Stockings are pretty cool. They make your legs look good, they can change the vibe of an outfit to become more elevated and one of the underlooked benefits is they can hide unshaved legs.

First thing to clarify is that stockings are functionally the same as pantyhose but pantyhose sounds stupid so I’m just going to say ‘stockings’ or ‘tights’ for this post. The difference is that pantyhose come with a crotch and stockings just roll up on your legs like in the picture below, tights can refer to either and tend to be more opaque. If you’re wearing a skirt at work I’d wear pantyhose/tights just in case so you don’t flash someone but feel free to do whatever. Wearing stockings with their visible trim just looks like you’re about to film some porn and that’s personally not my vibe.

Much like leggings, stockings smooth out the definition of your legs, giving them a sleeker appearance. Instead of showing your skin you show the sheer material of the stockings, because they hide your skin they’re most commonly found in more professional environments where you need to look like a prude professional. 

When I was but a mere child I used to be a lot more self conscious about my knees and my vitiligo in general so I would always wear tights. I don’t care if my legs don’t look perfect anymore but don’t let your skin condition or whatever it is prevent you from wearing skirts/dresses, stockings are always an option 🙂 

That’s not to say you can’t wear them in other places, but as the woke liberal feminist agenda intends on giving women freedom of expression outside the patriarchy, so tights have a bit of a reputation. Many older women like my mom swear by them because that’s how they HAD to dress back then but they can still be nice today. Having your skin touch the seat on the train can feel like a human rights violation so they have an added comfort factor to consider although they can sometimes be itchy too.

When you wear stockings it shouldn’t really be with skirts that go too far past your knees. 

When I wear this yellow skirt you hardly see the stockings, so it doesn’t make much of an impact on the outfit. Contrast this with the shorter skirt and you can see what I mean.

This mainly applies if you have patterned stockings (so people can actually see the pattern) but if you’re not showing much skin to begin with then it won’t change much whether you wear tights or not. 

Stockings come in basically 2 main colors with 2 primary levels of sheerness

• Nude (match with your skin tone)
• Black 

• Sheer
• Opaque 

Ultra sheer to slightly Opaque. Completely Opaque is something like leggings. If you want a full guide to sheerness, this guide is useful and where the images are taken.

I personally only own black tights because I feel comfortable showing my skin and I don’t mind shaving my legs. If you don’t want to shave your legs then opaque stockings or just nude colored can be great for preventing the judgment you will almost certainly receive.

When considering color you want to make sure it matches the outfit. Wearing a bright dress and opaque nude tights will look awkward because why wouldn’t you just show your skin then. 

A general rule of thumb I like to use is: if it’s above the knee go with black, nude color (or no stockings) for anything at or below the knee if you don’t feel like shaving. 

The level of sheerness also matters since sheer=sexy and opaque=prude to most people, this is why older people or those in professions like teaching tend to wear opaque tights in my experience. If you’re trying to emphasize on your looks I would go with sheer, if you’re just trying to chill then opaque.

Don’t forget the different styles of stockings, like fishnets and patterns. I wouldn’t wear fishnets in the workplace because they’re a bit more on the punk side these days but they are super fun for casual outfits like this.

Patterns on the other hand are always a nice way of adding some needed flair to an outfit without looking out of place. I own a pair of herringbone and diamond patterned tights as you can see here.

For my fun stockings I have fishnets and a pair with upside down crosses.

Ripped stockings come from buying cheap ones and simply using them over time, there is absolutely no point in buying them pre ripped, these also don’t count as a pattern to wear to work unless you’re somewhere cool (a good rule of thumb for this is if they allow ripped jeans, ripped stockings are probably ok too). 

If you prefer wearing pants but are on the taller side you can also wear pantyhose to replace socks when the pants aren’t quite as long as you need them to be. 

Lastly another benefit of pantyhose in particular is they can help with tucking. Many pairs act like shorts since they have a tighter knit to prevent them from falling apart in that area.

Pantyhose tend to be pretty tight and also obscure a direct view of what’s underneath. Obviously you should still wear underwear beneath them but it can obscure the outline of something quite well.

Conclusion 

• Make sure what you’re wearing is short enough that tights make a difference
• Opaque tights can help with occasions where you don’t want to show skin or what’s underneath
• Sheerness levels exist, more sheer = fancy girl vibes, opaque = not fancy prude
• Black stockings are to make look fancier, nude for subtle comfort and protecting skin from environment 
• Patterned stockings exist as a way to spice up tights 
• Can help with tucking