Womens activewear leggings have taken the world by storm over the course of the last 5 years. Many would point out the fact that covid initiated this massive shift. Individuals have worked from home more, however since normal works return, people have continued to wear their leggings. Why is this the reality? In simple terms, people want to feel more comfortable in their everyday life. 
 
Womens leggings are the perfect item for bridging the gap between comfort and function. Compact, stylish, versatile and usually good quality. You can dress them up or down without much hassle and not have to worry whether they are durable. A shift towards everyday activewear leggings has allowed people to head out for a day of work and not have to come home to get changed for gym later.
 

What makes a good pair of leggings (activewear / yoga / running)? 

 Well the answer is a little more complex than most would think. There are so many variations of fabrics and fits in retail clothing today and to know which is best is simply impossible. So here are a few key things that we believe are essential to understand when buying your next gym outfit:  

Leggings weight: 

The awareness around see-through leggings has increased over the past years as consumers have become more intelligent with their purchasing decisions. Terms like “Squat-proof” are commonly used to describe items when explaining how they would look like on. This simply means that when a women does a squat, that stretches the material, the clothing does not become transparent. The weight of your leggings plays a massive role in this transparency. The lighter the fabric, the less thick the material will be. 

Leggings fabric make-up: 

Although this might be a lot more technical, it is vital when choosing your leggings. Womens leggings are typically made up of a blend of fabrics. These fabrics are Nylon, Polyester and Lycra/Spandex. Nylon is known to be the most durable and weather-resistant synthetic fabric around, because of this, it is frequently used in the production of outdoor apparel and gear. Polyester is similar to Nylon, however it is typically not as strong. Finally, Lycra is a highly elastic, synthetic fibre. 
The various combinations of these fabrics directly affect the performance of the overall item. For example, if you are wanting a pair of activewear leggings that keep your legs tight and compact, a higher percentage of Lycra would help in achieving this. Generally the right percentage is from 20% to 30%. If you are wanting a pair of leggings that are more stretchy and less compact, you would want to decide on a pair that has a lower percentage of Lycra in its fabric make-up. 

Leggings seams: 

The final thing that we believe is essential when purchasing your running/training gear is to ensure that the seemliness of the item are in the right places. It is very easy for a single seam to ruin the overall performance of a sportswear item. Problem seams vary and the best way in identifying firstly whether the seam looks like it would be uncomfortable, and further trying the garment on to feel for any restricted movement or friction. 

Whilst there are many other factors that would affect a consumers purchase such as style and price, the most important features to look for when purchasing any item are the three headings above. 
Other features to consider when buying leggings: 

• Leggings colour

• Leggings breathability