It is rare that an article in Vogue UK resonates with me. I love reading it, and the editorials by Lucinda Chambers and Kate Phelan are sumptuous fashion feasts for the eyes, but as is often the case with Vogue, the features tend to reach to a woman far above my station - such as it is. Women who think monogrammed luggage at 8000 quid a pop is a good wedding present and who save the excess baggage fee on commercial airlines by fedex-ing their shopping home. As much as I love it, Vogue UK is essentially Tatler just with better clothes - don't get me wrong, I do get a bit of a guilty pleasure out of Tatler. At first glance, the 'Bare Necessity' feature by Vicki Ward in last October's Vogue UK was another one of the elitist prescriptive pieces that went right over my head. Do as the New Yorker's do, don't wear tights, get your driver to drive you around yadda yadda yadda... But then I read it again. Don't wear tights. Now that's a message I can get behind.
I don't wear tights. I just don't like them. It comes from having to wear them all the time at school - being told what to wear is probably my biggest pet peeve. That's why I hate wearing black at work and rage against it whenever I'm not there (brown is my neutral of choice, thank you very much). When you are told constantly what to wear it turns you off wearing those very same things in your everyday life. Now I cannot wear tights, even when it is super cold outside. Sure, I have an advantage over my tight-wearing friends. I like long skirts. It does help to have calf-grazing skirts on if you are going to bare your legs if only because it's extra material to keep them warm. But as I discovered in Europe at the beginning of the year, this can only go so far. On particularly cold days I was known to don two long skirts one over the other in a bid to keep warm. I didn't pack any tights on my trip because I was determined to prove my point. The double long skirt served much the same purpose that the double tights do - that extra little bit of warmth. The lengths some people go to...
Vogue also recommends piling on the layers up top to counter act a slight chill down south. They recommend fur vests, big scarfs, oversize jackets and beanies. I would agree with this, and also add that boots help a lot. If you're not wearing ballet flats (as I so often do), the little tops of your feet stay warm which makes all the difference. A longer length of skirt certainly helps - this lady shot by the Sart, whilst very cute, is pushing the boundaries of bare legs in winter I think. And I will add this - tons of moisturiser. With your bare legs left unprotected to the elements, you have to up the dose of moisture so they don't go all scaly and dry. I was using Kiehl's creme de corps almost twice-daily in Europe at the beginning of the year. Not wearing tights isn't easy. But it's not a look that's all about endorsing having personal drivers and big fur coats, either. It's about embracing a sense of 90s minimalism - when it wasn't ripped tights or grunge, but simple drapey clothes, warm layers, and flashing a little bit of skin in defiance to wintery climates. Not wearing tights and having bare legs is my way of keeping the balance between covering up and baring all. I love doing it, not only because I think the ankle is the new erogenous zone, but because it just looks so good with a calf-length skirt and a long coat. It creates a balance in the way that off the shoulder knit wear creates a balance and rolled up sleeves creates a balance. Nothing in fashion should be perfect, and baring your legs is a way of counteracting perfection.
Black opaques do create a beautiful silhouette in the right situation. But a flash of bare legs can be even better.
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