NYLON - May 2008 - (Page 78) DUDE, WHERE ARE MY PANTS? TIGHTS ARE ALRIGHT The first time I saw a tabloid photo of Mary-Kate Olsen running errands—and by errands I mean she was probably on her way to grab a venti frappuccino at Starbucks—I remember being amazed at how cool and effortless she looked. She was wearing Balenciaga harness booties, a top hat over her stringy blonde hair, and a black baggy jacket with a massive collar. The ensemble looked fairly normal, but there was one thing missing: pants. In lieu of trousers, Olsen had donned only a pair of torn black tights. It might have been odd, but she looked chic and I loved it. It’s no surprise that many young Hollywood actresses—especially the likes of Lindsay Lohan (who is reportedly now designing her own line of leggings), Nicole Richie, and Sienna Miller— have had a love affair with leggings and tights for the past couple of years. They are the easiest way to wear pants without really wearing them, and they go with everything from a T-shirt to a short dress to a cozy sweater. Oh, and did I mention that they are really comfortable? In other words, leggings are the perfect article of clothing for a fashionable lazy dresser, which is precisely what I am. But, before we go any deeper into my love for the ‘anti-pant,’ let’s start off by differentiating between tights and leggings. The textbook definition of tights is a onepiece garment (mainly made of cotton, lycra, and nylon) that extends from the waist to the feet, and fits as snugly as possible to the body. Footless tights—or as I call them, form-fitting trousers—are usually referred to as leggings and tend to be a little thicker. In the ’80s they were worn for aerobics and, largely because of Olivia Newton-John’s “Let’s Get Physical” moment, they became streetwear. These days, as we see on the streets and runways—thank you Alexander Wang for embracing the look in your fall collection, Norma Kamali for introducing gold nylon leggings to the masses, and Carine Roitfeld for sporting black lycra tights before the trend really took off—and at the local malls, one thing is clear: Tights are in fashion again. Only this time, unlike in the ’80s, when they were paired with long sweaters or sweatshirts, they are now being worn without anything covering them up. Their popularity is in many ways a logical progression of the skinny jean trend. Once we became used to the superlean silhouette of the skinny jean, it was as if we needed something even more drastic, and tights became the obvious next step. There are critics out there who think that wearing tights is equivalent to showing too much DO YOU WEAR TROUSERS, OR JUST THROW ON SOME TIGHTS AND CALL IT A DAY? RAJNI LUCIENNE JACQUES AND FIORELLA VALDESOLO TAKE SIDES IN THE TIGHTS-AS-PANTS DEBATE. PHOTOGRAPHED BY ANDREW WOFFINDEN of your goods. And yes, there are some culprits who practice inappropriate tight abuse—I’m not naming names but you starlets know who you are—by showing all of their bit-bits, but that’s because they are not wearing them correctly. If tights are going to be worn as pants, it has to be done right. I follow a few simple rules to assure that I look good without being vulgar. Rule one: When wearing tights (sheer or opaque) make sure your shirt goes past the buttocks, because no one wants to see the crack separating your cheeks or the very unflattering and unfortunate camel toe. Rule two: Only wear open-toe heels with tights if you have on a dress because sporting them with a T-shirt looks trashy. But, wearing a pair of boots (booties, midcalf, or over the knee) with tights and a T-shirt works, because it brings the look together. Last but not least, if the tights start to stretch out or pill, throw them out. No need to save them when you can just buy another pair at American Apparel for about $36. I don’t want people to think that I am a hater of pants, because that is far from the truth. I still wear jeans. I wore a pair last month. It’s just that I have put jeans and pants on the back burner, since tights are more useful to me and my way of living right now. If I wanted to wear knee-high mania stylist: elle werlin. hair: wesley o’meara for kérastase at the wall group. makeup: katey denno for armani at the wall group. model: shannon tillery at marylin. jacket by three dots, top by michael stars, leggings by american apparel, earrings by frame, shoes by ruthie davis.
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