Lilly Pultizer Travel Pants aka the Best Leggings Ever

I like the idea of leggings.  They are comfortable, easy to wear and take care of, compact for suitcases, and pretty cheap. However, not all leggings are created equal.  I've seen far too many ladies with leggings made of see-through or threadbare material and short tops that don't cover the tush.  For me, I had one pair of thin (but not see-through) leggings made by Hue.  They are good for cold-ish weather, but I usually can't wear them past December in DC.

I recently started reading this fashion blog written by a super cute girl down South and she had written several posts involving the Lilly Pulitzer Travel Pant.  She described them as "ten times better than leggings and a thousand times better than jeans. So comfortable, they keep their shape AND you can wear them with a million different outfits." 

$98
Lilly Pulitzer Travel Pant
Image Source: Lilly Pulitzer

I went to the Tysons Galleria mall to check them out at the Lilly Pulitzer store....and promptly fell in love.  I tried on the black and the charcoal.  The black was very slimming, but the charcoal was a wee bit odd.  As in, less flattering, plus I couldn't figure out what I would wear with them without really breaking up my body into different colored blocks (brown boots, grey leggings, blue top? black boots, grey leggings, black top? combo of the previously mentioned but with pink or purple top?).  I also couldn't make up my mind as to whether I thought the $98 price tag was actually worth it.  So, I put them both back on the rack and let Mr. 3 escort me home.

THEN.  Bloomies had a crazy online sale I've never seen before.  50% off all Lilly Pulitzer, that's right all.  Whaaaaat?  So, I took a gamble and purchased them in navy (because that's the only color Bloomies had).  With the sale, free shipping, and ebates, I paid like $45 for them aaaaand I've been wearing them like it's my J-O-B.  They are so comfortable and thick.  DC has been having some early onset cold weather (which I do NOT appreciate) and I am still able to wear them.  The waist band and material also does a really good job of smoothing me out and keeping the dreaded-stretchy-pant-roll-down-which-then-creates-muffin-top (or in some cases, exploded-can-of-biscuits) at bay.

Way more than your average pair of leggings? Yes.  Worth every single penny? Yes.

I would love, love, love to have the travel pant in black too.  At $98 though, that's still a lot to swallow for elastic pants.  So, I'll be keeping my eye out for any holiday coupons for the local, independently owned Lilly Pulitzer stores (sometimes they offer 20-25% off single items) aaaand saving my pennies in case that doesn't happen.

Anyone else tried them out there?  What did you think?