What's that under your dress?

Get your mind out of the gutters!

Let's talk about leggings, shall we?

Back in the 80's, we often saw things like this:

Okay, Okay...maybe I am exaggerating a little bit.

But when the leggings came back a couple years ago, there was NO way I was going to do that. Again. Oops. Did I say that?

Anyways, I have friends that rock the leggings that look like jeans, or shall we say, jeggings.

This one friend, Kat, pulls them off like crazy. With a long loose fitting tunic and flat gladiators, it was a great wear for a casual Saturday afternoon bar-be-que! She looked a little something like this, sans the shoes.

I remember having a distinct conversation with Kat saying how I didn't think I could wear leggings without boots. You know, the look above with stilettos. She told me some very good advice. She said something like, "Jax (that's what people call me), it's all in your head. You have to look at your body differently- you can wear flats or pumps with leggings, you just need to look at yourself in a different light."

I took this challenge yesterday when my friend Carolyn (who, may I add, is 36 weeks pregnant and expecting her little one November 7th!) and I went to the Four Seasons in Boston to have High Tea; a favorite of mine. I wanted to obviously look nice, but I also wanted to try something a little out of my comfort zone. 

So I decided to pair black leggings with an American Apparel Criss-Cross Dress in Eggplant, a Victoria's Secret Cotton-Cashmere Wrap Sweater (in black, not the color shown), and a pair of BCBGeneration purple suede pumps, like the ones shown.

Besides being super comfortable, I think I got over the whole "must wear boots with leggings" syndrome. Will I still rock the boots? Absolutely (I drool for boots as you know)! Will I do it all the time? Not anymore. Here are a couple of rules that I am going to try to adhere to:

1. If the top or dress is tight fitting, I will wear pumps.
2. If the top is similar to this one, I will wear boots. It's a easy go to outfit when you're not sure what to wear or have last minute plans, or are out running errands (like, what I did last night. Throw boots on, meet friends out at a local joint).



Patterson J. Kincaid "Marcus" Metallic Plaid Button-Down Top

3. If it's a looser fitting tunic, since it is fall, I will try out wearing a cute pair of flats with them. 
   
   
   Those are the 3 rules I will try to live by when it comes to what's under my dress. I am glad I tried something new; I encourage you to do the same!