When in Doubt wear Fishnets!-Philippe Matignon Fishnet Tights

Sometimes an outfit is so grand you don't want to overpower it with a pair of loud tights, so if that's the case or your in doubt wear FISHNETS!

Fishnets should be in every woman or man's hosiery wardrobe, and in at least 3 colors; black, brown and nude. Then of course the season's fashionable color.

I often wear fishnets, I have them in every color imaginable. But, I always love to wear a pair of nude fishnets, they are understated and refined way to carry tights. Blending almost seamlessly onto the leg,  and they add just a little something extra to complement even the boldest outfit.

This is my favorite new FALL outfit! 

I can't wait to play in a giant pile of leaves!

 Max was in the spirt too, he is wearing his tweed jacket with leather arm patches

So if you wear a lot of patterns, or want to feel like you are not the cooperate suit that you sometimes feel like, wear NUDE fishnets, they will make any outfit feel that much more interesting.

These classic NUDE fishnets are from Philippe Matignon and are available from PEEKBrooklyn.com in three great colors!!

New York Burlesque Festival in Love Me Hold-Ups...coming soon to PeekBrooklyn.com

Greetings from the New York Burlesque Festival!

For the ninth year the finest Pasties and Tassles take the stage for the New York Burlesque Festival, a weekend jam-packed with the glittering stars of New York's Burlesque scene. This year PeekBrooklyn.com is proud to be one of the sponsors....

So in the grand tradition of flaunting my unique hosiery collection, I stepped out in a pair of Burlesque inspired Love Me hold-ups!

Love Me Hold-Ups

This pair of hold-ups are a 60 denier in front and on the back they have faux key holes up the back adorned with a faux belt clasp. Perfect for a Burlesque Festival. My brand new Leopard Print shoes, pinched the way new shoes should but added the flair my all black outfit needed.

The Love Me Brand are one of my favorite brands! I am hoping to carry them at PeekBrooklyn.com  very soon. 

In honor of the New York Burlesque Festival PeekBrooklyn.com is offering Peek is offering a teaser special enter coupon code BURLESQUE at check out! 

I'm BACK!! in Fall's hottest trend in hosiery the Polka Dot tight

After a brief Hiatus well not really brief but Max's summer vacation- I am BACK! and in full force...

Max and I had an amazing summer plenty of swimming in the ocean playing at the park and enjoying the last summer before he begins Public School, which he did on Sept 8th. Which was very exciting, and brings us both to the next chapter in our lives. Mine is PEEK Brooklyn, an on-line hosiery boutique that will carry a selection of hand picked hosiery by me from around the world "The Finest Hosiery the world has to offer" Which is a carefully mastered plan that has taken me a full year to execute, and will take me the rest of my life to perfect god willing of course.

To kick things off in to full gear I am wearing the hottest trend in hosiery at the moment; the Polka Dot Tight. I very much wanted to sport the Falke Polka Dot tight that is all over Vogue or the Wolford Polka Dots. But, I am wearing the Sneaky Fox Dots that I purchased from ModCloth

In about 2 weeks you will be able to purchase the Big Dots from me by the Commando Brand. Until then keep restrain yourselves from purchasing them elsewhere...

In preperation for my trip to the South of France

In preperation for my up coming trip to the South of France I felt it necessary to wear a floral print! The Lavender won't be in bloom this time of year, but this skirt can definitely get you in the mood.

With this look I often go-dare I say it BARE legged...so when I put these white "leggings" on it felt odd at first.  These white capri length leggings are from Nordstrom. They have the feel of lace with a bit of stretch. This is the first time I am wearing them this season, and it won't be my last. They will be be one of the pairs I bring on the trip, Nice Grasse, Aix, Arles I am ready!

Which brings me to my dilemma. I am contemplating what to pack for the trip. I will be bringing some hosiery, the weather will be warmer so it will be mostly for evening. I will also be going shopping for hosiery, and don't want to over pack.

My debate begins with my full leather skirt. I have the skirt below in black, do I bring it or is it too dark?

I plan on pairing it with a lace tee-shirt...so is it too much?

The other item I am on the fence about bringing is this pair of off-white lace shorts...can I pull them off?

Of course I "Cannes"

An afternoon in the private garden at the Cooper Hewitt

On May 21, 2011 my sister graduated from the Master's Program at the Cooper Hewitt/Parsons School from the History of Decorative Arts and Design program with a M.A, with the highest G.P.A- We are so proud of her!

The day was filled with sparkle and chocolate cupcakes!  We strolled through the Van Cleef and Arpels exhibit, and Max even ran around the largest private garden in NYC.

For this extra special day I decided to wear one of the Dresses, Nathan brought me home from China earlier this year. I paired the dress with an extra special pair of black Calzedonia Tights. For this dress I felt it was important that the denier was high around 50+ to help the dress truly pop. Then too add a little peek of something special these Calzedonia have a lace panel that just peek out of the slits in the side.

Kate even wore a pair of Blue Chintz inspired tights that Laura Angela had brought me from Paris.

 

 These are my favorite flowers to look at..

Les Puces de Paris

In Paris there is no shortage of great shopping. I do not limit myself to only buying hosiery but unique items that one can’t find even in NYC.

Les Puces de Paris, a fantastic Market on the outskirts of the city, has some of the most interesting shopping in Paris. You can find everything from Art Deco Lamps, Vintage Ricard water jugs, vintage hosiery and estate Jewelry. My favorite purchase is by far my leather trench coat. It makes me feel like an undercover super-hero Indiana Jones meets Wonder Woman. However  I think my super hero name would be Stocking Girl, but that might just be too cliché.

I am always on the quest to add to my vintage hosiery collection. As you could imagine, vintage hosiery is hard to come by. Since the nylon used in  hosiery is delicate and disintegrate over time.

The Nylon that is used in modern hosiery was developed during WW 2 when there were storage of silk. The silk was being used for other more important things, like parachutes for the soldiers, which they also replaced with NYLON. The word Nylon is said to come from the combining the names of the founding cities NY for New York and LON for London. Debatable- Some say it came from the scientist combining the words for Rayon and Cotton...

Silk was very limited in the way that it could be used for hosiery. Basics that are still made today are seamed and unseamed fully fashioned stockings. The use of NYLON in weaving techniques have allowed for more intricate designs and lower prices.

My hold-ups today are from Calzedonia a beautiful diamond pattern.

New Brand Obession- Les Queues du Sardines

For my Hoseiry collection I am always on the look out for the most interesting visual take on the season's trends.  Normally it's different combinations of dots, lace, faux suspender and floral motifs, In either neutral, black, with the occasional odd Italian color combination. 


So when I came across Les Queues du Sardines  which means Sardine Tails in French I was blown away by their unconventional style. This indie French brand add humor to the normal every day opaque and sheer tights. The tights are screen printed. Each pair are  unique and will never go unnoticed. 

Stocking Around Town with Majoire Helene Hache

Here is my friend Marjorie! I met Marjorie when she came to NYC with my friend Laura Angela! She brought me the tights I am wearing in this post. Marjorie lives and works in Paris-very lucky girl!

She definitely has the best dressed legs in Paris!

Similar Pair by Sneaky Fox

Colleen Atwood inspired Outfit and Hold-Ups

Colleen Atwood is by far my favorite Hollywood costume designer. Yes, there are some pretty amazing costume designers out there, but by far Colleen Atwood has a  unique style and it runs through every film she is involved in from Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow & Sweeny Todd to Tom Hank's That thing you do! She even did the costumes for NINE which were the only good thing about that terrible movie.

 

Whenever I think of Colleen Atwood I think of vertical stripes in black and white. A style I like to call Gothic, Steampunk meets German Expressionism with a lacy Victorian twist. However it’s hard to define her in only one category. Colleen’s costumes range from Silence of the Lambs to Public Enemy and even Memoirs of a Geisha and my personal favorite Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events.

Tim Burton's Alice In Wonderland

Colleen's verison of the Red Queen

worn by Helena Bonham Carter*

Tim Burton's muse Helena Bonham Carter in her costume for Sweeny Todd*

A image from Lemony Snicket’s Series of Unfortunate Events. *

My favorite Scene from Sweeny Todd*

Did I mention Colleen did the costumes for Chicago too*

I would love the chance to chat with Colleen Atwood and talk about her inspirations and discuss my ideas for my designs for hosiery. I had a similar dream when I met Tim Burton at the Press Day for his show at the MoMa, I only got a chance for a brief discussion about what his films have meant to me. 

Needless to say my script that I have been holding on to for 13 years remained in my purse! But I did leave with an autograph in Max’s Nightmare before Christmas book. If I did get a chance to talk with Colleen Atwood, it would be different. I swear!

My tights today are the brand Bas Love Me. My favorite little indie brand from Paris! They always have a cute pin-up girl on the package and are scented! This particular pair is hold-ups with my favorite little touch, the name “love me” stitched into the top portion of the hold up are a sheer denier of 20 with vertical strips -very Colleen Atwood. I would say this pair are a mustfor any Steampunker out there! My top has the feel of a corset, especially since I must of shrunk it the last time I washed it, my button popped!

These hold ups are particualary special, my friend Laura Angela brought them when she came to visit from Paris last month-THANK YOU AGAIN!! Laura Angela!

*Note the legwear in the Colleen Atwood Film Stills

Monoprix Collant

In France there is an amazing selection of Hosiery- From Galeries Lafayette to Monoprix. French women wear hosiery even in the summer.  There are boutiques that house fantastic French brands like Gerbe and Cervin and small boutiques with selections of hosiery that are eclectic, and full of surprises. I could spend a lifetime in the backstreets of Paris turning up new finds.

Monoprix is a SUPERmarket! - Think Target with style. They have everything from a vast selection of Yogurts and other grocery's- children's clothes and yes hosiery! Monoprix is always on point of the trends of the season, and their hosiery is no exception. The color of the hold-ups below are purple fishnets, I know I said I don't wear fishnets but purple ones I can make an exception for. They always have fishnets in the current trend colors, and in both hold-ups and tights. They are only around 8 Euro's so I bought two pairs of both.  They have trendy leggings and basics like opaque black and neutral skin tones. After spending close to 100 Euros I had to make my way over the cookie aisle and buy my favorites-  Lotus Speculoos and a bottle of wine that didn't cost more than 4 Euros and finally a shirt for Max, because they have the cutest kids clothes. This was the least expensive hosiery buy of the trip.

The combination of purple fishnets, black mini and combat style boots make me feel like it's 1997, with the exception of my very grown up Eileen Fisher sweater that I bought at the sample sale at work. I was going to attempt to wear one grey fishnet hold up and one purple, but my conservative nature got the better of me. So in the mean time I will have to conjure up another outfit for my grey fishnet hold-ups. 

Gerbe-Laçage Collants

There is nothing better then unveiling a brand new pair of tights for a special occasion. Today I had something special happening so I decided to wear my new pair of Gerbe Laçage Tights that I purchased in the hosiery store "Elegance" in Penn Station, one of the best hosiery stores, and until now, one of the best kept secerts in the whole of New York City!

Gerbe is a French brand that I first discovered in Paris. They have some of the most exciting trends in tights. They have been extremely hard to hard to find in the US  until recently, and they even have a new and improved website! Gerbe has something for everyone-they make fully fashioned stockings, to the best opaque black tights, sun kissed tights for those days before you legs are tan and even hosiery for men.

The Gerbe Laçage tights are part of their Limited Edition Collection. Their limited editions are only out for a year or until they sell out so you have to make an instant decision not to miss out. I have miss out on many pairs throughout the years, which when you are a "collector" like me can be frustrating. After waiting for the perfect occasion to wear my Gerbe Laçage Tights, and receiving a few double takes and compliments, I snagged them on the knee. So they are going straight back itno my collection before anything else can happen to these real one of a kind.

Laçage translates to "Lacing"

These Tights have the apperence of a Tall Lace Up boot!

New-Gerbe Collant Kilim

These are brand new out of the package! I recently purchased them at the hosiery shop inside Penn Station, I know Penn Station but they are one of the only places in NYC that you can find this brand of hosiery. Gerbe is a French brand and is similar to Wolford. I have 6 pairs of this brand that I bought at Galeries Lafayette in Paris not Penn Station...

These tights are beautiful, the pattern is called Kilim . They have an all over folk art design on a sheer base. I find the pattern both exotic and exciting.

I always get asked how to wear a pattern tight with a patterned skirt. This is a nice example. This skirt looks like a cross between and ink blot and a watercolor, the skirt is from JCrew and no longer available. The structure to the pattern on the tights in a nice compliment to the abstract pattern of the skirt.
By pairing it with a plain top it makes your outfit seem less busy...

I recently came upon this posting at AlreadyPretty.com. I think this a great go to guide for anyone that might be nervous about wearing those great tights that have been hiding in your drawer.

Am I a Can-Can dancer or a Mime?

These are a pair of tights from Pretty Polly. They have a Faux over the Knee effect. I received these as a sample when I was going to do some Freelance work for the US launch of Pretty Polly.

I like pairing these tights with skirts that are on the shorter side so you can get the full effect. Today's outfit sort of looks like a cross between a French Mime/Can Can dancer. With a striped shirt you always have to keep your hosiery on the simple side, too many patterns in my opinion make an outfit look to busy.

I personally don't like my smile in this picture, but it will have to do :)