Leg warmer

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typical legwarmers.

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Leg Warmers are a type of clothing similar to a sock except that they are footless. Leg warmers were traditionally made of pure wool, though nowadays they are typically made from a mixture of cotton and/or synthetic fibers.

Worn by dancers, leg warmers are functional pieces of clothing used to keep the lower legs warm.

In the early 1980s they were part of a fad when they became popular with teenage girls as everyday clothing. Their popularity was partly due to the influence of the films Fame and Flashdance and the concurrent aerobics craze. However, they had retreated back into relative obscurity by 1989.

In 2004 leg warmers made a brief comeback and were once again worn as a fashion item. This time they were usually more toned-down than the 80's style, and were worn to dress up casual outfits. They have also been worn with flip flops. Leg warmers are frequently worn in the rave scene.

A new take on leg warmers has been arm warmers and cleaves (arm warmers with an attached neck). These were first seen as a wider fashion piece in the fall of 2004.

On the Showtime comedy, Dead Like Me, the character Roxy is the creator of the leg warmer, and was strangled to death with her own invention by a friend who wanted to take the credit for herself. She invented them when she accidentally cut the toes off of two of her socks.