I really feel nice when understanding and love yoga pants. I might put on them on a regular basis, besides I’m not positive they’re an alternative to common pants. Is there another for on a regular basis put on? One thing that’s as comfy and flattering but additionally qualifies as precise pants? — Mary, Raleigh, N.C.

Yoga pants — that’s to say, leggings however with a better waist and produced from thicker materials than precise leggings (typically, although not essentially, with a little bit of flare on the ankle) — are clothes that, particularly throughout pandemic lockdowns, turned one thing of a pleasure to put on.

Prioritizing each consolation and motion, they allowed us to have our cake and snack on it at dwelling, too. Little surprise that, given the concentrate on well being and wellness and our more and more dressed-down day, they’ve grow to be a primary a part of many wardrobes.

However because the return to work has picked up not less than some steam, so has the controversy in regards to the precise “pants-ness” of yoga pants. Do they or do they not qualify? That is partially why they’re typically referred to as “boot-cut leggings” or “flared leggings” as an alternative of “yoga pants.” By borrowing the language of pants, they edge nearer to that class.

However let’s be trustworthy: Yoga pants aren’t pants. Pants are there to reshape the physique not directly. To tailor it into a distinct silhouette — straighter, longer, extra flowing — within the eyes of the watching world. To supply a modicum of safety or social camouflage. Yoga pants, alternatively, are way more about revealing the physique in a few of its glory. And revealing the physique within the office or on the road is a sophisticated resolution.

Fortunately, the stylist Tina Chai mentioned, there’s a center floor. First, attempt to perceive what precisely it’s you want most about your yoga pants. Is it the aspect of stretch? The elastic waist? The truth that they sit near the legs however don’t constrain them? The best way they announce your exercise routine to the world? Then resolve which of these values is most essential. Almost definitely, there’s a real-world substitute.

Certainly, an Italian model referred to as Excessive Sport has just about made its title by providing very costly stretch pants with a little bit of a flare. (It calls them the Kick pants.) They’re produced from technical cloth and derived from just about the identical genetic materials as yoga pants.

To not be outdone, manufacturers like Alo Yoga have expanded their choices to incorporate pantlike kinds that nonetheless share many qualities with yoga pants (and are extra reasonably priced than Excessive Sport variations).

Wherever you store, Ms. Chai suggested that you simply search for “pull-on pants — no buttons or zippers.” Then, she mentioned, select a “knit that’s tightly woven and compact so it offers the pants construction, which makes them flattering, however with a little bit of stretch, which makes them comfy.”

Lastly, for some styling oomph, she suggests pairing your yogalike pants with a high or jacket in the identical coloration for a monochromatic look. “It will possibly take you from the workplace to a celebration or the airplane, all with the change of a shoe,” she mentioned. And possibly a solar salutation or two.

Your Type Questions, Answered

Each week on Open Thread, Vanessa will reply a reader’s fashion-related query, which you’ll be able to ship to her anytime by way of e-mail or Twitter. Questions are edited and condensed.