Is the Pantyhose-as-Pants Look a Real Thing?

I believed pantyhose had been lifeless, however now it appears as if they’re being handled because the equal of precise pants. Are we actually presupposed to consider the pantyhose-instead-of-pants look I see on social media goes to be a pattern? And I believed leggings had been unhealthy. — Susan, Vancouver, B.C.

It’s true: Pantyhose (one of the vital unappealing names for a garment ever invented) have been on the rise for a couple of seasons now, after disappearing virtually totally from many wardrobes as ladies not within the British royal household had been free of a few of the extra egregious gown code strictures of the previous century.

Invented in 1959 by Allen Gant Sr., who referred to as them “panti-legs,” pantyhose could have revolutionized basis clothes by casting off the girdle, garter belt and stockings, however by the millennium, having the ability to simply say no to pulling on a pair of flesh-sucking sheer tights, after which worrying about unpleasant snags and runs, was an indication of liberation. The style world turned so connected to the Finish of Pantyhose that editors famously went to reveals in February with naked legs and excessive heels, snow be damned.

Then, in September 2022, Matthieu Blazy of Bottega Veneta despatched a navy crew neck down his runway paired with solely darkish hose and heels. Just some months later, Miuccia Prada largely tossed pants and skirts out the window in her Miu Miu present, subversively matching her librarian cardigans and beatnik polo necks with sheer hose and coordinating underwear. A vibe was born. Or reborn.

After all, Mrs. Prada didn’t invent the no-pants look — that was popularized by Edie Sedgwick again when she was Andy Warhol’s It lady, prancing across the Manufacturing facility in black tights and a boat-neck tee (In 1965, Life magazine topped her “the lady with the black tights.”) That will have been the reference when Emma Corrin (an It individual of the second) closed the Miu Miu fall present in a camel turtleneck, gold sparkly bikini bottoms and sheer brown hose.

Little marvel that earlier this month the viewers on the spring 2024 Miu Miu present was chockablock with pants-less influencers, all vying for the title of It lady. Or that to this point the type has been picked up by such figures as Kendall Jenner, who modeled the Bottega look IRL, and Rihanna, who went pantsless at ASAP Rocky’s birthday dinner, carrying solely a ruffled chiffon high, bomber jacket and shiny tights.

That stated, Rihanna is Rihanna, and most of the people who stay in the true world won’t ever willingly forgo their pants in favor of mere tights or pantyhose. However on condition that excessive runway vogue has a approach of trickling down and changing into digestible for on a regular basis, and given the expertise Miuccia Prada has for making in the present day what everybody wears tomorrow, odds are that the no-pants-but-pantyhose look could lead, finally, to a pantyhose renaissance.

Certainly, over the last spherical of fall 2023 reveals, Virginie Viard was pairing white lace tights with virtually each look on her Chanel runway. And Boss, Dolce & Gabbana, LaQuan Smith and Saint Laurent all featured sheer black pantyhose with pencil skirts and cocktail frocks.

All of which is sweet information for individuals who recognize the smoothing, buffing impact that sheer pantyhose has on legs, to not point out the little bit of added heat when the temperature falls. Personally, although, I believe they’d be extra standard if somebody got here up with a greater identify.

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