Ode to leggings, and other trends that I used to hate

Dear Leggings,

I'm sorry I used to hate you.  "YOU ARE NOT PANTS, YOU ARE AN UNDERGARMENT!" I used to say.  You're fine under dresses and tunics but if the top doesn't cover the butt, then you don't belong.  That was before I embraced what an amazing set of legs I have, and what an amazing ass, too.  It was also before I could ever find leggings opaque enough to truly cover my underwear.  You first became pants when I was in high school, and the popular girls embraced you first.  I didn't like them very much so I didn't like you.

But you're so comfortable.  I can find you fleece-lined, opaque and warm and cozy, at my grocery store.  Your tops are elastic so they don't pinch my gut when I sit down.  You cling to me enough to keep me warm, but flex with me and don't restrict my movements.

To put it simply: I've embraced you as tightly and snugly as you embrace me.

Dear Ombre hair styles,

I'm sorry I used to think you looked stupid.  "Why would anyone pay to look like they got their hair dyed six months ago?" I used to think.  I didn't realize that people would use you to go creatively from natural to unnatural colors, or from one unnatural color to another.  I also didn't realize yet how great you would make my hair look when my dye job did grow out after several months. 

I'm too cheap and lazy to keep my roots covered up all the time, you see.  And now you're here, making me look trendy when I'm actually being lazy.  (It's also stubbornness - I only want my best friend touching my hair, and she lives 600 miles away.)

In short: you're every bit as gorgeous as everyone has always said you are.

Dear High-waisted pants,

I'm sorry I used to rip on you.  "They're horrible for anyone with big thighs or a big butt, and I have both!" I used to proclaim.  I still have those big thighs and butt, too.  But what I also have (and always did have) are love handles.  Low- and mid-rise pants sort of make them quelch outwards and I find it unflattering.  But High-waisted pants?  You cover the love handles, hold them in to make me look a bit more slim.  You don't, in fact, make me look like my ass goes up to my waist.  Nor do you make my thighs look wider or gross.

However, I am still a bit peeved with you, though this may not be entirely your fault: designers seem to think that for shorts and skirts, they can use the same amount of fabric when they're high-waisted as when they're low-rise.  Which means that, when you're a pair of shorts, you barely extend past my crotch.  I wish I could find some of you with a good 6" crotch panel so my aforementioned large thighs don't get the chub rub!  But, again, that's less your fault than it is the designers'.

In summary, you're all right.

Sincerely,

Kate
a woman who takes a while to come around to trends sometimes