Posts with tag tights

We live in Los Angeles, so when we came across bebaroque's out-of-the-ordinary take on tights, we couldn't resist sharing them with those of you are already dealing with changing leaves and frost.

One of the must-have items for any stylish woman's wardrobe is a pair of opaque black tights (thank you for that bit of advice, Nina Garcia!). They will serve you well in a million different occasions, helping you to get away with skirts that are a little shorter than you'd normally wear, and, if you go with something textured, like these, you'll add some interest to your outfit, too.

Those of us who live in warm regions face the same challenge every fall -- so many hot new trends come out, but for the most part, it's just too hot to wear them! Sure, there might be a day or two in December or January during which we can wear a wool coat without sweating to death, but most of us aren't going to blow our budget buying items we'll only wear once or twice a season. But still, we want to step into fall fashion -- what to do, what to do?

We have several suggestions that will keep you looking hot but feeling comfortably cool. Those of you who live in colder climates might be able to use these suggestions early in the season, but for some of you, these will be ways to look seasonal until spring!

All right, men. Guess what you didn't know you needed? Pantyhose.

Here at right we have a handsome gentleman wearing a lovely dove-gray under his jeans. Pantyhose under pants, you ask? Well, what do you want him to wear, a skirt? What would his mother say?

We have a feeling she's already said it.

From the e-MANcipate website:
"e-MANcipate is a project to accelerate the acceptance of male pantyhose as a regular clothing item."

The website includes helpful resources like manfacturers and mantyhose news, as well as tips like "How to put on your male pantyhose without destroying it??" They claim that wearing pantyhose promotes circulation and even improves athletic performance! Um. . .WTF and As If, respectively.

Unless you're playing Robin Hood or pretending to be Louis XIV (like you do), we think maybe you should pass this trend up in favor of, you know, looking hot. But to each his own, right? Whatever. We don't care what you do on weekends, we're just saying it's not in fashion. Thanks random-good-stuff.com for the tip, or should we say, the warning.

With Halloween just 'round the corner, it's only natural to have costume ideas running through the brain. However, it's not okay for companies to play off costumes as "real" clothes. I'm lookin' at you, American Apparel! How dare you try to sell these jester stockings as pantyhose. Innocent hipsters will walk around with two-toned legs and an unhealthy amount of spandex and it will be all your fault.

As if the sight of people wearing gold lamé pants wasn't bad enough, right? American Apparel's two color pantyhose comes in four exponentially horrifying color combinations: black and crème, teal and asphalt, purple and forest, and -- everyone's favorite -- fluorescent yellow and coral.

Here's a fun fashion tip: if you want to guarantee a punch to the face during a night out on the town, wear some of those aforementioned gold lamé pants over these new two color leggings. Granted, you may suffer from a tacky overload before anyone even makes it close enough to give you a knuckle supper.

In my closet, I have an overflowing drawer filled with tights I haven't worn in years. I hold onto them because you never know when you REALLY might want to wear those hot pink tights again. (Hey, in 2003, pink tights were all over the place and I dare say that by 2010 they will be back in style.)

But to be honest, all a woman really needs is a pair of black tights and a pair of brown tights. Thanks to the hosiery wunderkinds over at Spanx (the butt-busting, gut-sucking hosiery celebrities swear by) you can have both colors in one pair of reversible tights! One side is black, one side is brown, but both sides are guaranteed to make a better version of you! Two-timin' reversible tights are available at spanx.com.

Earlier this month, both Brigitte and Anne mentioned the new insothermal tights from Wolford. Now, I am not a huge tights person, partially because I live in southern California, where going bare legged in December is not unusual, and partially because tights are uncomfortable, but when I read their posts, I was amused that the tights were $68. That's quite a chunk of change for the heavier cousin of pantyhose! However, a new pair of tights from Kashmino outdo the $68 isothermals (though Wolford has others that are a bit higher priced anyway). Kashmino tights from ilux are $98, but for good reason. They are 21% silk and 50% cashmere!

Of course, now I really can't wear cashmere tights in LA.

I hate pantyhose. In fact, "hate" is probably not strong enough of a term to express how I really feel. They are high maintenance, practically diposable, uncomfortable to wear, and I don't really understand why a totally unnatural "nude" sheen is a preferable look to just plain natural.

However, tights are a different matter entirely. Tights are like, an accessory.

Tights can, yes, be uncomfortable, but so are stiletto heels, so I won't say much there, and when you think about how useful opaque tights are for keeping one's legs warm in the winter when wearing a very necessary little minidress, well, there's just nothing more to be discussed. And what's most important, tights come in so many colors and textures that they're even more exciting than wearing jeans.

I love these luxurious brocade tights from Givenchy. I can imagine these as the "dress up" part of a little black dress enesemble, or the interesting half of a tunic-and-tights outfit. Of course, with tights that are so highly patterned, stick with simple shoes.

Last month, Brigitte introduced us to Wolford's new high-tech polar tights. In her post, she mentioned that these tights were created specifically for cold weather wear, boasting an isothermal effect that keep your stems toasty in the frigid winter months.

When I read about these tights, I knew it was just a matter of time before I convinced myself that spending $68 on hosiery was neither excessive nor absurd. And sure enough, over the weekend, I forked over the cash. I wore the tights for the first time last night, and I'm totally convinced that they are worth every penny! The best part about the isothermal tights is that they actually adjust in warmth based on your activity level. For instance, when you are sitting in a toasty restaurant and don't actually need the heat, the tights breath like regular hosiery. But when you are outside, walking around in the cold air, the tights start to trap in the heat of your legs.

All of this is to say that I may not know what the "isothermal effect" is, but I do know that I like it.

Circular, voluminous skirts always seemed to look better on the hangers than they did on me - that is, until I learned the rules for wearing a skirt with volume. Unless you're looking to accentuate your hips, you're going to want to take note of these three simple guidelines.

Rule #1: Highlight only one part of your body at a time. Because you are centering your outfit around a skirt with some volume, you're going to want to keep your top simple and streamlined. Try this top (pictured at left) from Eddie Bauer.com. A thin cotton and angora blend, this v-neck, solid colored sweater won't compete for attention with your skirt and will help create the sleek silhouette you're going for.

Rule #2: Don't go bare-legs when you're wearing winter clothing! I'm from Texas, so believe me when I say that I understand wearing flip-flops all the way through February. However, if you're going to dress up in cold-weather clothing, make sure your ENTIRE outfit agrees, including hosiery/stockings. As a natural evolution from the summer-leggings trend, opaque stockings have taken over as the footwear of choice for this fall and winter. Darker colored stockings also help disguise winter-white legs and are generally a more slimming option than nude or sheer hosiery.

Rule #3: Footwear is important. Boots feel like the natural choice for dressing up a winter circular skirt, but this isn't always the case. Depending on the length and shape of your skirt, adding boots to the outfit may make you look too bottom-heavy. A safe bet for skirt-friendly footwear is to pair a round-toed pump with your skirt, sweater, and stockings combo. This way you'll not have to worry about the dreaded pear shape and you'll also visually lengthen your legs by not breaking up your natural lines with a bulky boot.

I'm still loving the look of leggings paired with boots and tunic shirts this fall, even though the weather's getting colder now and that look can be pretty, well, drafty. But I don't want to let the cold weather win by making me wear pants! That's why I was happy to find out about isothermic leggings. I'm not sure exactly how the isothermic thing works since these leggings seem to be made out of the same materials that most other leggings are made out of, but they really are significantly warmer and not at all bulky. So, a big thank you to whatever brilliant mind invented the isothermic leggings, because now we can continue to not wear pants all winter long!

Via: Fashion Week Daily

One of things I anticipate most about fashion is the fall/winter hosiery trend. I love skirts in winter, so it's only natural that I would be a little preoccupied with tights. Looking back to 2003, I wore colorful opaque tights in shades like hot pink and lime green. Then, in 2004 I was back to basic black opaque. Last year, lace and patterned tights were huge. Having been spun around the wheel a couple of times, I expected this year would be all about black, again.

And I was right. All over the runways, you see basic black tights everywhere, and with everything. The best part of this development for the rest of us is that black opaque tights are incredibly wearable and almost universally flattering. This cannot be said about hot pink tights. And if you were smart (or lazy), you probably already have a pair or two on hand.

I was saddened to see footless tights on sale at Urban Outfitters, as it could be interpreted as a sign of the coming fashion apocalypse. These un-socks, since there exists no better term to describe them, are ugly. They might not look that bad on the catologue's model, but have you seen them on a real person? It's not a good thing. Lindsay Lohan's attempts to bring back bike shorts in a non-workout context were bad enough, but we have to draw the line somewhere. And it's not going to be drawn in nylon just below the knee.