Striped Leggings – A Guide

Short answer: Striped leggings are the model that divides people most. They can look good, but stripes make demands of direction, width and the rest of the outfit, and details like that count more in a close fitting fabric than in something hanging loose.

The direction of the stripes

Vertical stripes follow the leg and make it look longer. Horizontal ones do the opposite and also distort where the fabric stretches most across thigh and knee. If you only remember one rule, let it be that: vertical works, horizontal rarely does.

Width matters just as much

Narrow stripes close together read from a distance as a single shade and are therefore the easiest to wear. Wide stripes read as a pattern and require the rest of the outfit to stay completely quiet.

Two colours or more

Two colours are enough. Three or more turn a pair of leggings into the thing everyone looks at, and then the trousers decide what the rest has to be. That is rarely a good trade in an everyday wardrobe.

Where the fabric stretches

Stripes reveal fit. If a pair is too small, the stripes widen across the thighs and narrow at the knee, and it shows clearly. That is why striped leggings are always an argument for the size that fits without pulling.

The top has to stay quiet

A plain bamboo sweatshirt for women in one of the stripe colours is what makes the whole thing hold together. A pattern on the top and stripes on the leg fight each other, and both lose.

The length of the top

The rule that the top should cover the hip applies even more with stripes, because the pattern draws the eye to exactly that place. See bamboo tops for women for the lengths that cover without adjusting.

The plain alternative

When in doubt, plain is the safe route. See bamboo leggings for women, where black and dark grey are the two that go with everything and do not lock down the rest of the wardrobe.

When stripes work best

At home and for walks they work well, because there is nothing they have to match. For a class and for a day at the office, plain remains the choice most people land on.

What is available now

The range of patterns changes across the season, and it is worth looking through new arrivals for women if you are after something specific. Striped models come and go faster than the plain basics.

Washing patterned fabric

Stripes in two colours can bleed into each other in the first few washes. Wash them alone the first time at 30 degrees inside out, and hang them to dry so the pattern is not distorted by heat. See also bamboo leggings and tights for women.