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!!

Phillip Matignon Jade "Kiss Me Kate Tights" Fall's Highbrow Hosiery Trend

One of falls hottest hosiery trends are nude pantyhose! Yes, the nude leg is back! Thanks to The Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton. The hottest trend in hosiery to cross the pond since the invention of NYLON...

Kate Middleton in Jade Tights

I have always leaned toward the patterned tights of the world, but there has always been room for the perfect pair of nude pantyhose. Something that accentuates the leg just enough to make your pins appear longer, especially if your on the shorter side like me. Then I always look for something so nude, that you can't tell that I am even wearing pantyhose, and if its for evening something with a little bit of a shine.

A pair of pantyhose or tights that incapsulates all of these qualitites are the Kiss me Kate or Jade Tights from the PHILLIPE MATIGNON brand. They add shine, and hide the fact that our legs are loosing the tan from the summer.

A trend so High Brow it made the New York Magazine Matrix

Phillip Matignon Jade Kiss me Kate Pantyhose Tights are available here @ PeekBrooklyn.com

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..

My next hosiery purchase - Oroblu Annis Lurex Tights

While browsing on-line, I came across these Oroblu Annis Lurex tights. I will hopefully be adding them to my collection soon!

The Annis lurex tights like all Oroblu tights have an interesting color way; brown with a blue and yellow floral print. They feel as if might have been inspired by William Morris Wallpaper.

They will be the perfect pair for the changing season from winter to spring or even for fall.

Both of these William Morris Wallpaper patterns would be perfect designs for a pair of vibrant tights! 

William Morris Wallpaper

William Morris Wallpaper

Futuristic Tron Tights

I am always amazed by the variety of hosiery that is out there in this world.  There is something for every style and taste. From the plainest Jane tights to stylish "of the moment" trends. Some of the most amazing hosiery are "of the moment" trends that reflect pop culture or a reinterpretation of a classic.

 Trends come and go, but style reamains- and sometimes they can be a total miss or against all fashion odds- successful. The  tights I am wearing today are truly an interesting addition to any outfit. They feel like I should be in the movie TRON, or an eighties advertisement for a computer. They also have the look of that old school Windows screen saver.

I purchased them at Goldenpoint a European hosiery store in 2009, I think they might be the brand Sisi but I didn't keep as detailed a record as I do now.

Oroblu Tights

Italian hosiery has always reflected that country's unique style, sexiness and brovado. Unlike the more understated French hosiery with natural colors and heavier deniers, Italian hosiery is an explosion of colorful graphics and odd color combinations. I have countless pairs that feature color stories that are difficult to wear and showcase with out buying specific outfits to wear with them.

The brand Oroblu is no exception. They have classic hosiery, or as they call it the couture high-end chic. The elegance collection, the daily collection, the ex cell collection that help massage the cellulite out your legs and the bronzing collection that give your legs the appearance of being tan, similar to the Gerbe sunlight collection.

They even have the Miss Oroblu collection which is a "younger" version of the Trend line that Oroblu creates for the fall/winter and spring/summer seasons. I always eye up the brand, and often resist

This pair of Oroblu tights are from the fall 2010 collection remind me of a Harlequin or Picasso painting. I purchased them at Nordstrom's this past weekend.

When I first picked them up I wasn't thrilled by the color, but very intrigued by the pattern. I turned them around to find that they were gray and purple, SCORE! Then when I got home I found they had a third color, green. Well like I said, classic Italian hosiery-great patterns odd color combos! I paired them with a simple black outfit and gray sweater. I only wish I would of worn a shorter skirt to truly showcase the bold pattern.

I'm in Love with these Trasparenze Gillian Hold Ups!

Everyday I see hosiery that I want! If I bought every pair, then I know I would have a problem. Also, I think my collection would start to over run my house. I already can't store the pairs I have. But, these I know I can't live without! Did I mention that my friend Laura Angela just brought me 6 pairs from Paris and Nathan is bringing me home a few pairs from China!!

These Hold-Ups are from Trasparenze a lovely Italian Brand, that makes both funky and sexy hosiery. I first discovered them at Goldenpoint a few years ago. You can find them at My Tights and occasionally at Tj Maxx among other small Lingerie boutiques. These are a great design, not only do I love love love the lace detail going up the back of the leg the front portion is covered in polka dots. So very Italian... These pair will only set you back about $25.00, and are always excellent quality. I have pairs from this brand that have lasted for years.

People sometimes are intimidated by Hold-ups, they worry that the Hold-ups will fall down in the middle of the day. The trick is wetting the rubber portion with a little water. It makes the rubber, (yes its rubber) stick better. Or if that doesn't work you could always for extra protection buy sock garters which are also great if the rubber in a favorite pair of Hold-ups are on there last leg. .

WSJ Article-What your Legs are Saying about You

I stumbled upon this article in the WSJ today on FISHnet which is the Intranet where I work. The article "What Your Legs Say About You"is basically my blog in a nutshell, minus me. The article was totally encouraging packed with a ton of fun facts about what to expect for Spring 11 hosiery and how Fall 11 is going to be HUGE for hosiery. Not that I needed any validation from the fashion industry on this, I love all things hosiery after all. 

"What Your Legs Say About You", also discusses where to wear hosiery, and what is suitable for different types of work environments. I know one of the main reasons I started wearing funky hosiery was because of a dress code I had to wear at work. When I worked for M.A.C we were required to wear all black. So I would wear funky tights etc to jazz up my outfit and it stuck. It became my thing. I felt proud and totally indulged my habit. There was one down side which was also touched on in the article. That some hosiery styles can be labeled as "Gothic". 

I do want to point out a common misconception about hosiery being the "Goth" accessory. I honestly hate that connotation. Hosiery, yes, is worn by all sorts of people, which includes Goth's but it was once also the staple of every woman's wardrobe. I feel it pulls an outfit together that adds a layer of creativity mixed with sophistication. Also, in Europe its totally normal for someone in any sort of profession to wear a great patterned hosiery and just because you like something that happens to be different there is no reason to have to give it a label. 

I found this little matrix fun that was also in the WSJ article "What your Legs say about You"

After all of that, I would like to talk about my outfit and hosiery pick of the day. These are my absolute favorite pair of tights. They are from Wolford, the creme da la creme, at least here in the states since other great brands are not so available. I work in a fairly causal office as far as the fashion industry goes. 

I work at the Creative Center of Eileen Fisher. There we have every sort of style, which is great. You can really just be yourself and not worry about the label. Most people wear Eileen Fisher, but its not required. Eileen Fisher has had a reputation about being only for woman of a certain age, but in recent years they have crossed all barriers at least in my opinion and there current collection has something for the loyal Eileen Fisher client as well as the new Eileen Fisher client. 

These tights were a great find. Wolford has amazing quality, but patterns and styles have not been my taste the last few seasons.  I do however have a few pairs on my wish list, but at $55.00+ a pair 

I will have to wait till the end of the season... 

*as a little tip-you can sometimes find these at places like Tj Maxx. I saw these particualr tights at Bergdorf Goodman and even with my employee discount I had at the time I still had to pass them up.

 I later found them at Tj Maxx for $19.99. Which made it easier to buy them in both colors!*

Lace Tights and Tweed

This pair of Tights is from a store called GoldenPoint. Its a chain store in Europe that carries nothing but hosiery in winter and swimwear in the summer. GoldenPoint 


I think these particular pair I think were the brand Omsa. They are the the perfect shade of brown and they are about a 20 or 30 Den so they can be worn into the spring. 


I paired them with my new blouse that my grandmother gave me for Christmas which is from Chadwicks and the perfect pencil skirt from Zara its a dark brown and black tweed with a simple kick pleat in the back. I usually wear Retro (from MAC) lipstick with this outfit, but forgot to reapply before I took this photo.


I have worn these tights with many different outfits, but this one is my favorite!

Tutti Fruiti

These are a pair of tights that I got when I was working on developing my own line. Needless to say I only got as far as the sample process, for now. But, the best part was I got to keep ALL of the samples for free.

These are very unique and are a very Italian looking pair of tights. There are a total of 5 colors. I thought and thought about how to wear them. Then I stumbled upon a skirt that was hiding in my closet that I bought at Athletica which was the same color as the lighter purple, and with a black shirt and black wrap sweater I was set, and I finished the look with my short black Frye Boots of course!