A skirted legging is a legging with a short skirt sewn on at the waistband, so it goes on as one garment. A culotte legging is the same idea with a looser, wider overlay that sits more like cropped trousers than a skirt. Both get described as “two-in-one” or “fake two-piece”, and both are bought for the same reason: the coverage of a skirt without the faff of wearing a skirt over leggings. Here is what actually differs between the styles, where they work, and where they do not.
What the overlay is actually for
Most people buying a skirted legging want one of three things. Coverage across the seat and upper thigh, so the legging can be worn without a long top. A bit of shape at the hip, which a plain legging does not give. Or a tennis or golf look, where a short skirt is the traditional kit.
The overlay does all three, but it is worth being clear about what it does not do. It does not make a thin legging more opaque underneath it — the legging is still a single knit where the skirt ends, usually from mid-thigh down. If sheerness has been your problem, the overlay hides it only where it covers. Our piece on why leggings go sheer at larger sizes explains why the stretch at the seat and thigh is where it shows first.
Skirted versus culotte: the difference is the cut
The names get used loosely, so here is how we use them.
- Skirted — a short, close skirt panel over a fitted legging. It moves with you and sits fairly flat. This is the sporty version: tennis, walking, running errands.
- Culotte — a wider, looser overlay that falls away from the leg. It reads more like a dressed-down outfit than sportswear, and it hides more of the leg line.
Neither is better. A skirted style is the one to choose if you will be moving quickly; a culotte style is the one to choose if you want the outline of a skirt or wide trousers with the warmth and grip of a legging underneath.
What we stock
Three styles, and they are deliberately quite different from one another.
Women’s Skirted Leggings with Pockets — $22, sizes S to XXL, in wine red, blue, black, navy and army green. This is the sporty one: an attached skirt overlay, a high-rise elasticated waistband and a pocket on each side. It is unlined, so it is a three-season piece rather than a winter one. It is the obvious choice for tennis or anything where you want somewhere to put a phone or a ball.
Women’s Fleece-Lined Skirted Leggings — Plus Sizes — $45, sizes M to 4XL, in black, dark grey and light grey. Each colour comes either fleece-lined or unlined, at the same price, so you can choose the weight without changing the style. The skirt panel is the longer, more covering kind.
Women’s Thermal Culotte Leggings — Plus Sizes — $31, sizes M to 4XL, in black, grey, a brushed black and light grey. A fleece-lined legging under a culotte-style overlay, cut for winter. This is the one for cold-weather everyday wear rather than exercise.
We do not stock a skort (a skirt with built-in shorts and no full-length legging), a maternity version, or a skirted style in a print.
Sizing: read this before you order
All three are cut to Asian sizing, which runs about one size smaller than US sizing. As a guide, S fits like a US XS, M like a US S, L like a US M, XL like a US L, XXL like a US XL and XXXL like a US XXL. We do not publish a US equivalent for 4XL, so for that size please work from the measurements in the size guide rather than from a US letter. If the way the letters map across brands is confusing, what “plus size” means in activewear sizing walks through why the same letter fits so differently from one label to the next.
Two practical points specific to these styles:
- Size for the lining, not the skirt. On the fleece-lined versions, the brushed pile takes up room inside the leg, so a lined legging fits tighter than an unlined one in the same letter. If you are between sizes on a lined style, take the larger one. The guide to fleece-lined leggings explains why.
- The skirt does not tell you about fit. Because the overlay hangs loose, a skirted legging can look roomy in photos while the legging underneath is fitted. Judge the size from the waist and hip measurements, not from how the skirt looks.
The two plus-size styles start at M, not S. If you normally wear a small, the $22 skirted style is the only one of the three that goes down that far.
Where skirted leggings work, and where they do not
Good for: tennis, pickleball and golf, where a skirt is normal kit; walking and errands, where you want coverage without a long top; and winter days when you want to wear something that looks like a skirt without bare legs or tights.
Less good for: anything with a lot of floor work. In yoga or pilates the overlay flips, bunches when you sit, and gets in the way when you are upside down. A plain legging is the better tool there. They are also not a substitute for shorts with a liner in very hot weather — you are still wearing a full-length legging under the skirt. For summer training, our notes on mesh, quick-dry and what actually breathes are more useful.
The fleece-lined skirted and culotte styles are warm by design, so treat them as outdoor and everyday pieces. Training indoors in them will be hot.
Pockets on skirted styles
Only the $22 skirted style has pockets: one on each side. That matters for tennis, where a ball pocket is the point, but be realistic about what a side pocket on a stretch legging holds. A phone will sit in it while you walk; it is more likely to bounce when you run. Neither of the two winter styles lists pockets.
Caring for the overlay
Wash all three cold, with like colours, and hang them to dry. The listings say do not bleach, do not iron, and do not tumble dry, and that matters more than usual here: the skirt is a separate piece of fabric sewn at the waist, and heat shrinks the legging and the overlay at different rates, which is how a skirt ends up hanging unevenly. For the fleece-lined versions, turn them inside out so the brushed pile is not rubbed flat against other clothes. The washing guide covers the rest.
How to choose between the three
- For tennis, sport or spring and summer wear, or if you need sizes from S: the Skirted Leggings with Pockets.
- For a covering winter skirt look, or if you want to choose lined or unlined: the Fleece-Lined Skirted Leggings.
- For a looser, trouser-like outline in cold weather: the Thermal Culotte Leggings.
The two winter styles also appear on our plus size leggings page, which lists only styles where the larger sizes genuinely exist. The full range is in leggings.
Shop this guide: skirted leggings with pockets · fleece-lined skirted leggings · thermal culotte leggings