Lets do the time warp back to the 1980s - tan tights are back

We are all in tan tights now

Joy of Tights has for couple of months been pushing the line that nude or light tan tights - tights that match the wearer's skin tone are at last "in" again.

Now this view is being echoed in the quality British daily newspaper The Telegraph.  Here are the facts:

• Peacocks sold 130,000 pairs of tan tights in April and first half of May.
• Marks and Spencer claim that sales of suntan tights were up by 50%, and sales of nude tights up by 85% on the year.
• At the highest end of the market Wolford report sales are up by 30%

A more perfect leg look

So why this rush to tan tights

• Girls don't want to go straight from opaque tights to bare legs
• Tights are easier to put on than fake tan, and they give a bit of welcome body shaping after binging out after over winter.
• The recent weather has been a little cold for the time of year.
• Girls are reluctant to tan, with the risk of skin cancer.  Tan tights provide a safe way to get that, well er, tan look.
• Celebs like Kate Middleton, Pippa Middleton, Beyoncé and Sarah Jessica Parker all spotted wearing tan tights.

Guys we know you like the RHT!

Non-reinforced toe brands are apparently the most popular.  An encouraging sign that girls may be wearing tights with sandals again.  All the same I'd recommend a good reinforced toe for long life - if you are wearing closed toe shoes no one will know, and if you ever run around in your stocking feet (recommended for stress reduction) your tights will last a whole lot longer.  And if you can't face the full on reinforced toe (too 1960s?), then there are semi-reinforced toes which are stronger but not so visible.  And some guys really like reinforced toes - perhaps its the stocking association.

Tan tights in class - she doesn't remember the 1980s or Nora Batty

Read the full story at The Telegraph. (For those who don't know Nora Batty is a 60 something with sagging tights from the British comedy "Last of the Summer Wine".  Rather like salad cream this programme is an acquired taste and unlikely to appeal to viewers outside England.

Tan tights at work