Inverness Woman Stumps Sheriff Over 'Jeggings' Theft

A sheriff's admitted he has no idea what "Jeggings" were.

Sheriff William Wood confessed the fashion item had passed him by and queried if the Crown had made a spelling mistake on the charge.

The debate raged in Perth Sheriff Court after Michelle Connan, 30 - who now lives in Inverness - admitted stealing a pair of Jeggings from Primark in Perth on 5 January this year.

Sheriff Wood asked her: "Do you accept you stole a pair of Jeggings, whatever they might be?"

She confirmed she did and Sheriff Wood asked fiscal depute Bill Kermode: "Is it Jeggings or should it be leggings?"

Mr Kermode confirmed the charge was spelt correctly, but confessed that he also did not know exactly what the item was.

"The Crown cannot tell you what Jeggings are unfortunately. This was theft by shoplifting and the item stolen was worth seven pounds," Mr Kermode said.

Solicitor John Adams stepped in to the debate to clear up the confusion for the court. He said: "Jeggings are leggings which look like jeans."

Mr Adams, defending Connan, said: "In respect of the theft, it's very strange. She had actually paid for a substantial amount of other goods, to the sum of £80.

"There seems to be no good reason for her failing to pay for this item, but she did leave the store without paying for it, was apprehended and accepts her guilt.

"It appears it was a one off, perhaps a slip." Connan, formerly of Crieff and now of Inverness, was fined 225 pounds for stealing the Jeggings. She was fined a further 300 pounds for failing to turn up for a previous court hearing.

Jeggings are leggings that are made to look like skin-tight denim jeans. Jeggings is a registered brand name owned by Turkish textile company ISKO, a division of Sanko Holding, who were the original producers of the stretch textile.

According to Wikipedia, Jeggings were brought on by the resurgence in style of skinny jeans when a higher demand for an even tighter style of legwear came about.

They are typically made of a denim/spandex blend and fall into two main categories; Jeggings that are legging material made to look like denim with fake pockets and belt loops, or denim Jeggings which are essentially a denim fabric with the elasticity of a legging.

Jeggings entered the fitness world in early 2009, and were among the most popular clothing items of 2010, according to business reporting. In 2011 "Jeggings" was entered into the twelfth edition of Concise Oxford English Dictionary.