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The leotard is back? It never went away! It's one of those classic, basic elements of the female wardrobe whose visibility ebbs and flows but is somehow always "there." In the 1970s there was a variation of the leo called the body suit, body stocking, or body sweater. It was usually rib-knit, and worn like a "regular" pullover sweater except that it fit the figure like a bathing suit and featured a "convenient snap crotch" for obvious reasons.
Those are the proper dimensions for a leotard.
That designer had it soooo wrong. The leotard can certainly be WORN by a range of sizes, but it only SUITS a very very few of them.
Remember those dreadful snaps at the crotch? I'd like to slap every designer who brings back these awful items....or make them wear them in Times Square at high noon.
I like the bodysuits with the snaps at the crotch. Because I don't have washboard abs, I would never wear them alone, but they're very good underneath a jacket, sweater or low-cut blouse. Bodysuits just look better than camisoles, which are the current alternative: they stay tucked in even in low-rise pants, and they don't bunch or ride up.
I'm not about to do the leotard with long skirt look, nevermind the '80s lets-get-physical thing, but I'd welcome the return of the bodysuit.
