We’ve Tried Hundreds of Black Leggings—These Reign Supreme

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No wardrobe is complete without a pair of the best black leggings. Soft, stretchy tights have become as essential as blue jeans and white T-shirts—wear ’em on cozy nights in, wear ’em while exercising, throw on an oversized blazer or sweater and wear ’em to the office (if your dress code permits…use your judgement, we’re not your boss).

But when it comes to options for black leggings, the limit does not exist. So the SELF team got to work testing tights from fan-favorite brands like Athleta, Lululemon, Old Navy, and more. Shop our favorites for running laps, running errands, namaste-ing, and staying in below.

Our top picks

1. Best Overall: Lululemon Wunder Train High-Rise Tight, $98
2. Best Opaque: Aritzia PowerSculpt New Cheeky Hi-Rise Legging, $78 $47
3. Best for High-Impact Workouts: Alo 7/8 High-Waist Airlift Legging, $128
4. Best Compressive: Spanx Shape Booty Boost 7/8 Leggings, $98
5. Best with Pockets: Athleta Salutation Stash High-Rise Legging, $109
6. Best Budget Pick: Old Navy High-Waisted PowerSoft Leggings, $40 $28
7. Best for Everyday Wear: Vuori AllTheFeels Legging, $98
8. Best for Lifting: Under Armour Meridian Leggings, $80
9. Best for Yoga: Adidas Women’s All Me 7/8 Leggings, $60 $36
10. Best Maternity Leggings: Gap Maternity Everyday Full Panel Leggings, $60 $29

Shop the best black leggings

In a sea of seemingly similar pairs, these are prime catches.

Best Overall: Lululemon Wunder Train High-Rise Tight

Lululemon’s Wunder Train Tight is designed for the gym or fitness studio (but still looks sharp out to brunch or bopping around town). They’re made from the brand’s Everlux fabric, a blend of sweat-wicking nylon and Lycra that has four-way stretch—so they’re just as flexible as you are. They also have medium compression, making them more supportive than the brand’s popular Align and Wunder Under styles, but just as soft to the touch.

Available in sizes from 0 through 20 and four inseam lengths, finding your perfect fit is simple; then, cinch the waistband’s internal drawstring to keep them up all day long. SELF’s former commerce director, Abbey Stone, really put her pair through its paces (read: multiple sweaty Peloton cycling classes and strength training sessions) and loved how lightweight they felt. If you like a gentle hold, she recommends going for your regular size. You can also size up if you prefer less compression or down for a tighter fit.

Best Opaque: Aritzia PowerSculpt Cheeky Hi-Rise Legging

Don’t sleep on Aritzia’s activewear. The Cheeky Hi-Rise Leggings in the brand’s PowerSculpt fabric are smooth, sleek, and stay put through every squat, lunge, and forward fold. They’re also (and most importantly!) incredibly opaque—whether you like to wear underwear when you work out or not.

“Honestly, the Aritzia leggings are the only ones I reach for now,” says shopping editor Angela Trakoshis. “They’re buttery soft, super flattering, and somehow still hold everything in without feeling tight. Whether I’m running errands or just lounging, they feel like a second skin.”

Love this pair’s booty-lifting look, but prefer a less compressive fit? The same design is available in five different fabrics that, according to Aritzia, are better for lower- and medium-impact activities.

Shopping market editor Angela Trakoshis testing the Aritzia PowerSculpt Cheeky Hi-Rise Legging:

Best for High-Impact Workouts: Alo 7/8 High-Waist Airlift Legging

Made from compressive fabric with a slight sheen, Alo’s Airlift Leggings are perfect for tough, super-sweaty workouts. “I love them for strength training and running,” says SELF’s associate social media manager, Katie Gunderman.

And they don’t just look great on—she adds that the design holds her in in all the right ways too. “The high waist and compression make me feel so secure while doing high-impact activities, which I love,” she says. “The smooth Airlift performance fabric makes them easy to run in and absorbs sweat.” (P.S: If you’re ever looking to branch out from black, she says they also come in lots of cute colors.)

SELF senior commerce editor Sarah Felbin testing the Alo 7/8 High-Waist Airlift Legging:

Best Compressive: SPANXshape Booty Boost 7/8 Leggings

If your top priority with leggings is looking snatched, we’ve found your match. Shapewear brand Spanx is doing what it does best with the Booty Boost Leggings: The sleek, slippery fabric offers so much support, I feel like a Bond girl (or a seal…but, like, in a good way?) when I wear them.

This style has also taken home multiple SELF Activewear Awards, proving it can hold up to hard-core CrossFit circuits and dance cardio classes. “These are perfection,” said one tester, who wears a size 2X. “They did not move. The leggings are high-waisted and cover my entire tummy as a plus-size woman. Where have these leggings been all my life?”

Shopping market editor Angela Trakoshis testing the SPANXshape Booty Boost 7/8 Leggings:

Best with Pockets: Athleta Salutation Stash High-Rise Legging

There’s a good reason why Athleta’s Salutation Stash leggings took top honors in our 2024 Activewear Awards: They’re soft, supple, and last forever. “These are my everything leggings! I have been buying the Stash from Athleta for years, and they hold up,” one tester said. “I teach barre, lift weights, hike trails, and browse the aisles of Trader Joe’s in them constantly.”

I love how the waistband supports my core without rearranging my organs, and the fabric blend (which includes moisture-wicking nylon, Lycra, and polyester) can stand up to sweaty workout sessions—believe me, I sweat a ton.

Best Budget Pick: Old Navy High-Waisted PowerSoft Leggings

Pro tip: You don’t need to spend a ton to get a high-quality pair of black leggings. Old Navy’s High-Waisted PowerSoft Leggings were the number-one pick by SELF readers in our 2024 Activewear Awards, and they’ll only run you around $40 (even less when they’re on sale, which is often).

“They’re comfortable AF, slimming, and they actually stay up during runs! I literally have 25 pairs, and they’re the only bottoms I’ll do races in,” one tester said. “The side pockets are so great, I don’t even need to wear running belts during my training runs to keep my phone, gum, and keys handy.”

Best for Everyday Wear: Vuori AllTheFeels Legging

“After years of wearing and writing about leggings, I finally know what brands are talking about when they say their tights have a ‘second skin’ feel, thanks to these leggings,” SELF’s senior commerce writer, Sara Coughlin, says. “They’re lighter than air, endlessly stretchy, and truly a joy to wear.” Coughlin wore the Vuori leggings for a whole day: She lounged on the couch, went for a walk, played with the dog, “and I never once felt distracted by my leggings,” she says.

However, she doesn’t recommend this pair for workouts because their thicker, knit material traps heat and moisture. “The leggings felt great while I was stretching, but started to feel a little warm when I started lifting weights and moving around,” she says. “I’m still glad to have them in my closet—they really are uniquely and blissfully comfortable—but now I know they’re strictly lounging leggings.”

Best for Weightlifting: Under Armour UA Meridian Leggings

SELF’s director of fitness and food, Christa Sgobba, is a leggings expert: She’s worn dozens of different styles over the years for business and pleasure—because, hey, when you’re a fitness editor, working out is both of those things. Her top tights for strength training are the Under Armour Meridian Leggings.

“The material is so smooth and light—it doesn’t feel constricting,” she says. That being said, “These are absolutely squat-proof,” she promises (a must when you’re lifting). Bonus: UA reviewers say these make their butts look great.

Best for Yoga: Adidas All Me 7/8 Leggings

When you’re flowing through chaturanga, you want to be able to focus on keeping your elbows tucked in and your core strong—not on whether your leggings are going to roll down. According to SELF senior health writer Erica Sloan, that’s exactly what you get with this pair: “These really are a second-skin type of legging, so you can almost forget you’re wearing them,” she says. “And for all their softness and stretchiness, I was still impressed by the fact that they stayed in place throughout a Pilates reformer class and multiple walks around my neighborhood—no need to pull up the waistband.”

While Adidas recommends the All Me leggings for low-impact activities, they do have the brand’s “Aeroready” sweat-wicking technology, which Sloan can vouch for. “I sweat a ton in Pilates, and these didn’t show the moisture much or stay wet for long after,” she says.

Best Maternity Leggings: Gap Maternity Everyday Full Panel Leggings

SELF’s special projects director, Hannah Pasternak, says these maternity leggings from Gap are “just sooooo soft”—that’s five Os, friends. Made of 90% cotton, they’re a bit thicker and have less give than your typical workout leggings. But Pasternak and reviewers agree that the material feels high-quality, especially for the $60 price tag.

Pasternak’s final word? “Looking at the model in these leggings is almost enough to convince me to get pregnant again,” she says.

What to look for when choosing black leggings

Here are some criteria to keep in mind as you weigh your options.

How we picked the leggings on this list

SELF editors sifted through online reviews to find beloved leggings across the internet, then put some of the top picks through their paces. Testers wore their leggings for multiple activities—including running, yoga, cycling, and school pickup—over the course of the testing period (testing time varied by person, but it was at least one month long) and washed them according to the care instructions. We also considered past winners from SELF’s Activewear Awards.

Related:

• 38 Loungewear Basics You’ll Never Want to Take Off
• Comfy, Cozy Sweatshirts SELF Editors Love Wearing
• These Skims Dupes Are As Soft and Silky as the Real Thing

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