Michelle Oliver: Much maligned leggings still a big favorite

I know there are a lot of people who have mixed feelings about leggings. I respect everyone’s opinion and can see the pros and cons of wearing them. However I am a huge fan.

I read an article the other day about a woman who said she was never wearing them ever again. While I completely understood her reasoning and respected her greatly for it, I am still going to wear my leggings. There are very few days where I don’t end up wearing leggings.

I know that they are considered casual and lounge wear but that is not how I wear them. At least not how I wear them most of the time.

Whenever I’m out and about I tend to observe what people are wearing. Don’t worry if you ever run into me out shopping I am not judging your outfit, I promise. I simply like to see what people can pull together.

I get most of my inspiration for my outfits from people I see. When it comes to leggings I always take note of how people are wearing them. I have become very good at throwing outfits together and incorporating leggings. I like that they are comfortable and also much thicker than if I were to wear regular tights.

With the weather being as cold as it has been, I am all about leggings. I have to dress pretty professionally for my job, which normally means dresses, skirts and dress pants. Let’s face it, dresses and skirts are not warm.

I recently purchased a new skirt from Anthropologie and wanted to wear it immediately. I decided to see how it would look with black tights and black boots. I was pleasantly surprised with how much I loved the look of this outfit.

As you can see in the picture with my column, the skirt has black and neutral colors in it so pairing it with black tights and black boots worked out perfectly. I added a pale pink shirt and cream-colored scarf to keep with the neutral theme.

This has now become one of my favorite outfits to wear when it’s cold. I can throw a heavy jacket over it if it’s really cold; otherwise I am more than warm without a jacket.

Another great way to wear leggings is with dresses. Granted, some dresses are not appropriate to have leggings underneath them but for the more business casual dresses they are great.

I bought a knit dress from Banana Republic a couple of months ago and once again wanted to wear it immediately. I mean, that is why you purchase something right? I did not feel like wearing tights with it so I added some black leggings and dark brown boots. Couldn’t forget a pink scarf to add more color. This outfit is a staple outfit for when I’m running late and can’t decide what to wear. I know I’ll be comfortable and still professional enough for work.

Hope you all feel a little more confident about wearing leggings now. Play around with them and try new things. That’s what I always do and most of the time it works.

This story was originally published February 6, 2015 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Michelle Oliver: Much maligned leggings still a big favorite."