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Of all the fashion trends Madonna popularized back in the '80s, perhaps none has bounced back with the resilience of leggings, which are hugging curves on catwalks and sidewalks, in fashion spreads and on hipster celebrities.
"They're ubiquitous now," Lucky magazine's fashion director Hope Greenberg says, and the young are flocking to the look. "If you didn't wear them the first time around, I can understand the appeal. They work well with a tunic and ballet flats."
So pervasive is the trend that lingerie maker Cuddl Duds has capri and ankle-length versions out for the spring and summer ($18-$20), and T-shirt maker Michael Stars is coming out with a leggings line available in 31 colors ($46).
"The fashion for fall is so '80s-inspired in general," says Stars' marketing director, Shelly Chaney.
Celebrities typically have the buff bods to don whatever they want, regardless of how it looks on the rest of us. "But you do have to be fairly small to wear them," Greenberg says.
Here, she decides whether celebs fit into the leggings groove -- or whether they should shed their fashion second skin.
Stripes and layers
Naomi Watts last month at Tropfest short-film competition at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. Greenberg: "Layering adds interest to simple leggings, and the ballet flats strike just the right casual note."
Shades of color
Joy Bryant at the General Motors Ten fashion show in February in Los Angeles. Greenberg: "It's a little out there, but she's so cute that it's a nice monochromatic look."
High on heels
Lindsay Lohan at a Saturn Rocks Times Square promotional event in New York last month. Greenberg: "If you're that small, you can wear leggings with heels and not have it look trashy."
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