The Holiday Legging Craze

Have you caught on to the legging fad yet? I did. By accident. 

It's not my main fashion plate, being a down to earth jeans and flannel shirt woman. I do enjoy wearing leggings at home during the cold months of the year. They are comfortable to work in around the workshop or to do some house cleaning. Having several old pairs (oh, maybe 10 to 25 years old) that are now spotted with paints, stains, varnishes and bleach blotches, I'm due for some new ones. 

As I was out shopping at a big box store, my eyes happened to spot a very attractive pair of leggings in a red and black plaid "down to earth" tribal kind of print. 

Whoa. Only $5.88 ... well now, that's like a... thrift shop price! Sold!

I grabbed them, and another pair in a thinner fabric for only $3.88; then called it a day. 

Sporting a new pair that very night, my husband liked them too and complimented my cheap thrill. I didn't plan on shopping for more right away, but the thought of getting a couple of them has crossed my mind a few times. I thought I should, before Valentine's starts shelving the stores at the end of December. Perhaps, I'll watch for new prints over the next couple of weeks to see if any come in. If not, maybe next year.

In the meantime, I'll just cut up all of my old ones for shop rags because that's what they currently look like anyway. 

Then a coincidence. A blogging friend was having a social media "legging party" online. Happy to do a favor and get a pair, I opted in.  When the sale started, the photos for leggings were posted and people had to be the first to  "claim" the legging they liked to buy.  I truly had no idea what was going on. Apparently, there was one pair of each limited print for this particular "lot". The prices were fair, because this type of party is very much like having other "home" parties whereas, you invite people, drum up some bookings, recruit, and earn cash. It's a typical financial pyramid. Well, I missed out on the only print I liked at this party, because in this game, your online fingers need to be fast. And, you should have some buying experience for this new social media shopping.

That's okay. So I watched for other parties offered by several "hostesses or consultants". There were many of them. Per day. I watched a few of the live sales and looked into lots posted as photo album shops. These leggings, and tops to go with them, were flying off the computer screen! Some buyers were showing their greedy shopping tactics and reminded me of the day I was crushed for trying to get a Cabbage Patch Doll back in the 80's!!!  Whaaaat???? 

Every once in awhile, I'd pop into these "shops" and learned more about the operation. I also discovered a few prints that I adored. Then, I saw one print I just had to have because they were Christmas, and matched my style. Aren't they cute? 

I couldn't land this legging in any of the parties if they even appeared at all. Not even in fair games the hosts play, where there is "first right to buy". That means each legging that each participant/buyer likes may post "sold" on it. Then there are individual "drawings" for each legging, the person drawn has first option  to buy the legging or top, dress, whatever the item is in the clothing line. Of course, I failed to get lucky and gave up while lacking the experience. 

That's when I turned to online auctions and looked up these leggings everyone is so cray-cray about. I discovered the legging I sought after were available, not just in green but in black too. And. LOTS of them! Hmmm, why aren't they this common where they should be? 

Now the regular price that hostesses and consultants are selling these are $25 each,  plus a small shipping fee. That's if they even have them to offer in their shops. 

Guess how much at auction? Check it out. 

How about this, originally $25.00 a pair? 

What the what??????????

$500.00??? 

Have we gone mad? 

Obviously, my fair market bid, based on current shops of $25, is not going to win there either. I was, however, lucky to land LAST year's holiday reindeer. At least I can wear them whenever I want to, and not just during Christmas time. I didn't pay $25 and I certainly didn't pay over $100 either. 

I also discovered these "wolf or malamute" printed leggings at the online auction, strangely, long before I saw them in any of the hostesses' social media shops. And I scored a pair before the hype went hyper. 

I had to get them; for this reason. 

They remind me of my old Danny boy. 

My final pair, which aren't part of the "hype" brand or in buying wars, are made in the USA, and didn't break the bank. 

This fad had me wondering just what is really happening? The manufacturer knows: supply and demand. Limited supplies bait shoppers into buying wars. Especially during the holiday season. Smart business. 

Then, I thought about getting into the financial gain game. If this is such a hot off the shelf business, why not get a little cha-ching myself?  But... what is concerning is the limited lots sold to the hostesses. They are stuck with their unsold "less desired" designs. And, it's not a small investment. I could buy a good used car for what the initial start up costs. And why are there so many of the sought after pieces available at auctions instead of the consultant shops? There has been some speculation of unfair sales that some buyers are lucky to get the party price and then turn the product over to bidding. Yet, how can that be when they are too limited at host parties? Many social media comments have also suggested consultants are preselecting these pieces. Strange as it is, the demand is evident. But, for how long?

Landing on this buying impulse during the peak holiday shopping season makes me wonder, does this legging thing happen all year long? 

I couldn't believe I got caught up in this addiction, but I didn't go nuts and shell out a paycheck. With two pair of the "cray cray fighting over" brand and three pair of others, I realized what was developing and thought... "stop it". I fulfilled my needs. I'm happy and I'm done.

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