Feeling Festive: The tights edit
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Without trying to sound melodramatic tights are one of the most underrated items of the modern woman’s wardrobe. We ladies take for granted our tights; back in the day before tights were the norm it was all girdles and stockings which sounds supremely uncomfortable and immensely impractical. With hemlines rising in the 60’s women needed an alternative to stockings and that brought along the birth of tights as we know them now.
Although let’s not forget that women weren’t the first of the sexes to don a pair of tights, originally men wore thick tights to make horse-riding a little easier but spotting a man in a pair of tights now is as rare as a lunar eclipse – unless you live next door to superman!
So it’s safe to say that we’re big fans of tights, we might even say that they are one of the most essential wardrobe item! Every girl has a pair or two from plain black for work or school to those clever little nude ones perfect for going out if bare legs just don’t appeal to you in mid-December! We’ve put together a little list of some of our favourite festive tights available online and also drawn up a couple of handy hints and tips to keep your tights in good condition so you don’t have to go through 500 pairs a year!
Top 10 Christmas Tights
1) Pamela Mann – Holly Christmas Tights - £8.49 - Pamela Mann
These brilliantly festive tights are perfect for Christmas day and will add a touch of festive cheer to any outfit with the cool holly print. We’d team these babies up with a crimson dress to tie in the holly berries.
2) ASDA – Red and white striped tights - £2.50 - Asda
Have any Christmas fancy dress on the horizon? Well these cool red and white striped tights are a perfect addition – we’re thinking along the lines of an elf or candy cane.
3) Celeste Stein Christmas Ornament glitter tights - £15.95 - Celeste Stein
If you’re looking to outshine the Christmas tree this winter then these tights from Celeste Stein will help you get there! With glittery tree ornaments you will certainly be the centre of attention on the big day.
4) M&S - Limited Edition Sparkle Baroque Tights - £12.00 - M&S
Baroque is one of our favourite trends this season so what easier way to rock a trend than with these awesome sparkly baroque tights from Marks & Spencer?
5) Topshop – Wine brocade glitter tights - £15.00 - Topshop
Topshop always has a fantastic range of interesting tights and we think these brocade tights are brilliant for the office Christmas party, great with a little black dress!
Top 5 Tights for NYE
1) Nasty Gal – Ombre Tights fuchsia - £27.80 - Nasty Girl
These have to be one of our favourite tights, we love everything ombre so ombre tights is a double winner for us. They come in a range of colours but we think these pink tights would be great for Christmas Eve fun!
2) ASOS – Patterned Sheer tights - £8.00 - Asos
We think these ASOS patterned tights are really great value for money and they’re go perfectly from daywear to eveningwear too, so you can go straight from the office to the bar!
3) Sneaky Fox Heart Print Tights - £25.00 - Sneaky Fox
How great are these Sneaky Fox tights, nice and subtle you can wear them with almost anything, the heart details on the knees are super cute.
4) Jonathon Aston nude starburst diamante tights - £14.99 - Johnathon Aston
You simply can’t go wrong with a pair of nude tights, after all princess Kate loves them! These Jonathon Aston tights come with a cool diamante pattern on the knees!
5) House of Holland – Dogtooth Tights - £12.00 - House of Holland
These tights might not be traditionally festive but we just had to include them because they’re such good fun and really add some colour to any outfit!
Looking after Tights
Spending anything over a couple of pounds on a pair of tights might seem a little steep, especially if they ladder and tear within hours of putting them on. But a great pair of tights is a great addition to any wardrobe and so don’t worry about wasting your money; follow these helpful tips to make sure your tights are a bit more of a good investment!
· Avoid sharp objects; when putting on or taking off your tights make sure you remove all of your jewellery. If you have long nails make sure any chips are filled down to avoid them snagging on the material. Use a moisturiser on any particularly rough skin that you might have on your feet or hands and if you often find you rip your tights when putting them on you can use rubber gloves to avoid any mishaps.
· Take care when washing; many people will shove their tights into the wash with everything else but if you want your tights to have a longer shelf life then consider washing your tights by hand. If like most people you simply don’t have the time to wash your things by hand invest in a hosiery bag so the material doesn’t get caught whilst in the machine. Put your tights on a cold wash and avoid heavy duty bleaches. Turn your tights inside out when washing to avoid a build-up of lint
· Don’t hang your tights up to dry; hanging tights on a drying rack can stretch out the material making it hard for them to spring back to their original shape leaving you with baggy tights – no one wants that!
· When you see a whole or ladder appear make sure you carry around a trusty clear nail varnish with you and simply paint over the offending tear. The clear varnish will help prevent the ladder from getting any bigger!
Some helpful hints to help avoid going through tights so quickly; look after them properly and they will last! When thinking about buying your next pair of tights go for something a little different than the standard 60 deniers! A decent pair can create an illusion of slimmer or longer legs. If you want your pins to appear longer try a vertical pattern and likewise with skinny legs to make them seem shapelier; a horizontal pattern will create a great silhouette! So there you have it, whichever tights you choose to rock this Christmas; make sure you have a good one!
This guest blog post was written for free by Lucinda Bounsall from farfetch.com
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