I’ve made no secret of the fact that I am crazy in love with James Lillis’ designs. As you know from my review a few weeks ago, I’d nearly given up on the leggings trend before Black Milk came along, and I dig James’ work for three main reasons.
One, his leggings are one-of-a-kind. I have yet to see anyone replicate his more creative (and labor intensive!) designs like the Spider-Mans or Cages. Two, Black Milk leggings are uber-comfortable. I don’t know if it’s the special fabric he uses or the fact that every pair is handmade, but his leggings are the next best thing to naked. Three, Black Milk is inexpensive. Notice: I didn’t say cheap, just inexpensive. Compared to other leggings (the mass-produced, machine-made kind), Black Milk is a fantastic value. Think about it…when is the last time you had something custom made?
But as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words. So, to prove my point, I’m going to compare James Lillis’ leggings with those sold from a leading designer webstore–Shopbop. Please know that I am not knocking on Shopbop; I love that store. I’m just illustrating why, when it comes to leggings, Black Milk is the infinitely better alternative.
Basic Black
We’ll begin with the look that started it all. Basic, black, wet-look leggings. Snug and shiny, these leggings go best with smudged eyeliner and a smile. Shopbop sells a pair of Latex Oliva Leggings for $97, but Black Milk’s plain leggings are only $40. There’s really no comparison.
Ripped Leggings
I didn’t expect this trend to take-off the way it did, but it seems like everyone wants to reenact a little Sid & Nancy. There’s no denying the cool, rockstar vibe ripped leggings give you, so let’s take a look at who does this trend better.
Shopbop offers both front and side shredded leggings. The Kerouac ripped jersey leggings to the left are the most reasonable of the bunch at only $87 while the David Lerner shredded suplex leggings (also made of jersey) are the most expensive at $132.
Black Milk sells both side-shredded and front-shredded leggings for only $50 and $80 respectively, and they’re both of shiny, stretchy, wet look material and not plain jersey. Black Milk also offers an additional, “extreme” style called Shredded to Hell for all you super-fashionistas out there and it’s also only $80.
Paneled Leggings
The famed Black Spartans were my first pair of Black Milk Leggings, and I’ve not once regretted my purchase. How could I when I paid only $80 for my leggings yet the closest thing to them (these Victorialand metallic panel leggings) retails for $132?
Lace Leggings
Finally, we get to the latest trend, lace leggings. As I mentioned in a previous “Look for Less” post, I am a big fan of lace. It’s a look you can rock a million different ways…from punk to precious and everything in between. James recently did his own version of this trend, and released these basic lace leggings for a special introductory price of only $60. How much is the closest Shopbop version by Kova & T? A mind-blowing $165. If anything convinces me that Black Milk should own the leggings market, this does. I’ve already placed my order. Have you?
From looking at his Twitter, it appears James is going to try ruched, sheer tights next. I know I can’t wait. Why don’t you go get a little something? And tell him Treacle sent you! ;-)
