Leotards are used for a variety of purposes, including yoga, exercise, dance (particularly for ballet and/or modern), as pajamas,[citation needed] for additional layered warmth under clothing, and for recreational and casual wear. They may form a part of children's dressing up and play outfits and can also be worn as a top.
Leotards are commonly worn in figure skating, postwar modern dance, acrobatic rock'n'roll, traditional ballet and gymnastics, especially by young children. Practice leotards and those worn in podium training sessions are usually sleeveless. Female competition garments for gymnastics and skating are almost always long-sleeved, while male competition leotards may be sleeved or sleeveless, the latter more common in gymnastics, the former in figure skating. Leotards come in many styles — either with a full seated bottom or as a thong or T-front thong for maximum comfort and avoidance of visible panty lines when worn under leggings or tights.