I'm Not Kidding—These Leggings Make My Legs Look Instantly Longer

When it comes to my everyday attire, I'm not afraid to test the waters with attention-grabbing trends like clashing colors or retro throwback items. But the moment I decide to throw on anything remotely athleisure-y, I like to maintain a pretty subdued palette—read: mostly black and white. It makes for a collection of leggings and sports bras that I can't go wrong to mix and match with.

Last weekend, I decided to test-drive a new pair of patterned leggings from the JoyLab collection we co-designed with Target that I heard was weirdly flattering. Yes, they're another pair of black leggings, as you've probably guessed. But they're so much better than plain black leggings—hear me out. I tested out the leggings for myself, inserting them into my weekend wardrobe where I'd usually throw on the first pair from the pile. I took my new pair from a hike in Griffith Park to a coffee run at my local haunt, feeling way more stylish than usual, I might add. Scroll down to see how I styled the Performance Pinstripe High-Rise 7/8 Leggings for the weekend and find out what makes them so leg-lengthening.

It turns out that there's a good reason I felt a touch more elevated than in my standard black pairs. Not only do the thin gold stripes add interest to my all-black legging outfit, but they also work to visually lengthen the appearance of my legs. "Pinstripes translated in a pretty metallic give legs an extra lengthening effect by focusing the eye in a vertical direction," according to Christina DiBernardo, creative director for JoyLab. At 5'6", I'm by no means of modelesque height, so I'll take all the extra length I can get.

As demonstrated above, this black pair fit right in with my other pieces, and I found that the subtle gold pinstripes made the legging outfit I wear every weekend way more stylish.

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Now you're in on why my leggings are secretly flattering.