Ten reasons for tights under shorts.

According to StyleBistro: on the set of a new TV pilot, Krysten Ritter re-introduced the tights-under-shorts trend.

Krysten Ritter

Now I'm not aware that the trend had gone away.  In its most recent incarnation I think the trend may go back to girls in the Far East.

Girls from the Far East in the far Far West (Cardiff)

Although in fact it goes all the way back to the Dukes of Hazard in the 1970s.  Apparently seeing Daisy Duke in shorts and bare legs was considered too provocative.  So, she had to wear pantyhose with her shorts creating a whole new male fetish.

It also it depends what we mean by shorts.  Here I'm talking about short shorts rather than knee length shorts.  Knee lengths shorts are cool too.  If nothing else they may provide a stepping stone for the shy on the way to short shorts, its just that this blog post will get long enough just confining itself to short shorts.

Not so short shorts with tights

I know I have blogged something like this before, but in case there is any danger of this fantastic trend dying out, here are 10 reasons for wearing shorts with tights.

(1) Shorts let you show off your legs whilst hiding them.
Very Zen.  "What is the appearance of the leg you cannot see?"  But you know what I mean.  The pasty whiteness of your legs can be hidden under tan tights.

If you have a little more to hide, such as cellulite or having not shaved your legs recently, then you can go for more opaque tights.

BTW I am not making any judgement on this girl's legs.  I am sure they are fantastic.  Often tights with shorts are just a fashion statement 

(2) Tights keep your legs warm.
You can show off your shapely pins without freezing to death.  This means that you can wear shorts in the autumn and winter months and not just in the summer.

Autumnal shorts

To keep the chill breeze off

(3) You can show off more leg with shorts
Sure you can go for a short skirt and tights.

A little too short girls?

Maybe you can get away with it with opaques, but more sheer tights?

With shorts you can show maximum leg in sheer or opaque tights.

(4) Tights with shorts protects your modesty.
No embarrassing "up-skirt" shot to go on facebook no matter how you position yourself.  You can enjoy yourself without worrying what anyone else might see.

See no pants

At a more subtle level, shorts with tights show that you are not an easy lay.  What! Has Joy of Tights suddenly got fundamentalist religion?  No, simple fact of evolution, guys are programmed to take advantage at the slightest encouragement.  3 layers shorts, tights, knickers tells him that he won't get inside all three layers unless you think he is really worth it.

Which girl will he go for? Is the one on the right too willing?

In case you think I'm being unfair to the male sex, I found this comment online

"It doesn't matter as long as I can get into her vagina, mouth, and hopefully anus. That's the answer for every heterosexual male." Yahoo question

(5) You can be cheeky with tights
I'm not contradicting point (4).  You can be cheeky by showing the tops of your tights, even though you are not revealing that much.  Sort of showing your underwear while not showing your underwear.  You can be a bit of a rebel with shorts and tights.

Can you see her tights tops?

(6) Shorts let you show off your tights.
If you have a great pair of tights, why hide them with a below the knee skirt, or even a just above the knee skirt?  I know a lot of tights have a repeated design, but even these look better if you can see the whole length of the tights.

Furthermore, some designs like suspender tights loose their raison d'être (see I can do posh), if you cannot see the whole length of the leg.

This may be the ideal way of showing off your new pair of suspender tights.......

... but this is a tad more practical.

(7) Tights with shorts add variety to your wardrobe.
Now I am not suggesting that you should wear nothing but tights and shorts

Yes, a top with those tights and shorts would help

But they can add yet another dimension to your outfits.  Why stick with just skirts, dresses and long trousers?  Shorts themselves come in any different flavours

Traditional denim cut off

Tight and shiney (not sure...)

Coloured and cut off

Smart casual - as modeled but Sienna Miller

And of course you can multiply the possibilities by matching with all sorts of tights.

From classic black sheers.....

.... to something a bit more patterned.

(8) You can wear shorts and tights in lots of different places

I'm not sure I agree with StyleBirsto that you can wear shorts and tights at work.  But adding tights to shorts does add formality provided the shorts are not cut off.

Jennifer Love-Hewitt looking very business like, but I'm not sure my boss would like it

Smart, but is it smart enough for work?  Probably not, but perhaps OK for a more formal night out with friends

(9) Celebs are into the style.

Besides those seen earlier

Nicole Richie

Miranda Kerr

Zooey Deschanel - a favourite of joy of tights

(10) Everyone else is doing it

Oh no they are not!

I'm not sure this a good reason, but for what its worth, here is a poll from that StyleBistro page.

Observant readers will have noticed that I haven't cited men liking girls in shorts as a reason for wearing shorts with tights because:

• I don't know what men think (who does, do they even?).  Perhaps this is a topic for a poll.
• What men like shouldn't be our main concern.

Does he like her in tights and shorts showing the tops of her tights?  Should she give a shit?

Girl in shorts and tights likes girl in skirt and tights.  Is in mutual?

BTW: Don't expect a long post tomorrow, today and yesterday I am off work waiting for the great Britsh workman.

At last realism about tights

Now I am not a natural Guardian reader, more of a Sun woman if you must know, but this caught my eye:

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a woman wearing a skirt or dress at this time of year will need to wear tights. Except, it's not. It's a truth universally acknowledged everywhere except in glossy magazines, on red carpets and in newspaper fashion pages.  (Also, in certain towns in the north of England, but that's a whole other issue.)"

How refreshing it is to hear that tights are needed - unless you want frost bite.

Not even Northern girls are not always without tights - as these Newcastle lasses testify.

 The article goes on

"There is a fundamental disconnect between fashion and the real world when it comes to hosiery. Walk down any urban street in winter, and you will see a forest of black-opaqued legs. But scan any fashion page and you'll see winter clothes styled, more often than not, with bare legs. The shoot might be on location in the Highlands in a rowing boat on an icy lake, the coat might be fur-trimmed and the dress cashmere – but the legs, more often than not, will be bare. Mea culpa: even on a page such as this, which is all about how us norms grapple with fashionable clothes, I often end up being photographed in bare legs when roadtesting winter looks. Bare legs are fashion's shiny prefect badge" 

Her feet must be cold

This supports what Joy of Tights has always thought; the "Fashion Industry" is anti tights.

Now the difficult bit, apparently, how to look stylish in black opaque tights

"As a result, we are in dire need of style guidance in the wearing of black tights. There is a woeful paucity of role models in the important skill of teaming a 60-denier opaque with an interesting outfit. So, when we wear a coloured skirt with black tights, we go for the easy option of a black or neutral top. But it doesn't need to be like that. A simple way to make black tights work is with strong colours: if you team muted pastels with a matt-black leg, it kills the subtlety, but add gleaming jet-black to a jewel-like mix of emerald, sapphire, fuchsia, ruby, well, then it is right at home."

The point goes for matching with opaque tights at any time of year, not just winter.

Strong enough?

Strong enough?

Strong enough?

But surely the LBD is still OK?

BTW: I'm glad to see that the article gives "Stack heel sandals" as part of its sample outfit.  It is about time someone said that sandals and tights are not a fashion crime.

Arrested for a crime against fashion - tights without closed shoes?

A few thoughts from Joy of Tights
Mainly that winter tights don't have to be black opaques.

Why not go strong colour tights with more muted colours rather than the other way round.

Maybe OTT?

If you feel you need the bare leg look, go for nude tights for at least some protection:

See how invisible these tights are?

Or if you need a little more warmth a thicker tan denier that could be mistaken for nude from a distance

Or for a double warmth wammy try opaque leggings and tan tights.

Finally what about winter fishnets - don't the holes trap a layer of air for insulation like a string vest (or something)?

Royal Tour in Tights - a Mini Adventure

Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie are championing all things British on their one-year tour of Germany. The British government is launching the GREAT initiative to promote the country abroad, and the pair were chosen by the team at 10 Downing Street. Today, Beatrice and Eugenie kicked things off in Berlin with a visit to a school and a drive inside a Union Jack-emblazoned Mini Cooper.  (Made by the German firm BMW).

According to the Daily Mail, the princesses arrived in Berlin this morning via an economy flight paid for by their pop, Prince Andrew the Duke of York. Their first stop was the British School, where they hung out with cute kids à la Kate Middleton. Princess Eugenie wore a rather drab cream double-breasted pleated peacoat, while Princess Beatrice looked great in a green and black Jonathan Saunders dress from the designer’s fall 2012 collection, which she paired with a black belt,  (and this is the bit my readers will want to hear), black opaque tights, and heels. Saunders is indeed a Scottish designer, but he shows during London Fashion Week.

The long sleeves kept Beatrice modest, while the deep v-neckline showed off some skin and is definitely not a style you’d expect to be worn to an elementary school. The dress was on sale at Net-A-Porter for $874.50 from $2,915, but it’s now sold out. Womp womp.

And while Bea did better with the dress, and I might add the shoes, at least her sister also managed black opaque tights.

For those of you who don't know Princess Beatrice of York (Beatrice Elizabeth Mary; born 8 August 1988) is the elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. She is fifth, and the first female (at the moment), in the line of succession to the thrones of the sixteen Commonwealth realms.  While studying at Goldsmiths, University of London, Princess Beatrice was not expected to undertake regular Royal duties, although she did make appearances at some Royal events.  Now she has to earn her crust hence being on her one year tour.

Of more interest to readers of this page is that Princes Bea is a wearer of support tights.  At a memorial service for the Queen Mother and Princess Margaret in March 2012, the young royal unwittingly gave us a flash of her support tights, complete with thigh-slimming panels to smooth out her lumps and bumps and help avoid a dreaded VPL.

Princess Beatrice may have surprised a few onlookers because she’s clearly quite a slim girl but the makers of support tights are rejoicing as she is helping to dispel one of those lingerie myths – that shapewear is only designed for the more ample figures.  In fact, shapewear is increasingly popular with women of all shapes and sizes, including those who are already blessed with a slim, size 10 figure.  Why?  Simply because it helps create a perfect silhouette – and it is great for body confidence.  Another plus for tights.


Since we mention Princess Margaret, on a note of morbid royal information,  Princess Margaret was the first royal to be cremated for more than 60 years. The last request of Princess Margaret was for a £280 cremation in Slough, unattended by any members of her family.  The municipal ceremony, which includes a £20 surcharge because she lived outside the borough, took the shadow of the Berkshire town's dog track.  Republicans will celebrate Margaret's humble departure.  On a typical day 15 people are burnt to ashes by Slough crematorium's incinerators -  but on that Friday the Margaret was the sixth and last.  See the advantages of royal - you get to go last.  Why was Margaret cremated? “One last smoke. It’s what she would have wanted.” I wonder if when her time comes, Bea will follow Margaret's example?

Will they be hot stuff in the end like Margaret was?

But enough talk of death and incineration, onto Princess Eugenie.  Let's not neglect Eugene just because her sister beat her in the fashion stakes one time.

Here Eugenie does better - at least in the eyes of tights lovers - with opaques, dress and boots

Princess Eugenie of York (Eugenie Victoria Helena; born 23 March 1990) is the younger daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York, and Sarah, Duchess of York. As such she is sixth, and the second female (at the moment), in the line of succession to the thrones of the 16 Commonwealth realms.


And just in case your though Eugenie was a bit of a royal bimbo, she began studying Combined Honours BA at Newcastle University in September 2009, combining Art History, English Literature and Politics. (Was a single subject to hard?). She completed her studies in 2012, earning a 2:1 in English literature and history of art.  A useful subject that then.

Something a little more sheer and a little slimmer