The Softest Pair of Leggings Ever Costs Half the Price of Luxury Brands

I’ve reached the stage of leggings enthusiasm (some would call it “snobbery”) where I can tell if I’ll like a pair just by running my hands across the fabric. Thicker, rough materials usually get a veto from me but hand me a butter-soft pant that’s airy and light and I’ll wear them until the seams unravel. When I picked up Lively The Active Legging ($55), I knew I’d stumbled upon a piece worthy of sweaty workouts, cozy nights in, and every “I’ll just wear leggings” outfit in between.

Made of 75 percent recyclable polyester, The Active Legging comes in navy, black, and moss green colorways in sizes XS to XL. The high-waisted style has a side-pocket where you can store small items like keys or your wallet when you’re out and about. While other leggings in this category will set you back $100-plus, you could get two pairs of these for the very same price. That’s good news for anyone who finds themselves scraping the bottom of their athleticwear drawer when laundry day is still far away.

When my own green pair arrives in the mail, I slip them on and go about my day without much thought. It’s not until later when I’m sitting at my desk drinking a cup of coffee that I realize that all of my usual style nemeses (camel toe, too-tight calf-seams, and itchy fabrics) have taken the day off. In my opinion, the clothes you forget you’re wearing are the very best kind—and Lively leggings were comfy enough that I paid them no mind as the day wore on.

Shop now: Lively The Active Legging, $55

Of course: No leggings have truly earned a gold star until you put it through the wringer with a sweaty workout. In my case, that meant two test drives. First, I flowed through an online yoga class next to the heater in my living room: my version of “hot vinyasa” in quarantine times. As I moved from pose to pose, the pants allowed me to move freely so that—once again—I found myself forgetting that I was wearing anything at all. (Not pulling my pants up while precariously balancing in tree pose.) The thinner fabric kept me from overheating and I finished class shvitzing, but not wearing see-through pants.

Great, I thought, but how would it hold up on a run when most leggings start to chafe against my skin immediately? To my surprise and delight, the Lively leggings stayed completely still. No budging. No slipping. No rubbing as the miles streamed by. No angry red bumps appeared between my thighs during my cool down.

Your workout gear should make you excited to move—and, for me, The Active Pant did just that.

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