If you couldn’t already guess by the hideous, low-brow rise of jeggings, denim companies are attempting to manufacture stretchy, more comfortable jeans to compete with the rise of leggings as everyday wear.

It makes sense that these companies would turn their competition levels up to stay relevant, but as a customer, all I can ask is, “Why?”

It’s safe to say that nearly all women own at least one pair of jeans. However, with the rise of athleisure, it’s now also safe to say that nearly all women own at least one pair of leggings and feel more comfortable wearing them out in public (whereas it was only acceptable to wear them at the gym or at home).

And for some odd reason, denim companies are shitting their (denim) pants at the upturned noses toward jeans in favor of a more comfortable, booty-popping option.

I say ‘for some reason’ and ask ‘why’ because the likelihood that jeans will be wiped away by a tide of stretchy spandex is, in my opinion, slim at best.

Yeah, jeans are itchy and thick. Yeah, they can be expensive. And yeah, jeans kind of suck altogether (I’m not a jeans person. Proud owner of only two pairs of jeans and I make it work). But their style has been cemented in everyday fashion and will withstand the rise of sweat-and-must-trapping comfort.

Jeans are a classic that, if they were to ever be wiped out, would make a comeback, as fashion trends tend to do.

There are plenty of people who hate leggings. Like, absolutely abhor.

People who think leggings are the spawn of hypersexual wedgie demons, whose sole purpose is to expose women’s supposed self-absorption whilst highlighting acute cellulite dimples they forgot existed.

And there are people who think denim is sewn by prudish goons using only sandpaper and literal asphalt shingles. So, balance that out with those who can’t get enough of either material, and one shouldn’t thrive at the expense of the other.

But so many women own leggings. So many. Walk around campus at Linfield for 10 minutes and you’ll have seen almost every kind of legging they make: thick athletic leggings, cotton leggings, spandex leggings, legging with zippers and pockets and print designs of flower patterns and donuts.

But what I’ve noticed is that a lot more women own and wear jeans around campus here and around town. Even if they favor the feel of leggings, many people choose jeans over leggings because of the style.

Not everyone wants to wear skin-tight clothing, and that’s okay. Leggings won’t take over. Denim companies: keep doing what you’re doing. Athleisure hasn’t been that overpowering, if you look around.

This is the hard-hitting journalism we need to open our eyes to, Wildcats.