If, like me, you are grown up enough to remember the 90s properly, then the news that big bums are back may take a bit of processing.
In terms of body positivity, you know, yay! I’m pleased that our daughters and granddaughters are inheriting a world in which women are allowed to have some ‘junk in the trunk’, as Gen Z might put it.
However, I think I speak for many of my generation when I say that suddenly being asked to accentuate a body part that you’ve spent years (decades!) trying to minimise is psychologically complicated.
It is also worth my pointing out that when we say big bums are back we are talking about a very specific kind of big. Muscled, high and perky is the rear du jour. Pear-shaped and droopy is as undesirable as it’s always been.
My bottom is most definitely not the fashionable sort. Never my best feature, it has got flatter with age. And less toned.
My bottom is most definitely not the fashionable sort. Never my best feature, it has got flatter with age. And less toned.
Even though I work out regularly and do endless squats, it still looks like a deflated balloon filled with porridge.
Reader, I do not pass the pencil test. (For the uninitiated, this is where you attempt to put a pencil under your butt cheek. If you are sufficiently pert of posterior, it should immediately roll away down the back of your leg.)
From left to right: sculpting, illusion and padded. Top, £34.99, adanola.com. Socks, £9.99 for two pairs, Elle Sport, sockshop.co.uk. Trainers, £70, hushpuppies .co.uk
Last week I clocked a petite woman on the train whose rear end was so sizeable it practically required its own postcode.
On closer inspection I became convinced that the enhancement was courtesy of her leggings. They had padding, tactical panelling, a strategic pattern and a rather uncomfortable-looking ruching effect in between her butt cheeks that I have subsequently learnt is referred to by those in the know as ‘scrunch bum’.
A bit of research uncovered the fact that big bums are big business. The global leggings market is currently worth over £26 billion (projected to grow to £46 billion by 2031), and high-waist, derrière-enhancing styles are pretty much every athleisure brand’s bestseller. More digging revealed that the first pair to cause an internet storm were the previously outlined ‘scrunch bum’ style on Amazon, showcased by influencer Laura Wolfe on TikTok. The post got 2.6 million views and 252.4k likes. To me, her bum looked better in the ‘before’ video but, as I’ve already explained, I’m a dinosaur when it comes to tooshie trends.
So could bottom-enhancing leggings work for me? After all, I’ve long embraced the power of the push-up bra, so why not employ the same technique down south?
I like to think of myself as broad minded (if not hipped) and my Gen Z daughter is supportive of the experiment, even if she does consider me to be rather behind the, er, curve on this one. The aforementioned internet storm happened back in 2020 which, to her, means that significant bottoms have been a trend ‘since, like, forever’.
There’s a but with butt enhancers, though, because there’s more than one way to sculpt your stern. I start off by ruling out the scrunch-bum styles. Aside from making you look as if you have a giant wedgie, they are often (for reasons I don’t fully understand) rendered in honeycomb fabrics, which make them look weirdly reptilian, not to say cheap.
That leaves three main modes of enhancement, namely sculpting leggings, optical-illusion leggings and padded leggings. I know which I liked best, but which would you wear? Read on for my verdicts.
Sculpting leggings
£100, vuoriclothing.co.uk
Secret weapon This is my comfort zone when it comes to leggings – don’t pad it or outline it, just suck it all in with a beautifully engineered quality fabric.
Overall effect I’d contend that the sucking in also has the effect of lifting up, so this pair still ticks the ‘bigger bottom’ box – just not as dramatically as the other styles.
Would I wear them? Absolutely! This is my leggings heartland.
Good for Sweaty Betty devotees – I love this brand even more, as its ‘Blissblend’ is both sculpting and comfortable (though perhaps less durable). I might even be tempted into a lighter colour for added booty emphasis.
Marks out of 10 9. These feel light and soft, yet still manage to smooth and sculpt.
Illusion leggings
£65, uk/Gymshark.com
Secret weapon No padding (mercifully), but a much more manageable outlining of the buttocks with contrasting blue seams.
Overall effect There’s a flattering V-shape about the, er, butt crack, so the butt looks higher, and stitching around each buttock makes them look peachy. They have a ribbed waistband and, as we know, vertical stripes are our best friend.
Would I wear them? Flattering without being ridiculous, they’re not a style I would previously have chosen but it’s a yes from me.
Good for Enhancing what you have, without actually adding inches. I could definitely work out in this pair.
Marks out of 10 7. Flattering, but you need to be body confident, as they are a booty beacon.
Padded leggings
£105, Heyviva.com
Secret weapon These come with foam pad inserts (one on each cheek).
Overall effect They make my bottom look bulbous, just like the one belonging to the aforementioned woman on the train. They probably add two inches to my hip measurement and look in no way natural.
Would I wear them? So ridiculous, I can hardly begin to list all the reasons I wouldn’t wear them – but foremost is the padding, with its unfortunate habit of sinking towards your mid-thigh. There is no telling which of the pads will sink first or furthest (none of us is symmetrical), creating a bizarre effect.
Good for Sitting on hard chairs/railings/the floor.
Marks out of 10 If you’re a Gen Z who wants a Kardashian-worthy posterior, you’d doubtless give these a 10. If you’re me and grew up in the 90s, it’s a 4.
