Alicia reviews Pretty Legs 10 denier Luxury tights.

credit(s)legslavish

Alicia is one of our most experienced reviewers having tested well over 100 products for us

Why it's time to embrace tights (and how to do them)

To listen to some women talk about tights, you’d think you had stumbled across a group of foot-binding survivors. Repressive, oppressive – there is not an “ive” that hasn’t been lobbed at tights in recent years. How ironic: tights were invented in 1959 by Allen Gant in response to his wife, who’d had it up to here with suspenders and garters. For a heady moment, tights were emblems of freedom (see Twiggy and Jean Shrimpton cavorting in their mini skirts). Technological advances mean that, theoretically, they still are. They keep you warm. They hide a multitude of leg issues, real and imaginary. They’re your best hope of acquiring legs like Gigi Hadid’s. If you wear skirts in January, you wear tights. End of.

Except – it isn’t. As recently as last winter, fashion experts were doling out tips for bare legging it in the bleakest months. Favourites included ankle boots with sheepskin insoles, invisi-shoe socks or, if you’re British, 7/8th trousers, allowing you to show the smallest sliver of naked flesh, just enough to prove you were tuned in to the zeitgeist. But why bother when you can just wear… tights?It’s complicated. Many of us had to wear them at school. We called them American Tan. We thought they were sophisticated. We are now mortified. If you’re American and obliged to call them pantyhose, there’s even more emotional baggage. Weird as it sounds, I think high waistbands on hosiery may have hammered the final nail in their coffin. In the Noughties, waists (or at least waistbands) dropped to about one centimeter above the pubis. Anything higher looked and felt peculiar. Tights never got with the anatomical programme, which is sad, because Donna Karan built a commercial fashion empire on dark Lycra leg coverings, ultimately floating on the New York Stock Exchange. In 80 Deniers We Trusted, and for a while they did us proud.

Michael Kors, in about 2001, cheerfully shouldered the blame for ushering in the all-year tanned, bare “limo” leg (American Tan, but this time it was your own skin, not some nylon lagging absorbing the orange hue). “It just looked so glamorous at the time,” he enthused later. It’s worth noting that, to this day, Kors has a beauty product called Leg Shine that promises “a sleek, sexy shimmer – just like the runway”.

Kors was right. The bare winter leg did look glamorous. Its subtext: a life of chauffeured door-to-door transport, exotic travel, immunity to the humdrum vagaries of climate. Average was over. Everyone wanted to look like a celebrity and celebrities wanted to look like catwalk models, so they started appearing on red carpets in the flimsiest dresses, with nary a jacket or cape between them. Tights? For deep-vein thrombosis maybe, and those unfortunate enough to work for dreary companies that insist on outmoded rules. But not the modern woman. 

Interestingly, the same modern women who complained that 80 denier tights were suffocating and constricting were happy to contend with bunions, extreme diets and endless toxic encounters with the spray-tan booth – all byproducts of the toned, thin, nude leg look. Comfort is a question of perception.

But this winter, change is a-coming. Hedi Slimane (He Who Must Be Obeyed, as far as many fashion punters are concerned) loves black tights. Sheer as shadows and, because he can’t resist riffing off 16‑year‑olds, ripped to shreds they may be. But they’re still tights.

Slimane’s hardly the only designer backing hosiery. Proenza Schouler had fishnets, Preen, Mary Katrantzou and Henry Holland opted for opaques. Moschino’s were, unsurprisingly, pumpkin-coloured. Many others, including Marc Jacobs, The Row and Anna Sui, went sheer. 

For the first time in years, the autumn/winter 2015 shows actually looked autumn/ wintery. That goes for the men’s shows, too. McQueen, Dries Van Noten and Givenchy all put men in tights. Earlier this year, UKtights.com reported that men accounted for 40 per cent of its sales. For the male wearer, tights are not the stuff of office-drones, but a transgressive, daring choice.

M&S, the undisputed tights leader, with 30 per cent of the UK market, reports that while hosiery sales have been on a downward trajectory, they’re up on last year. Opaques are the most popular. But innovations such as M&S Autograph’s 5D Bare Invisible tights in an array of skin tones, its 10 denier Autograph Ladder Resist tights, Magic 100 denier contour- smoothing tights and new 180D Heatgen™ plus, which are brushed inside for maximum cosiness, are all strong sellers. On a functional note, fashion is favouring hosiery again. Slashed skirts are unthinkable without some kind of thigh coverage; slip dresses look like nighties with bare legs, but with black sheers they start to resemble slinky, grown‑up evening wear, albeit with faint Butterfield 8 undertones. 

Tights have done their time in Siberia. So have our legs. 

Article credit(s) Lisa Armstrong, fashion director, the daily telegraph/xrebel

Opaques and open-toe shoes? Our tights tips for winter.

Can you wear tights with an open-toe shoe? What about a sling-back? These are the sorts of serious discussions we’ve been having here at Telegraph Towers as the weather turns cold. Collectively, the fashion team owns more opaque tights than we’ve enjoyed hot dinners, but, we’ve realised that said opaques don’t go with absolutely every type of shoe in our wardrobe. So, to avoid a faux pas, we’ve canvassed our impeccable editors to determine what shall be henceforth known as the tights rules.

The guide to pairing with patent

Opaque tights + a patent flat or chunky heel = success. What’s less successful however, is teaming a jet-black tight with a shiny pair of spindly heels. 

Tights and an open-toe shoe

Our fashion director Lisa Armstrong clarifies this debate by advising: “It depends if it's clearly a ‘winter’ sandal - e.g. in burgundy/ velvet then yes, but there should be no toe seam visible.” Alexa Chung nails this lesson, of course.

Alexa Chung

Opaques and court shoes

To avoid looking like you’re wearing heeled catsuit, you’re going to have to lower your denier count for evening. It’s important to have definition between legs and shoes. Salma Hayek shows us how it’s done.

Salma Hayek CREDIT: REX

The rules when it comes to coloured footwear

A camel stiletto and a dark tight just looks odd. A chunky camel shoe however, with thick straps, channels an intentionally Sixties vibe.

Tavi Gevinson CREDIT: REC

Our stance on colour

While we’re always going to steer clear of purple, ribbed tights, but our style editor Sophie Warburton has a alternative suggestion to black: grey. “I wear lots of grey tights. Weirdly I think they are more slimming on the leg.”

The jury’s out on slingbacks...

Lisa Armstrong thinks that “opaques are fine with a sling back but must be in immaculate condition. No bobbles or pilling.” But our senior fashion news and features editor, Victoria Moss, says: “I am unconvinced by backless shoe and tights in spite of what Chanel did”. Hmm… you’ll have to judge for yourselves on a case-by-case basis for that one.

Jerry Hall in tights and slingbacks CREDIT: REX

Have Legs, Will Flaunt Them: A Holiday Dressing Tip Fresh From the Chanel Runway.

It is the eternal quest of the fashion savvy to make the minidress work for all seasons. Spring is a no-brainer, summer works with a simple sandal, and fall is a breeze in a long coat—but winter? Winter is full of woes for those who prefer short silhouettes. Sure, one could adopt Edie Sedgwick’s tried-and-true trick of adding opaque black tights to any ensemble, but for evening affairs where the dress code is more chic than cool, a graphic leg is not always the best choice.

Enter Chanel to provide a solution. At the house’s Métiers d’Art 2016 show in Rome, Karl Lagerfeld paired his frilled cocktail frocks with lacy tights. Some were uniformly floral, others were patchworked from different lace patterns, creating a texture that echoed the nubby tweeds or embellished lace of the dresses they were worn with. The idea to pair a textured tight arrives just in time for the winter season, so why not try a lace, point d’esprit, or knit option this season? If it’s good enough for Lagerfeld and Chanel, it’s surely good enough for a December cocktail party.
article credits: STEFF YOTKA

Tired of Your Winter Tights? Here's How to Dress Them Up!

Black doesn't have to be boring

Black tights are a cold weather necessity, but at a certain point (say, mid-February), they can become kind of blah. There's no need to completely toss them aside though! By adding a few super stylish touches, this basic accessory won't seem so boring anymore.

A bold skirt and sweater will instantly amp up your classic base. We recommend you go for totally on-trend black-and-white prints. This color combo is an easy way to step outside your comfort zone while still staying in neutral territory. Copy reader Lauren's look at left by pairing two different patterns—like an animal print and a color-block—that work cohesively within the same color palette.

The next step? Dress up this getup with standout silver booties. Metallics are a great way to update an otherwise mod look. Add a dark coat with a statement collar for a glamorous touch!

And while black is always classic, everything looks better with a pop of color. Choosing a vivid blue will complement the icy tones in the metallic heels. A large envelope clutch is chic (but still daytime-appropriate), and a casual beanie tones down the voluminous fur collar.

article credits Shannon Loughran