Don't tell my personal trainer, but it's been a minute since I wore leggings for their intended purpose: exercising. I can't help it—fashion girls like Rihanna, Beyoncé, and Jennifer Lawrence keep showcasing their street style potential outside of the gym. This week, Cardi B's anti-athleisure leggings outfits ditched 2026 sneaker trends for pointy pumps, twice.
On March 24, The Bronx's Hip Hop Museum welcomed the hometown hero in anything-but-laidback leggings. (She had the afternoon off from her Little Miss Drama tour.) Stylist Kollin Carter traded her previous polka-dot stirrup leggings for the most classic of black pairs. Each skintight, ankle-length leg emerged from beneath an opulent black-and-white fur from London label Di Petsa.
Cardi's black-and-white color story peaked with pointy black stilettos. Rising spring sneaker trends would've dressed down the leggings to their athleisure roots.Heels, on the other hand, refashioned them like day-to-night pants.
The "Bodak Yellow" rapper has advocated for leggings-as-pants for years. Not only did Cardi model pantaboots (a leggings-stilettos hybrid) on Balenciaga's Fall 2024 runway, but that same year, she released a leggings-heavy collaboration with Reebok.
More recently, it seems fellow A-listers like Beyoncé, Amanda Seyfried, Shay Mitchell, and Lori Harvey inspired Cardi to start wearing leggings with pumps. It all started on Jan. 20, when Rihanna stacked black, almost-identical leggings over snakeskin Amina Muaddi pumps. By February, Beyoncé went the stirrup leggings route alongside burgundy slingback heels from Retrofête. That same week, Amanda Seyfried's capri leggings looked luxe with studded Chloé pumps. Now, Cardi B is carrying the controversial combination into spring.
Just when I planned to resume my leggings-clad workouts, Cardi B flagged another celebrity trend worth ditching my favorite sneakers for. While we await the next celebrity take (my bet's on Hailey Bieber), join me in shopping the Cardi-coded edit below. They're like your average Pilates-proof leggings, but sleeker.
