse, who, thanks to San Francisco's perpetually-brisk weather, gets to wear boots and tights any ole time she likes) But Fall's fast approach also brings on the whole "wear-your-summer-stuff-now-because-it's-almost-Labor-Day" dilemma. I've spotted multiple ladies at the office this week wearing every piece of white clothing in their wardrobe.

HOWEVER -- while getting my shoulder iced yesterday afternoon at the PT office, I flipped through the September issue of InStyle magazine. In it, they answered a reader’s question by saying YES – you CAN wear white jeans* after Labor Day. Only stipulation: style them differently for fall/winter. We suggest pairing them with some dark chunky boots, a camel-colored trench or a long-sleeved button-down (even chambray!).

Enzo Angiolini Alessi Bootie, Classic Khaki Banana Republic Trench, Lucky Brand Ashbury Floral Top, J Crew Selvedge Chambray

The rules are changin', ladies! And yes, if you happen to live on the East Coast, you will see me sporting my white jeans well into late fall/winter.

*please note: if you own white jeggings, go ahead and throw them into the trash now. no need to hang onto those nuisances.

Real men wear their own jeans

C'mon, dude - don't blame your fascination with skin-tight jeans on your ex-girlfriend.

Et tu, Brute?

Really?