5 Chic Tops to Wear With Leggings This Season and Beyond

Leggings may have started life as a humble loungewear item or a piece worn strictly for sport, but they’ve quietly—okay, not that quietly—earned their place as a real trousers alternative. We can thank the rise of casualwear during lockdown circa 2020, the ongoing shift towards comfort-first dressing and the fact that so many designers have nodded to the athleisure aesthetic in recent runway collections, such as Wales Bonner and Loewe, for their continued relevance. For better or worse, the question is no longer if leggings are appropriate for everyday wear—it’s how to wear them well. And let’s be honest: nailing the tops to wear with leggings is really what makes or breaks the look.

Still, even though the cultural conversation has shifted to accept these second-skin styles as daywear (and, in some cases, even evening wear), there’s one important element that hasn’t changed: if you don’t choose the right top, leggings can veer into pyjama-adjacent territory. And while I’m all for comfort, there’s a fine line between “off-duty model” and “just rolled out of bed”. Getting the tops to wear with leggings right is the key to giving the look intentionality. It’s how you signal that this is a fashion choice, not an afterthought.

Of course, that doesn’t mean sacrificing ease altogether. Here in the UK, we’re currently in that frustrating transitional period where you might be caught in a shower one minute and squinting at the sun the next, which makes layered dressing crucial. The beauty of leggings is their versatility, and the right top can carry them from the sweaty Tube to a breezy coffee stop, and even into the early days of autumn.

Think rugby shirts shrugged over shoulders, boxy T-shirts borrowed from your boyfriend (or just the menswear section), and sharply cut blouses that feel smart without being stuffy. The point is: leggings can work, as long as the top half is considered. And after trialling more than I care to admit, there are five tops to wear with leggings that I come back to again and again.