The Shiny Legwear Craze
Posted on March 25th, 2009 by trainingheels under GeneralWho doesn’t love New York Times street style photographer Bill Cunningham? Personally, I would kill to be walking around my beloved New York streets one day and hear a bike whizz by, then screech to a rubber-burning halt because Bill Cunningham wants to photograph me in some chic outfit (unfortunately, I would probably be wearing schlumpy yoga pants and sneakers if he went by). How cute is it that this fashion-loving man rides his bike around the city taking photos of daring-looking ladies? Unfortunately, he seems to mostly photograph rich ladies in midtown, in the land of the quadruple B’s, i.e. Bendel, Bergdorf, Bloomingdale’s and Barneys, not below 14th Street or in Brooklyn where youngsters like yours truly can be found bargain hunting. (Please ride your vintage cruiser over the Williamsburg bridge and do a special on wacky Williamsburg styles, Bill!)
Bill recently did a series of photographs and this fantastic video on the fashionable legwear at the Paris shows. Well, what are you going to see when you see legwear? Shoes, of course! And one of the pairs that Bill comments on are the famed Dior Goddess heels. Yes, apparently people (are still) really wearing those things. Here they are to refresh your memory.
What does everyone think about the trend of shiny patent leather/latex-looking leggings? I, for one, am NOT a fan, and I was born in the 80’s! I just think it’s not the right look for most of these ladies. I think it looks confusing with all the other bling going on with shoes or they’re too tight or both. I’m all for patterned, embellished, colored or seamed tights, but the supershiny ones are a bit too reflective for me. Whether latex or leather or nylon, I just think they’re too tight to be used as pants. Less tight ones look less Catwoman-y and foolish. Latex is for superheroes, not mere mortals.
Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, Lindsay and Rihanna can’t even seem to make them look right, just throwing a black top on with them that sort of vaguely hangs over their crotch area. Awkward!
As the infamous mean girls said in Gossip Girl World, it’s a cardinal sin to mistake tights for leggings. I just think those shiny puppies should stay under the wraps of boots and skirts, with an occasional peekout. A rockstar and occasonal fashionista like Chanel Iman can really make them work with leather Louboutin Ariella boots, but I think it’s 80s fashion disaster for most of us. Not every girl can rock it like Pat Benatar, after all.
And even worse, don’t end up looking like a gold 70s American Apparel disco disaster.
- Givenchy: High Bondage
- This Week in Shoes
- Shoes: The New “It” Fashion Item of Our Times
- Comfort and style
- Shoes at the Paris Fall 2007 Couture Shows
- What to wear in the summertime…really?
Piperlime
March 25th, 2009 at 10:43 pm
rihanna makes them work, just cause she’s rihanna.
lilo, however, must have a neverending supply of leggings in her closet. i swear they must be reproducing back there.
March 26th, 2009 at 1:18 pm
I totally agree with you that Rihanna does it the best out of the whole crowd. The nutty ostrich-nest-comme-skirt hides the awkward tight crotch look. I just think she’d look even hotter in real leather pants, not the weird latex Members Only ones. I’d like to see her in Italian leather skinny jeans with exquisite tailoring and craftsmanship, perhaps some antiqued crinkle showing creased, vintage-y lines, and some superspiky black motorcycle boots. We all know she can afford better than latex and the dominatrix look is getting a little tired for me. The line between motorcycle chic and dominatrix should be firmly guarded by fashion’s best!
Lindsay on the other hand really doesn’t know the difference between tights and pants!
March 27th, 2009 at 1:21 am
LiLo has her own leggings line. One pair has knee pads – I shudder to think why a girl would need knee pads in her leggings. I think she is probably the only one who wears anything from that line.
Anyways, about the whole leggings/tights look. I am old enough to remember the Solid Gold disco pants, so I will not be wearing them this time around. It is a difficult look to pull off and I have only seen celeb types even try. (I live in a farming community and might explain why no one around here wears latex tights.) The only way this look can work is if the leggings are covered with a long tunic and the texture of everything else is matte. Ri’s outfit is a good example.
March 29th, 2009 at 9:17 am
Every time I see these leggings I start hearing the ‘Solid Gold’ themesong in my head.
Please, make it stop.
I doubt these will be making it to my end of Smallville anytime soon.