Bold Legwear for Fall? Hue Better Believe it!

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Friday, October 01, 2010

GoLocalProv Lifestyle Editor Andrea E. McHugh

Black, navy, gray and other austere tight tones are perennial fall and winter favorites, but this season, bright, bold and patterned pairs are making a colorful splash. Designers including Tori Burch, Betsey Johnson, and Jean Paul Gaultier have embraced a bold-is-better legwear ethos and the trend has trickled down to the pedestrian woman.

Prints & Patterns

Janelle Feigley, owner of Gossip Boutique, with locations in Newport and Wickford, predicts funky tights will be all the rage this season. “Tie-dyed, printed, textured, ribbed, rhinestones,” she continued, “even over the knee socks and leg warmers are hot.” Feigley said most of Gossip’s tight are by Free People, and retail for $28.

Sleek & Chic

Jackie Carroll, proprietress of Jackie’s Loft in Bristol, says her mature clientele prefers leggings to tights (for the coverage), and that she is stocking up on chic sweater knit leggings with a funky feel–or is trying to. “Two years ago I couldn’t sell a legging,” she laughed. “Over the last two weeks, they’ve been flying out of the store!” Carroll pointed to herringbone patterns as some of the most popular, and suggested pairing them with a chunky shoe, strappy heel or open toe shoes. Cut-outs and patterns aren’t only reserved for the over-40 set either, as evidence by Taylor Swift this week. The young, leggy country crooner sat front row Monday at the Roberto Cavalli show during Milan Fashion Week clad in a demure pleated skirt and Victorian-esque cream blouse with decidedly hip knee high lace-up gray boots paired with pattered tights with cut-outs. Checkered and plaid patterns are also a must-have, adding an interesting design element to a solid enselmbe. Trendy plaids are being paired with jewel tone bases–plum, olive, rich blues. Let the legwer trend tap into your inner avant-garde.