Best Leggings for Hip Dips: The Complete Guide
The Legging Problem
Leggings are the hardest garment category for hip dips. Unlike structured jeans or draping dresses, leggings are thin, stretchy, and conform exactly to your body's natural shape. They reveal every contour — including the trochanteric depression.
This creates a specific problem: women with hip dips often avoid leggings entirely, or wear them with a long top or jacket that covers the lateral hip. The alternative provided by the market — padded shapewear worn under leggings — often does not work, because the shapewear edge shows through the thin fabric.
This guide covers the specific challenge of leggings and hip dips, the types of leggings that help (and the types that make it worse), and the five best approaches to wearing leggings when you have visible hip dips.
Why Leggings Are Different
Leggings present challenges that other clothing categories do not:
No Structure
Jeans have structural fabric that resists the body's shape. Dresses drape over the body. Leggings have neither structure nor drape — they stretch to conform exactly to whatever is underneath.
The implication: any shapewear worn under leggings will show, unless it is significantly thinner and smoother than the leggings themselves. This eliminates most padded shapewear, which is too bulky for under-legging wear.
High Visibility
Leggings are worn as standalone bottoms more often than shapewear or undergarments. This means the lateral hip contour is completely visible, with no layer of clothing to soften or hide it.
The implication: the approach must address the contour itself (through built-in shaping, strategic design, or physical changes to the body) rather than hiding it behind another garment.
Worn Frequently
Leggings are an everyday garment for many women — worn for workouts, errands, casual settings, and increasingly in professional contexts. The frequency of wear means a solution that works consistently is more valuable than a solution that works for a single outfit.
The implication: a sustainable solution (the right leggings, not shapewear under leggings) is the right answer for regular legging wearers.
What Makes a Legging Work for Hip Dips
The best leggings for hip dips share several design features:
V-Cut or Cross-Waist Design
The most effective design feature for hip dips. A V-shaped waistband (lower in the front, higher at the sides) visually lifts the eye upward at the lateral hip, drawing attention away from the trochanteric depression. The V-shape also creates a defined waist-to-hip transition that softens the dip's appearance.
Cross-waist designs (where the waistband crosses at the front) serve a similar function — they create a visual anchor at the waist that changes the eye path over the lateral hip.
High-Waisted, Firm Compression
High-waisted designs provide compression above and across the trochanteric depression, smoothing the contour. Firm compression fabric (18-25% spandex) provides more smoothing than light compression fabric (10-15% spandex).
The trade-off is comfort — very firm compression is less comfortable for extended wear. Most people prefer medium compression (15-18% spandex) for everyday wear and firm compression for workouts and outfits where the smoothing matters more.
Strategic Seam Placement
Seams placed along the lateral hip line (often called "contour seams" or "sculpting seams") create a visual line that breaks up the hip contour. A curved seam running along the hip bone can visually separate the upper hip from the lower hip, making the dip less noticeable.
The worst seam placement for hip dips: seams that run straight down the lateral thigh, which draw the eye directly over the dip area.
Dark Colors and Matte Finishes
Dark colors absorb light and reduce the visibility of contours. Matte finishes (as opposed to shiny or reflective finishes) further reduce visibility by avoiding the highlight that makes a depression more prominent.
The most flattering legging colors for hip dips: black, charcoal, dark navy, dark brown. The least flattering: white, pastels, very light colors, and shiny fabrics.
Textured or Patterned Fabric
Textured fabric (ribbed, knit, brushed) and subtle patterns break up the visual surface of the hip, making contours less noticeable. Solid, smooth fabrics are the most revealing.
The best patterns for hip dips: small-scale textures, heathered fabrics, ribbed knits, subtle tie-dye, or small allover prints. The worst: large, high-contrast patterns that draw attention to specific points.
The 5 Best Approaches
Approach 1: Buy the Right Leggings
The most reliable approach. Buy leggings with the design features above — V-cut waistband, high compression, dark matte color, textured fabric — and they will reduce the visibility of the dip without any additional garments.
Specific product types: Gymshark Vital Seamless, Lululemon Wunder Train (high-neck version), Nike Pro High-Waisted, Old Navy PowerPress, Amazon CRZ YOGA High-Waisted Compression.
Approach 2: Shapewear Built Into the Leggings
A hybrid approach. Some legging brands (Alo Yoga, Beyond Yoga, Girlfriend Collective) make leggings with built-in compression panels at the lateral hip that function like shapewear within the legging. You get the smoothing of shapewear without the visibility of a separate garment.
The trade-off: these leggings are typically more expensive ($70-$120) than standard leggings ($30-$60). They are worth it for regular wear but steep for occasional use.
Approach 3: Light Shapewear Under Leggings (Rarely Works, But Possible)
The main article recommends against shapewear under leggings because the edges show. There is a narrow case where it can work: a very thin, seamless compression short (not padded) worn under thick, dark leggings. The thickness of the legging fabric hides the shapewear edge, and the compression short provides additional smoothing.
Only attempt this with very thick leggings (brushed interior, heavyweight fabric) in a dark color. With thin or light-colored leggings, the shapewear will show.
Approach 4: A Long Top That Covers the Hip
The classic solution and still a valid one. A tunic, oversized tee, or oversized sweatshirt that falls below the hip hides the dip entirely. This does not address the underlying issue, but it solves the immediate problem of legging visibility.
The trade-off: this changes the silhouette from "leggings as pants" to "leggings as visible bottom under a long top," which is not the look some people want.
Approach 5: Address the Dip Through Exercise
The longest-term solution. Building the gluteus medius, gluteus minimus, and tensor fasciae latae through targeted resistance training softens the underlying dip, eventually reducing its visibility even in leggings.
The trade-off: visible change takes 8-12 weeks of consistent training, so this is not an immediate solution. But it is the only approach that makes the dip less visible in all clothing, including swimwear and naked.
The 8 Best Legging Styles for Hip Dips
1. V-Cut High-Waisted Compression Leggings
The best overall style. The V-cut waistband lifts the eye at the lateral hip, and the compression smooths the contour. Gymshark Vital Seamless (7/8 length) and Old Navy PowerPress are good examples.
2. Cross-Waist Compression Leggings
Similar to V-cut but with a crossed front waistband that provides waist definition. Aerie Real Me Cross-Waist and Beyond Yoga Spacedye Cross-Waist are good examples.
3. Ribbed High-Waisted Leggings
The ribbed texture breaks up the lateral hip contour, making the dip less noticeable. Solid colors absorb light and further reduce visibility. Amazon CRZ YOGA Ribbed and Aerie Ribbed are good examples.
4. Sculpting Seam-Designed Leggings
Strategically placed contour seams along the lateral hip break up the visual. The seams draw the eye along the seamline rather than along the dip. Girlfriend Collective and Oysho are good examples.
5. Brushed Interior Thick Leggings
The thickest fabric option, providing the most coverage. The brushed interior is soft and warm, and the thickness hides any contour underneath. Lululemon Wunder Train (brushed version) and Athleta Elation are good examples.
6. Heathered or Mottled Fabric Leggings
The visual texture of heathered fabric distracts the eye from the dip. Heathered colors (grey marl, charcoal heathered, olive heathered) are particularly effective. GapFit and Old Navy are good examples.
7. Flared or Bootcut Leggings
The flare at the hem draws the eye downward, past the hip, and the wider leg opening balances the silhouette. This is the legging style that most closely resembles a trouser and is most forgiving of the lateral hip contour. Lululemon Groove and Aerie Flare are good examples.
8. Built-In Shapewear Leggings
Leggings with built-in compression panels at the lateral hip, functioning as shapewear within the garment. Alo Yoga Airbrush High-Waist and Spanx Look at Me Now are good examples.
What Styles to Avoid
Thin, Shiny Leggings
The worst possible choice. Thin fabric reveals every contour, and shiny finish adds highlights that make the dip more visible. Avoid shiny nylon leggings, particularly in light colors.
Low-Rise Leggings
Low-rise leggings end below the trochanteric depression, exposing it completely. High-waisted styles cover and compress the area.
Light Colors and White
Light leggings show every shadow and contour. If you have visible hip dips, light leggings make them more noticeable. Dark leggings absorb light and reduce visibility.
Large, High-Contrast Prints
Large patterns draw the eye to specific points on the body, which can land directly on the dip. Small-scale, subtle prints are fine; large, bold prints are risky.
Very Thin "Second Skin" Leggings
Ultra-thin leggings marketed as "naked feel" or "second skin" provide no compression and no smoothing. They are essentially a thin layer of nylon that reveals everything underneath.
The Honest Expectation
Leggings are the hardest garment for hip dips. Even the best leggings will not make a pronounced dip completely invisible — the fabric conforms to whatever is underneath. What the right leggings will do:
- Reduce visibility: The dip will be less noticeable than in thin or poorly designed leggings
- Smooth the contour: The compression and design features soften the depression
- Provide a confidence baseline: You can wear leggings comfortably, knowing the garment is helping rather than hurting
What leggings will not do:
- Eliminate the dip: The structural depression remains under the fabric
- Replace shapewear: Leggings provide less enhancement than padded shapewear but also fewer visibility issues
- Solve the underlying issue: The dip is unchanged underneath the legging
For the best possible legging result, combine the right legging (Approach 1) with long-term exercise (Approach 5). The legging helps today; the exercise helps in 3-6 months.
Where to Go From Here
- For exercise to address the underlying dip: How Exercise Helps Your Leopard Fit
- For specific product recommendations: The Best Legging Brands for Hip Dips: Honest Comparison
- For sizing and fit: How to Find Leggings That Fit Hip Dips Correctly
- For workouts: Best Leggings for Hip Dip Workouts
- For everyday wear: Best Everyday Leggings for Hip Dips
- For the legging-shapewear combination: Can You Wear Shapewear Under Leggings?
Each article covers a specific aspect of the legging-and-hip-dip relationship with the same honest approach you find here.