Tights

As the temperature drops, I figured I'd talk about some stylish options for cold weather gear. Today's topic is great because it helps transition outfits from summer to winter, keeps your legs warm, and are appropriate for school....tights!
So many tights trends floating around these days: leopard, floral lace, knit, patterned, colored....Here's what to look for and what to leave behind.

Store:
Leopard tights: um....ew? I can't really even say anything more about these. Unless you want to end up looking like Ke$ha, leave the leopard tights in the store. Actually, let's stay away from animal print tights altogether.


Fishnets: unless you're pairing them with a sophisticated pencil skirt and blouse, fishnets are a serious no-no. Be careful when wearing them to verge into hooker-y by keeping the pattern small: smaller pattern, more sophisticated.

Floral lace: I'll admit, there was a time where floral lace tights WERE in, but then they got oversaturated and were replaced by the more wearable patterned tights.


Neon:  If you must, try a gumball blue or orange but keep them footless. Neons are unflattering for clothes, so why in the world would you want them covering your legs? Enough said.


Score:
Patterned: I like these the best. The pattern is the best when it's small and more detailed so they avoid fishnet territory. The kind of patterned I'm talking about is a crocheted-geometric-jumble o stuff, completely different from the afformentioned leopard and lace styles. Must be black (or white, sometimes- see white tights). Add a city-fashionista element by wearing them under shorts.


Colored tights: candy colored legs! Try red, blue, green, orange, purple....whatever you like really. The trick is to keep it perfect paint color shades - like when you open a tube of oil paint and it's not too dark or bright. Light and bright are different btws; light makes it more pastel while bright veers it too close to neon (see neon tights). Oh, and be sure to keep your outfit neutral (or, if you're more daring, in the same color family).


White tights: a bit controversial whether these are hot or not...I'm making an executive decision and declaring them officially cute. Don't wear them with other light colors or then you'll look like a baby shower threw up on you. Can be patterned, but it's kind of hard to find a really cute pair of patterned white tights - believe me. I've been on the hunt for a while now.


Cable knit tights: cute. Adds a bit of texture to an outfit. Pretty self explanatory.

Opaque vs. Sheer black: I like opaque better, but whatever you want I guess. If you're going for sheer though, don't get it too sheer or else it will look like your legs are outlined with a black pen and that's just really awkward looking. Add socks over black tights for an even more fashion-forward look.

Tights are amazing under skirts, shorts, or dresses, but NEVER mistake them for pants. Unless you're a ballerina. Go on tightsarenotpants.com for more info on THAT.