Steph Claire Smith: 'Legging legs' is the trend no one needed

Remember the thigh gap?

Steph Claire Smith gives her two cents on the legging legs trend. Image: Pexels

Heard of the 'legging legs' trend? If you have, we're sure you wish you hadn't. Here, Steph Claire Smith gives her honest take on the toxic trend.

On Saturday morning, I woke up to my TikTok feed flooded with the latest trend,  ‘legging legs.’ What the actual f*ck. 

If you’ve been lucky enough to dodge videos about this trend on your own For You page thus far, basically, young people have hyperfixated on the ‘perfect’ legs to wear leggings – i.e. slim, and not touching at the top. 

It’s enough to make any Millennial squirm.

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It immediately transported me back to my early 20s when I was obsessed with having a thigh gap. It used to drive me insane, to the point where I stopped strength training, a movement that genuinely brings me joy, because I was scared to put on muscle in my legs.

 Instead, I was punishing myself with cardio workouts that I really didn’t enjoy, in an attempt to essentially change my genetics. Why? All because social media told me that having a thigh gap is what makes us attractive.

Fast forward 10 years and apparently now there’s a criteria for the ‘perfect’ legs for leggings – and I’m calling BS.

Argh. It honestly makes me so mad. Social media has highlighted yet another unrealistic body expectation, as if we don’t have enough insecurities to worry about already. 

The way I see it,  if you have legs, and you put on a pair of leggings, you have legging legs. No matter what a social media trend might try to have you believe. 

I’m grateful that I’m at a point in my life where I have the confidence in myself and in my body to know better than to lean into such a toxic trend. But I’m seriously concerned about the young, impressionable people on TikTok being exposed to such body-shaming messaging. 

It honestly makes me sad. It’s a catalyst for disordered eating and excessive exercise. I know, because I’ve been there, and it’s not pretty. 

No bodies need changing to fit a certain aesthetic, and it’s so important to remember that. 

As someone who is passionate about helping people feel confident when moving their bodies, this is only adding another barrier. No matter how you move your body, everyone deserves to feel comfortable and confident in a pair of leggings. It kills me to think that this trend could potentially stop people from wearing something that is literally designed with comfort at its core. 

Laura and I have just developed our first-ever activewear collection, and it was so important to us that we championed diversity, along with comfort, quality and style. 

Available in sizes XXS - 4XL, our 15-piece collection is designed to motivate everyone to move with confidence. It’s stamped with a simple yet powerful reminder that you are enough, just as you are - a fitting reminder amidst yet another toxic trend. 

Kic’s limited edition collection with STAX. Image: Supplied

Kic’s limited edition collection with STAX. is available from the 9th of February via stax.com.au  

Originally published as Steph Claire Smith: 'Legging legs' is the trend no one needed