Male legwear in sports

by Geraden

There is something of a growing trend for sportsmen to wear nylon on their legs. This is especially true of US basketball players who are quite often seen coming onto the pitch in black opaque legwear. Kobe Bryant seems to be the trendsetter. Could this be a powerful lever to bring about acceptance of legwear as unisex fashion?

Yes, possibly, if it goes the right way. There are at least two ways it could go. It is certainly possible that young men in particular may be influenced by their sporting heroes and role models to adopt similar styles - either for sports or as a fashion item. Now, as it has been remarked, the garments that Kobe and others are wearing are probably not tights as such, but specialist leggings. These things are expensive; a lot more expensive than tights, even men's tights.

Many will not be able to afford them. Think of sports players who are not in the top league, for whom their sport is a cost, not a source of income.  Maybe they will start to look for cheaper alternatives that confer the same benefits, but within the overall look. Maybe they will start buying Activskin A869s or A879s. And maybe this will be picked up by young men in general. That is the preferred scenario.

The other possible scenario is that the brand itself becomes the must-have. Think how trainers have become a fashion item. Think how it matters hugely to youngsters whether they wear Nike, Adidias, Reebok or some cheaper brand name. If this scenario comes to pass, I wonder whether Activskins and the like will get a look in. Youngsters will have to have the leading brand (whatever that turns out to be), however much it costs. And we will largely have lost the opportunity to promote tights or pantyhose as legwear for men. I notice with some dismay that Nike are already marketing 'Kobe's Tights' at $35 a throw.

It seems to me that we do not want this look to catch on too quickly, because if it does, the second scenario is more likely. On the other hand, if there is a slower pace, where the wearing of legwear is taken up mainly by male sports players (rather than male followers of fashion) - in that case, tights as a cheaper alternative to expensive specialist leggings may just become the norm on the sports field. So that when the time comes for the look to be taken up for fashion rather than for sport, our kind of legwear may actually start to become mainstream. 

What do others think?

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links: technorati