Stitch Leggings, East London's original Meggings company contacted me a few weeks back, after seeing some reviews I had posted for other gear, and challenged me to try a pair of their Meggings. SO, what the hell are Meggings? Think skinny jeans--now take away the stupid factor and make them in spandex--OH TIGHTS you say? Well, kinda, but.. well. No. They have a pocket.
So Meggings are men's tights with a pocket meant to be worn for every day wear, much the same way that women wear leggings. In that sense, yes, they're tights. But meggings need to be durable in a way that tights don't have to be. A good pair of tights should offer support, but be light weight and durable enough to hold up to repeated workouts. Meggings, being meant for everyday wear, should be as durable as jeans, but nonrestrictive. They should also be a bit thicker than standard tights--after all, if you're wearing them outside in all conditions, who wants to experience that nasty blast of cool air that always seems to cut right through standard tights? Good meggings should also be nice looking. They should have personality. They should have an air of masculinity--after all, they are meant for men. So, how does Stitch measure up? I'll admit I had some serious doubts when I first explored the website.
At first glimpse, the website shows some really nice designs with a strikingly masculine triangle logo. However, looking closer, you'll notice that most of the models are thinner men--the kind who would wear skinny jeans. That in itself didn't scare me--most companies who sell tights advertise with slender models. What made me but the brakes on was when I went to look for a size chart... That's when I saw it. The dreaded ONE SIZE FITS MOST. My heart sank. "One size fits most" never does. It usually fits a few--and those are only the smallest, thinnest people known. You know the type. The ones who actually fit that government height and weight chart. "Forget about ordering from these guys" I told myself. That's when I got the challenge. It came from their instagram account. Anyone who has seen my instagram account knows exactly what I look like--I hide nothing.
SOOOOOO, I said to myself, I said, "Self? If this guy has seen your pics, and still thinks his meggings will fit--what the hell." Besides, it was a free sample, I didn't have anything to lose.
Now, without further ado, the review of Stitch Meggings:
Appearance: Amazing. I love the look of these. SO much so, I bought a pair in addition to the sample I was sent. The LOGO design features a black polyester base with the stitch logo covering every inch of the fabric. A lone gold triangle serves to set off the whole design. While most elastic materials fade greatly when stretched, these managed to keep their color very well. So much so, I actually felt my self-confidence level rising the longer I wore them. The FESTIVAL design is flamboyant at first glance, but upon closer inspection, there is a strong rope imprint to the pattern that lends a great deal of masculinity to it. I wore these to yoga and received a number of compliments immediately. At no point did I feel any less of a bear. I really liked the bright color of the fabric, and as with the logo tights, the longer I wore them, the more my confidence level rose. I found myself wanting to go other places in the gear, just to show it off.
Comfort: I've never been a fan of one size clothing. However, I liked the way these felt on me. Let's be clear. I stand 5'7" and with an inseam of only 28", I currently weigh 285 lbs. I wear a standard XL in shorts and briefs--40/42 or so. These fit well at my size. I didn't feel like they were too tight at all. In fact, I had room to grow. I have tree trunk legs, and even my legs didn't feel like they were going to split the fabric. I felt no restriction of movement whatsoever. The meggings actually warmed my legs--a feature I really liked as I am often one who forgets to stay stretched. I could EASILY see wearing these things for an all day event. In fact, my first yoga experiment with the festival design lasted through two back to back, hour and a half classes. No issues here.
Durability: If I had to complain, I'd do it here. But not much. When I pulled on the Festival meggings, I heard a stitch pop on the left side and another pop in the waist. Now, we're bears and chubs. We're used to it. I looked and I couldn't see any loose threads. When I tried on the Logo ones, I didn't hear a single thread pop. Am I worried? Not at all. The fabric in top notch. These guys are obviously quite confident in their product, and manufacturer. So far, I don't see any cause for alarm. As a big boy, I can see these lasting me a while. Worse case, I've had good gear repaired before. It's called maintenance. Bad gear falls apart. Good gear wears out over time. I'm looking forward to having these for a long time.
Price: NOT BAD! Inexpensive as tights go. 25 pounds, equates to 39 dollars. Of course, there's shipping, but hell--for the savings, buy two pair and combine shipping. And speaking of savings, These men have been good enough to add BUDDYSTL as a discount code which gives readers 5% off their orders! OR maybe you can combine that shipping with Stitch's newest product, the Stitch Watch. FYI, I just added one of those to my wish list.....
Overal Raiting: 3.85 / 4 stars.
Bottom line--They're fantastic. I highly recommend them! They won't fit a super chub, which brings me to my only piece of feedback for the guys at Stitch. Your once size fits most, is exceptional. I've never seen a one size product as versatile as this. Some other tights makers like Blackmilk do offer a larger size that is available on a cut-to-sew basis. This usually means an extra week of production to make, but allows them to offer their product to more people. I don't know if this is an option for you or not, if it is, having that larger size would be nice. That said, I'm a big boy, and your meggings fit me just fine--with room to grow even.
I personally love both of my Stitch meggings. Now, I wanna get my hands on the Wine and the Blow! --See Wishlist. heh heh heh. Thank you for the challenge. As you can see from the pics, I thoroughly enjoyed it!
A little yoga in the rain never hurt anyone...
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