Jeggings? Don’t you mean leggings?
THEY are a common sight on the high streets of Scotland – but it seems Jeggings are unknown in Scotland’s courts.
A sheriff yesterday admitted that he had no idea what the leggings were and queried if the Crown had made a spelling mistake on the charge.
The debate raged in Perth Sheriff Court after Michelle Connan, 30, admitted stealing a pair of Jeggings from Primark in Perth on January this year.
Sheriff William Wood asked her: ‘Do you accept you stole a pair of Jeggings, whatever they might be?’
Connan 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: ‘The Crown cannot tell you what Jeggings are, unfortunately.
‘This was theft by shoplifting and the item stolen was worth £7.’
Eventually solicitor John Adams saved the day by informing the court: ‘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 Highfield Avenue, Inverness, was fined £22 for stealing the Jeggings and a further £300 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, which was the original producer of the stretch textile.
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 12th edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary.