What color pantyhose/tights do you wear with what color shoes?

[heidi.bier]

What color nylons/tights/pantyhose do you like to match with what color shoes? I find that I tend to almost always wear my black, brown or suntan nylons with my black, brown or dark red boots. There are so many other colors out there. I was wondering how others mix and match colors and if anyone is daring and wears some of the hot colors this season including bright pink, hot purple, etc. The most daring I got was one time when I wanted to try to prevent a run in my pantyhose for a big work presentation. My brown pantyhose was in the wash and I did not want the tops of my boots to cause my pantyhose to have ladders. Thus that day, I wore my brown business suit with a pencil skirt, my brown knee high boots with 3" heels and I double layered my pantyhose. I wore black on the inside layer and white on the outside layer. When combined, they looked almost brown and with double layers, it would not run so easily. That was my most daring color co-ordination attempt so far. Anyone care to share their stories?

[Cinnamon]

For me, it really depends on the rest of the outfit too. I'm quite a fan of fishnet too, though as a general rule, I never go for dark stockings with lighter shoes. I like to be adventurous with stockings, though not in terms of colour. My staples are backseamed with either a cuban or french point heel, but the seam can be various colours, or even with one pair from Agent Provocateur, a snake winding down the back of the leg. I have a weakness for bows too that sit just above the heel. Very colourful stockings tend not to fit into my personal style, so I stick to nude or sheer black.

[karen]

I find, I can go with a lot of color combinations. I can go all dark for that gloomy look or go with something spunky with mismatched colors. That's on the weekend. Most of the time, I don't wear panythose. But if I do, I'll wear nude pantyhose with dark shoes. Off white pantyhose may work with darker shoes, depending on the outfit. I'll also go with black mist or off black pantyhose to go with black shoes. For work I have to wear a suit with matching blouse, legs can go bare or wear nude or tan nylons. It's boring there. Shoes are primarily pumps, but some women are getting away with strappy stilettos. I'll occasionaly wear slingbacks or open toe pumps.

[heidi.bier]

I'm quite a fan of fishnet too, though as a general rule, I never go for dark stockings with lighter shoes.

When you wear fishnet stockings, do you wear them as is or do you wear a pair of suntan pantyhose underneath the fishnet stockings?

I find that if I just wear fishnet stockings by itself, I feel like I am wearing nothing so I always pair them with a pair of preferably opaque suntan pantyhose underneath. Then I can choose any color fishnets I want on top for when I go clubbing. This way, I look like I have almost nothing on when in fact I am covered up

[Cinnamon]

I wear the fishnets as they are, I don't really wear tights and I find two pairs of stockings a little uncomfortable and awkward in the suspender clips.

[heidi.bier]

I've never done two pairs of stockings before. With fishnets, it is pantyhose on the inside and fishnet stockings held up by an elastic top. When you wear stockings with clips, are you ever afraid the the clips might show?

[karen]

Now fishnets are something else. I've only worn them during Halloween here in the US. It just doesn't look good on me. At least, that's how I feel about it.

[Cinnamon]

I'm not too fussed about clips showing through a little, though on very clingy garments, I tend to opt for hold ups if the clips would ruin the fluidity of the garment. Fishnets, I find, are a little funny in terms of the different kinds out there. Some I think look awful, but if you opt for a tighter mesh and of a good quality, they look good. The best stockings available, in my opinion, are the micromesh ones rather than traditional style. They're impossible to ladder and look just as good if not better. They do tend to cost a little more though. The last pair I got were £35, but it's worth the extra as one pair costs less in the long term than buying multiple pairs of fully fashioned that will get snagged and ladder within a couple of wears. I fear we may get a slap on the wrist for taking this thread too off the topic of shoes

[karen]

I don't think they will mind. Usually hosiery and shoes go hand in hand for the most part.

[heidi.bier]

What brands make these micro mesh stockings? Are they available in pantyhose as well? For important functions like big meetings, meeting certain clients, attending weddings, attending semi-formal parties, I usually go without socks in my boots and instead wear two pairs of thick pantyhose. Thicker pantyhose tends to run less and two pairs reinforce each other very well to the point that I am very confident that it won't run on me. It looks really bad if you are taking pictures and the run in your pantyhose shows!

[karen]

I would believe that most nylon manufacturers carry micro mesh stockings. If I ever have runs, I usually throw them away. But since I don't wear nylons (for the most part at least), I don't deal with a lot of runs. They feel too stuffy. I always prefer bare.

[heidi.bier]

The big brands I have seen here don't seem to have the word 'micro mesh' anywhere on their packaging. Maybe it is an American thing?

[karen]

I'm not a pantyhose expert, but you could try a company like this:

http://www.hue.com/legwear/hosiery/micro-mesh-control-top-pantyhose.aspx

You mentioned before that you wear two panythose a time? It's mainly for padding right? Do you get hot wearing nylons in layers like that?

[heidi.bier]

I'm not a pantyhose expert, but you could try a company like this:

http://www.hue.com/legwear/hosiery/micro-mesh-control-top-pantyhose.aspx

You mentioned before that you wear two panythose a time? It's mainly for padding right? Do you get hot wearing nylons in layers like that?

Thank you for the link to Hue! They seem to have the micro mesh design in traditional colors. I will see if they sell that brand near where I live. I usually don't go by brand very much, I select whatever is at the pharmacy or socks store. I like to choose by color and pattern more then anything else. I know for you, it is convenient since you don't need to match your pantyhose with your clothes

For certain functions, if I know I will be standing, walking, dancing for any length of time, I would either wear two pairs of pantyhose or one pair of pantyhose and one pair of socks inside my high heel boots.

Two pairs of pantyhose minimize the odds of running and I prefer dancer pantyhose as opposed to regular pantyhose. Dancer pantyhose is much thicker, it is the kind cheerleaders wear in America. They run less and have more padding as well.

If I want even more padding, I would go with one pair of dancer's pantyhose and have wool socks on inside the pantyhose to absorb sweat. The pantyhose + socks + fur lining inside my dressy high heel boots all combine for excellent padding which allows me to wear the higher heels, 2.5" or higher for long periods of time without tiring out so fast but you are right, it can get pretty warm, especially during the warmer months. Oh, the things we girls do to look pretty in our high heels

[Cinnamon]

I have no idea if the micro mesh stockings are "an American thing" as I'm British and living in London. Hot foot it to any good quality department store like Selfridges or Harvey Nicks and you'll find them. My favourite micro mesh brand are Lejaby, but I never noticed them doing panty hose. But like I said, I don't wear them so don't really look out for them.

[heidi.bier]

Cinnamon, these days, are you going more with hold up stockings, stockings that clips to a garter belt or just bare legs? What seems to be popular in the UK these days, or more particularly London, one of the fashion capitals of the world?

[Cinnamon]

What is popular and trendy isn't usually synonymous with what I wear. I tend to just stick to styles that I like and suit me rather than following what the fashion magazines dictate. So, in answer to the latter question first, I'm probably not the best person to ask as a representative on other women's hosiery choices. Harrods and Selfridges etc. seem to have a rather even keel between the two in terms of selection. I would imagine that to get an accurate answer to that you'd have to either get hold of the hosiery sales figures from M&S or conduct a consumer survey. I can however talk for myself and answer the first question. Similarly to when I first made the switch from tights to stockings when I was 15, I prefer to wear stockings, but as aforementioned, when the clips show through too much I opt for hold ups, but predominantly stockings with a suspender belt - preferably 6 metal clips. I rarely go bare legged completely unless in obvious circumstances such as swimming/sun bathing etc. I personally have never cared for the bare leg look and tend towards the French attitudes to fashion rather than laissez-faire approaches displayed in the UK such as pattern mis-matching and mixing browns/blacks/navy blues willy nilly. I find bare legs make a look unfinished. Just my personal opinion, though bear in mind that as a natural redhead I don't tan and thus don't really dig the mini milk look. Girls with perfectly tanned, unblemished and hair free legs can get away with it. Unfortunately, so many don't fit all three criteria and stubble/ingrown hairs and other unsightly things tend to be paraded round. A product I'd be keen to experiment with was the spray on stocking stuff I once saw. Perhaps that would be the bridge of compromise for warmer days My fashion icon of all time is Christian Dior, and I follow a fair bit of his advice that was issued in the late 40s and 50s. I think that probably says a lot about where I stand on the matter. Whilst fashion ought to be played around with and one ought to have fun with it, fashion and style tend to be different practices that don't always go hand in hand. One can be stylish without wearing trendy clothes, and vice versa, but I find the religious trend followers tend to look like people who have fallen for a mass sales pitch. So I'm probably not the best person to ask in terms of trends. I do read Vogue and Harpers loosely, but disregard anything that doesn't apply to me since I don't work as a stylist despite being accused of it in the past.

[Alexa]

Here in the UK midlands one sees a lot of young women sporting bare legs, even when the weather is not that warm. As a shoe-oholic I tend to look at what people are wearing, and I’ve noticed that as time goes by there’s a lot less hosiery, certainly compared to when I was a child. I do like to see retro fashions, especially when they’re done well, so Cinnamon’s style sounds absolutely delicious. As you’ll have noticed from other posts, I use those spray on hosiery products. My skin takes a tan very slowly, and when I’ve done so it has required many hours on a sunbed over a number of months to build up any colour. However, my legs look much paler than my face and arms if I leave them to their own devices, so the aerosol products are a quick and easy alternative. Yes, it’s worth buying yourself one or two to experiment with, as they’re only a few pounds. Not everyone gets along with them, as you’ll see from online product reviews, but I find them good value. When you’re experimenting for the first few times it’s a good idea to do so over the bath, so any overspray can be cleaned up easily!

Alexa

[Cinnamon]

Thanks for the tips Alexa, I'll pick up a can when I'm next passing the chemists

[heidi.bier]

Cinnamon, like yourself, I read a lot of fashion magazines but only selectively follow fashion trends. Tights, stockings, pantyhose, nylons of any sort was out of fashion from about 2003 until 2008. Now I know they are making a big comeback as designers of all stripes are coming out with newer better materials they run less, more comfortable materials and all sorts of fun, sexy, creative, playful patterns. Also like yourself, I am almost never found with bare legs as I am too white and too shy. I wear my pantyhose/tights seven days a week, more conservative colours on weekdays to work and more playful fun patterns on weekends. After getting used to regularly wearing pantyhose, I feel very exposed without them on. You said you like to wear clips to hold them up to a garter belt or stay ups. Do your bfs enjoy playing with the clips? I know that is a very big tease and if I ever wore stockings on a date, I know it would attract his attention for sure.

[Alexa]

To get the full 1940s aesthetic Cinnamon, you could always draw lines up the back of your legs! Alexa

[Cinnamon]

Haha my grandmother always used gravy browning to do hers. Personally, I prefer post war fashion and the days when the industry gave fabric rationing a firm middle finger salute. I've seen girls with a back seam tattooed on the back of their legs too. I suppose they'd save money on buying real FF stockings.

[karen]

OMG, an actual seam tattoo? Can you imagine if she goes swimming out in public?

[Cinnamon]

To be fair, there were several other rockabilly/sailor jerry style tattoos on many of the girls I've seen with tattooed seams, so it kind of fits. I'd be too concerned of the tattooist not getting my seams straight. The ability to tug and pull them into place is somewhat reassuring

[heidi.bier]

The patterns I have seen on tights is a huge variety these days. All sorts of flowery patterns and designs. Cartoon characters on nylons is something that I have seen in Germany and Japan. I have seen Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Hello Kitty, Betty Boop, Pebbles Flintstone, Snoopy, Garfield, Healthcliff, Tweetie Bird, Barbie, Bratz. Some may be look alikes but they sure draw attention to your legs.