The Best Plus-Size Leggings Feel Almost Like Pajamas I Can Wear to Work
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Finding the perfect plus-sizeleggingswas a long and winding journey. I am five-foot-one, usually wear a size 18, and have incredibly short legs. Like 23-inch-inseam short. For a while, I was wearing cheapXhilaration cropped leggingsfrom Target, but the waistband was thin and they tended to fall down. I didn’t even know there was something better until I foundTorrid cropped premium leggingsat, of all places, the Mall of America.
On a person of normal height, cropped leggings can still be too long for me. I’ve bought “Capri-length” pants that for me were just regular pants. But when I first tried on the Torrid leggings, they were basically flush against my actual ankle while sitting at my natural waistline. The waistband was thick — about two inches — and supportive, meaning I never got that dreaded muffin top when standingorsitting. I wear a size two, and they run from 00 (a women’s medium, sonotplus!) to 6 (size 30), making them truly accessible for women of all sizes, unlike brands that consider a 16 the upper end of plus-size. They also come innon-cropped versionsand different colors and styles, likeembroidered florals,fauxleather, and ones withlace inserts.
The best part is just how comfortable they are. They arereallysoft — softer than most blankets I own — and the seam along the sides is not too noticeable, so they look like opaquetightsfrom afar. Even with a pair of ankle boots and socks, I’m as comfortable as I’d be in sweatpants. If I wear a flowy cotton dress up top, it’s practically like wearingpajamasto work. I could even wear it infirst class(I don’t foresee that happening soon, but I could). They don’t ever fall down or give me a wedgie, and if I wanted to wear them as straight-on pants, I could — they’re made of a thick cotton spandex that I promise you can’t see through. Here’s how to care for them: Wash on cold and dry on low, and they’ll never fade. Even though mythighs rub togetherevery day of my life, it takes at least ten months of constant wear for a hole to appear in the groin area. That’s longer than my last relationship.
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More Strat-approved leggings and tights
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For warmer days, Whitney prefers these Flexee short leggings for going under her skirts: “Even though they’re labeled asshapewear, they don’t have the same intense pressure as, say, Spanx. Wearing them is like a gentle hug, not the strangling, sausage-casing feeling that I associate with shapewear. The completely seamless shorts feel like a lightcompression sockon a plane, or what I imagine it’s like when mypuppy, Marshall, wears aThunderShirtto calm his anxiety. They make sure everything stays in place in my torso area and that my thighs don’t rub together. Good-bye forever,chub rub.”
[Editor’s note: While Maidenform’s Flexee shorts are no longer available, their newerGirlshorts with Cool Comforthave a similar length and lightweight feel, and cost about the same at $18 for a two-pack.]
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Whitney also likes the tights by Torrid: “I buy them in bulk. They’re stretchy, rarely rip, and are super high-waisted without control top, so they never fall down.”
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WriterLesley Kinzelloves her Just My Size tights: “I have never wanted to design a clothing line, but if I did, I would launch a line of amazing fat-size tights — and make a zillion dollars, because the void is so huge. Finding good tights over a 2X at all is almost impossible, butthese drugstore tights from Just My Sizeare the better of a bad lot. (And they’re cheap.)”
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