Road Test: Patterned Tights

Forget 'mantyhose,' that's so last week - now that the barbecue summer has finally fizzled out we turn our thoughts to a bit of autumn leg coverage. And with Balenciaga and Marc Jacobs showing patterned tights on their A/W 09 catwalks, we decided it's time to channel our inner Mary Quant...with a little help (and some free tights!) from Charnos:

Adrienne Wyper, from allaboutyou.com, in luxury cotton diamond tights



Adrienne says:
'Having looked at the six leg shapes identified, I reckon I'm 'wine glass' although probably without the 'amazing ankles! I loved the high relief of the luxury cotton diamond pattern tights I tried on. The detailed texture of the yarn looks much more high-end than a simple criss-cross, and reminded me of open-weave basketwork. The colour was a deep, warm plum, sitting happily in autumn's palette of purples, so they're going to get a lot of wear!'

That's Not My Age standing on the bed in checked 'fashion' tights



That's Not My Age says:
'Ooh, I'm a showgirl and 'Lessons in Legs' says I can afford to be daring - but fishnets for day? I don't think so. Instead I opted for a pair of checkerboard tights, which looked like houndstooth in the packet but once the white cardboard was removed (from inside the leg), were not quite so er, daring. Think I'll stick to opaques - not much of a showgirl, eh?

The verdict:
Patterned tights are a good thing. They act like camouflage, break up the silhouette and give people something to look at other than the shape of your legs. They also add a bit of oomph to an outfit, some wardrobe staples can be a little dull if not livened up with accessories. We also like Wolford's 'Twiggy' tights and Henry Holland's 'Colour Card' tights for Pretty Polly. Available from Tights Please. But if in doubt, opaques will do nicely - and whilst we're on the subject, can we just say we don't have a problem with Sarah Brown's choice of hosiery. Leave her legs alone!

Photos: The sixties picture does not belong to That's Not My Age and may be subject to copyright (we swiped it from Plain Jayne)