Leggings have been a fashion staple for many years, and they've managed to infiltrate an impressive amount of styles. They're no longer just for the gym. Leggings are also worn as a layering piece or as an alternative to pants for everyday outfits. Women can even style them to wear for a night out!

The versatility of leggings makes it clear that this is an essential item for any well-rounded boutique to stock, regardless of the store's targeted style. To select leggings that are popular with your shoppers, it's important to choose the correct fabrics, designs and cuts that will suit the buyer's purposes. You'll be able to source leggings suited for any type of customer by taking advantage of the many options available from wholesale leggings suppliers

Here's how to go about this process.

1) Get to Know Your Customers

Do your customers frequent the gym? Perhaps they go to yoga classes or venture out for walks with other mom friends. This type of customer will need something suitable for athletic use cut in a way that's suited to their style.

Another type of customer may be a woman hoping to wear these leggings to the office or on a night out. Athletic material leggings simply won't fit the bill for these purposes, so they'll need a different option.

A final likely type of customer could be a teenager or young lady who's looking for something more adventurous than the previously mentioned customer avatars. Perhaps they want to flaunt their figure in a flattering way or else play around with interesting fabrics and patterns. They'll be on the lookout for something that fits their needs, and if your store isn't stocking it they may simply move along to the next wholesale legging vendor.

2) Look for Fitting Fabrics

After learning about your customers' lifestyles and preferences, it's time to shop around for leggings they'll love. Women looking for leggings they can wear for fitness activities will likely want a highly elastic and compressive fabric like polyester, nylon or lycra. Sweat-wicking fabrics are a bonus, and thicker fabrics tend to be more flattering on a wider variety of body types. Wholesale leggings suppliers stock these for much more affordable prices than most well known stores.

For women that are wearing leggings in everyday outfits out on errands or to the office, they'll likely want something more suited to daytime wear. This could mean cozy wool leggings to layer under a pants as a thermal layer in cold weather, or it could mean plain black leggings that easily substitute for a pair of pants. Some wool or soft fabric leggings are also a wonderful cozy loungewear option to hang out in at home.

More fashion forward leggings tend to play around with more exciting fabrics, embellishments and designs. Leather leggings have been popular for a long time for nighttime wear, but even more exciting styles venture into holographic fabrics, colorful patterns, metallics, cutouts, fishnets or even see-through fabrics. This is best suited for customers with eclectic style who spend time in environments like raves or music festivals. Wholesale legging vendors will have endless options to choose from to keep your customers coming back for more.

3) Consider the Latest Styles

On top of fabrics, you'll have to select appropriate styles. Mid-calf length leggings was once popular for athletic styles, but now most women prefer more modern styles. Stirrup leggings are a fun option alongside the more common full length or slightly cropped iteration. Footed leggings are rarely considered fashionable unless they're for leggings that are designed as a layering piece for warmth. 

Overall, the selection of leggings available from wholesale leggings suppliers should be more than enough to keep your boutique stocked and your customers happy. With a little bit of forethought and planning, it should be a cinch to pick out the perfect leggings for your shoppers this season.