I take a lot of heat from my friends for the way I dress up. I’ll admit it; I am one of those girls. I wear leggings as pants nearly non-stop throughout the winter. I alternate between my two most comfortable sweatshirts. During the spring I replace leggings with running shorts. I prefer comfort to style. Unless there’s a good photo-op, I rarely get dressed up.

You must understand. I went to a high school with a dress code longer than the Constitution. I could write an entire column describing it alone, but I’ll spare you and give you only the necessary details. Guys had it simpler, but worse — pants, button downs and ties everyday. For girls, skirts could not be more than four inches above the knee. No denim — yes, that includes all forms of jeans — shorts, T-shirts, hoodies, flip-flops or tank tops allowed. What else is there to wear? Since going naked wasn’t really an option, not much. It was even more oppressive than it sounds.

As a visitor, you might have thought we had a uniform. Khakis, Sperrys, a Lilly or Southern Proper tie, and a varsity jacket for the guys. Girls obviously had more variation. During the winter, our outfits usually consisted of khakis, Uggs, some form of a sweater and a North Face, or whatever else was on the J. Crew mannequin. Warmer weather meant a sundress and sandals, without anything between the toes, of course.

As much as I hated the dress code, I graduated with a University-ready wardrobe. But I left most of it home. College means freedom, and for me, that meant freedom from a dress code. I gave it all up for a more comfortable wardrobe. I came to the University with exactly zero pairs of khakis and zero “appropriately long” skirts. Ultimately, I could not part with my entire cardigan collection, which remains unrivaled and a marvel to many of my friends.

I wore flip-flops into December of my first year. I took the snow as Mother Nature’s sign to put them back in the closet. I wore a hoodie anytime it dropped below 50 degrees. I rarely sported the jeans that I had waited patiently for 12 years to wear. I had found something more comfortable to wear first semester.  I am one of those girls who wears leggings as pants — because they are pants.

It’s time to set the record straight and end all debate. As defined by Merriam-Webster.com, pant means, “an outer garment covering each leg separately and usually extending from the waist to the ankle.” Leggings are pants. Additionally, for the record, leggings are not the most casual wear. Sweatpants are the bottom dwellers. The classic legging is black, and therefore, at its root dressy. I wear only the dressiest form of casual.

My earliest memory of wearing leggings as pants dates back to the second grade. I had on a long mock turtleneck embellished with little lipsticks and eye shadows. On the bus ride to school, I thought about how comfortable I was and how stylish I was. Immediately, upon arrival to the classroom, my teacher scolded me for breaking the dress code, because “leggings are meant to be worn beneath a dress, not a shirt.” She threatened to send me to the office to get a change of clothes — a fate worse than death. I begged and pleaded, blaming my mother for picking out this outfit. I skated out with a warning. My love of leggings began and ended this day, only to re-emerge first year.

After 12 years of dressing up, I realized the costs of formality don’t outweigh the benefits. Does my affinity for dressing for comfort make me a rebel? Hardly. Does it demonstrate my laziness? Likely. Does it solidify the notion that comfort is more important than image? Definitely. There’s no shame in dressing for comfort.

With my second Charlottesville winter down, I have established a pretty consistent outfit selection process. My winter outfit consists of leggings, a T-shirt, and a sweatshirt. In the winter, this is my outfit five out of seven days. It provides more variety than one might think at first. Short sleeve or long sleeve T-shirt? Which pair of black leggings? Rain boots, cowboy boots or tennis shoes? Obviously, there’s a lot of variety here. Rain boots are hideous but very functional. Cowboy boots are the dressiest option, while tennis shoes say, “I’m trying to convince you I’m sporty.”

In the spring, I keep the same general outfit, but replace leggings with Nike shorts. Why yes, I do wear Nike shorts and a T-shirt four out of seven days a week. I wear this ensemble so much that I’ve convinced people that I go to the gym. See, it’s OK to be dressed down if you have an excuse.

My friends know the truth and hold me accountable to a higher standard. They question me all the time. They’ll ponder, “But Abbi, how will you be the first lady if you wear leggings and T-shirts on the reg?” As you’ll remember, I promised to make leggings as pants socially acceptable. I stand by that promise. In addition to being the first lady, I will have the perfect marriage; he’ll love me, leggings and all. Haters say, “dress for the job of which you dream.” Well, I’ll dress for success when I’m not 20 minutes late for my class. I’ll dress for success when I have an internship or, even better, a real job.

But in all seriousness, there’s plenty of time to dress for success outside of class. We have the rest of our lives to dress “properly.” You’ll see me rocking the sundress at football games, Foxfield’s, garden parties and any other photo opportunity. Maybe this spring, my sundresses will emerge from the depths of my closet. But more likely, if you find me in Clark or running late to class, expect to see me in my leggings or running shorts. When you do the inevitable double-take and question, “Isn’t that what that girl had on last time I saw her?” the answer is no. This is an entirely different pair of running shorts or leggings than I had on last time.

Abbi’s column runs biweekly Tuesdays. She can be reached at a.sigler@cavalierdaily.com.