Meggings Are Leggings For Men

sTitch Leggings were selling meggings, leggings for men. In our 2014 story, a pair cost about $42. No word on whether they sold to females. Honestly, I don’t care who wears the damn things, as long as we can all agree that leggings are not pants. That last part remains a highly negotiable opinion.

A Mission for Men in Leggings

The creators framed the idea as freedom from conventional male fashion. Per their statement reproduced in the original article:

We envision a day where men can wear what they want as opposed to what they should, to achieve this, we will strive to design and produce garments that liberate the modern man from conventional male fashion.

How sTitch Got Its Start

The business had a less solemn beginning. In a November 2016 Shopify Masters interview, cofounder Tom Hunt recalled starting with two friends at a London market. They bought 18 pairs of women’s leggings from eBay, added their male logo, and tried selling them from a stall. Eight hours later, they had sold precisely none. A bold opening chapter for the legwear revolution.

They enjoyed themselves enough to keep going. Hunt said they moved online, had men’s leggings designed and made, and eventually sold their first pair to someone they didn’t know. That is a more specific origin story than “we spotted a gap in the market.” Apparently, the gap was between the market stall and absolutely everybody’s wallet. Other labels use the meggings name, too. Kapow’s examples below belong to that broader category, rather than sTitch’s original range. Those patterns are hardly trying to disappear quietly.

More Than One Way to Wear Meggings

By that 2016 interview, Hunt said customers were also buying for practical activities such as cycling and yoga. Some liked the challenge to fashion conventions; others simply wanted leggings for doing things. The label’s grand mission and its customers’ everyday reasons did not always need to match. Sometimes a clothing statement is just getting dressed for class.

The wider meggings examples here go beyond sTitch. Kapow’s Pins show bright, colorful patterns; another Pin credits a Star Wars design to J.Q. Hammer. A LuLaRoe example goes all in on pastel zigzags. These are separate labels and looks, rather than sTitch’s original collection. Clearly, subtlety is optional. A blazer over character-print leggings is also one way to keep a meeting interesting.

The Pants Debate Can Wait

Yes, because dudes are sooo oppressed. If it’s not acceptable to wear leggings, it’s because dudes said it was not okay. Patriarchy, man! The original joke was aimed at the dramatic liberation pitch, not at anybody’s right to enjoy stretchy trousers. You can question the manifesto without confiscating somebody’s leggings.

That said, I agree that PEOPLE should be able to wear what they want as opposed to what they should. Being able to wear socks with sandals in public without people openly judging me would be nice. Let the meggings wearers have their prints. I’m still waiting for justice for my feet.