When leggings first came into vogue, I prayed they would go away — skintight and worn under skirts and dresses, they seemed like an option only for girls too scared to show off their legs. In Hong Kong, especially, the look really took off, and before long there were all manner of leggings in the shops, from classic stirrups to cutoffs edged in lace and embellished with sequins. I came around eventually, when leggings started to become more part of the mainstream wardrobe vocabulary, and people started wearing them as alternatives to skinny jeans, with tunics and boots. But just as the styling has evolved, so too have the styles. Gone are simple colours and stark designs, and frankly, I’m surprised it took this long, given that we in Hong Kong have always subscribed more to the Japanese, more-is-more, hyper-layered and busy kind of look, as opposed to that pared down American minimalism that the rest of the world seems to be touting at the moment. So while the western hemisphere throws bouquets at the feet of Phoebe Philo and tries its best to sell modern/classic simple silhouettes, we over in the East will be embracing our funky side. Best part? Leggings tend not to cost an arm and (forgive the pun) a leg, so you can invest in quite a few pairs without feeling guilty when, say, next year, you don’t feel like wearing them anymore.

An easy way into the look is with these mesh babies by KENZI, which sort of recall the Rodarte spiderweb tights that every blogger and her momma tried to DIY a couple of years back, with varying success (Style Rookie Tavi, you’ll remember made her name by swooning over them in her blog, catching the attention of the Mulleavy sisters, who subsequently sent her a pair, launching the now-legendary Rodarte-Rookie relationship). They come in blue, orange and purple as well, and in my humble opinion, will be great for layering over mono-hued leggings or tights once it isn’t so ridiculously hot.

A more summery look could involve these PUFFY patterned leggings, which sort of remind me of prints in the Helmut Lang spring-summer 2010 collection, and would look incredibly chic with a long graphic tee and a cropped jacket, just exactly as in the photo, but maybe with 30 more bracelets and rings and other hardware details stuck and stacked all over the place.

These Trsyt Laced Leggings from Lucyd Acyd remind me a lot of the Ann Demeulemeester lace-up sandals that were all the rage last year. Translated into leggings, the look becomes so rock ‘n roll and edgy, it’s hard not to like.

Girly-girls… don’t fret. Though my online-shopping leans more towards the rock-chick format, I am at heart a prissy little princess who loves all things lacy, pink and floral, so alongside those bondage-inspired looks in my closet, there are also flowery leggings, sort of like these Choya ones, which I picked up at a swap meet. You can frill them up with a sweet ‘n sassy mini like in the photo, but I’d jazz it up with maybe black balloon shorts, a loose tank with giant armholes and a pair of wingtip oxfords that I am still waiting to find. The beauty of all of this is that, while inevitably, leggings will start to get stretched out in the knee area, no matter how you much care you take, when that happens… simply grab a pair of scissors and cut them off above the knee. Voila! Ragged-edge bicycle shorts, of the kind seen in Alexander Wang’s latest collections, are yours to keep.