Q. Is it acceptable to wear stockings with the seam line when wearing open toe shoes (or even peep toe for that matter) if you can’t find seamless stockings? Or should I risk letting my legs look pale and not so perfect?
A. We get this question fairly often, so let’s address it once and for all…
Although we call ourselves The Fashion Police, you might be surprised to know that in “real” life there are actually very few things that we’d consider an absolute “no”. Sheer stocking with sandals, however, is one of those things: particularly if the stockings in question are flesh-coloured, and the toe seam is highly visible. Toe seams aren’t designed to be on show. Strappy sandals and peep toes aren’t designed to be worn with tights. It’s as simple as that, and before a dozen or so of our male readers all rush to tell us that if we only knew how turned on they are by the sight of sheer tights and strappy sandals, we’d wear them all the time yes, we DO know. You’ve told us before. And we don’t care, because we still don’t like this look, and we don’t dress to please men. Sorry.
To address the “pale and not so perfect” comment: well, we don’t actually think there’s anything so very wrong with pale skin, but if you do want to take the glare off a little before baring your pins to the world, there are plenty of products available to help you do that: Pretty Polly’s Love Legs range, for instance, contains various types of wash-off “leg makeup” which is good for adding a hint of colour without turning you orange.
Just to confuse matters further, we’d like to add that none of this applies to opaque tights and peep toes. We actually quite like that look. Why yes, we ARE pretty fickle, aren’t we?
As with all of our “advice”, however, we feel we have to add the disclaimer that these are simply personal opinions. We know there are lots of people out there who really like the look of sheer tights in sandals (And not all of them are men determined to tell us what to wear, either), so let’s hear from our readers.
What do you think of stockings and sandals? Fashion crime, or absolutely fine?
When we last broached the issue of whether adults can get away with ankle socks, many of you felt that while it’s OK if you happen to be Rihanna (as are so many things in life!), this is ultimately a look that’s only for the very, very young. Like, toddlers, say (although maybe not with heels).
Here’s 31-year-old Sophie Ellis-Bextor, however, flying in the face of that piece of fashion advice, and proudly wearing her white ankle socks and (rather scuffed) white shoes to the Samsung 3D Television Party in London this week. We love her dress, cardigan and bag here… but we do think this cute little outfit would have been even cuter if it didn’t look like she’d somehow woken up with the feet of a toddler on the body of a 31-year-old woman.
What do you think? Socks and stilettos were OK on Rihanna, but are they OK on Sophie?
British singer Pixie Lott became the latest celebrity to turn fashion designer when her new collection for high street chain Lipsy launched this week. The collection falls into two categories: festival and party, so you’ll find a mix of mini and maxi dresses, plus some basic tanks, and even a pair of lace hot-pants. Prices start at £25 for the hotpants, and go up to £75 for one of the dresses, with a whole range of price points in between. You can view the full collection at the Lipsy website, and we’ve provided a selection of the pieces available in the gallery below.
What do you think? Are you tired of celebrity “designers”, or is this one you don’t want to miss?
The Fashion Police’s opinion on sheer clothing is well-documented. Shresses, sheggings, shants – you name them, we’ve put them on trial. This dress may not really fall into the shress category, having all the really vital body parts essentially covered, but it is still distinctly suspect.
The Fashion Police feel that this particular number is best suited to its rightful place under the lime lights; whether on an ice rink or ballroom floor is open to interpretation. Because, however graceful and talented, neither figure skaters nor ballroom dancers are particularly highly-praised for their sartorial choices. “Costume” is never a good look down the pub on a Friday night…
Neither is it a good look for a wedding guest, as this week’s Net-a-Porter newsletter would have us believe. The sartorial sin of out-costuming the bride aside, we’re pretty sure that much thigh is inappropriate congregation-wear.
But what do you think? Can you see a different side to this dress? If so you can buy it at Net-a-Porter for £3,090.
Sometimes it’s hard not to cringe when looking at the red carpet shots from a UK premiere. Not to put too fine a point on it, but for reasons that continue to elude us, a lot of British “celebrities” just don’t seem to have quite grasped that they’re attending a movie premiere here. Instead, they’ve ended up looking like they’re headed to a cheap nightclub in Essex. This is perhaps why Jennifer Lopez looks a little bit… lost here. “Where the hell am I?” she’s thinking. “Why are some of these girls undressed? And what’s this thing balanced on the top of my head?”
Can we talk about J. Lo, briefly? She’s been wowing us on the promotional tour for The Back Up Plan, in a series of chic little dresses, which we’ve absolutely loved. And then THIS. It’s almost as if she thought, “Wait: I’ve been looking too good lately. I better pull something “edgy” out of the bag, or everyone will start complaining about how predictable I’ve become.” Well, J. Lo, we wouldn’t have predicted this, and we don’t quite think it’s your finest hour, but compared to some of the outfits in the gallery below, you actually did pretty well. You’re off the hook. As for the rest, well, let’s see what our readers think, shall we?
If we knew how to wolf-whistle, we’d totally be whistling at Krysten Ritter right now.
When your dress is this simple, a lot of people would be tempted to go heavy on the accessories, or add a dash of colour with the shoes or handbag, but Krysten stuck to black, without a single adornment in sight. It’s a striking look, but do you want to take her and accessorize her? Or do you think this works perfectly well just the way it is?
Borrowed shoes never quite fit, do they? This is why so many actresses are forced to walk the red carpet in beautiful shoes that are either too big or too small: see, we think it’s all glamour being a celebrity, but they have their cross to bear too!
Aside from the gaping-at-the-back shoes, Heather Graham looked pretty in a form-fitting white dress with floral decoration at the 2nd Annual Bent on Learning Benefit last night. What do you think?
Short skirt? Check. Fierce heels? Check. Without even looking at the image, we’ve have been able to tell this was Gwyneth Paltrow , just from the description alone! She’s really made this kind of look her trademark over the past couple of years, and while it was initially a bit of a departure, we think it’s a look that really suits her. Well, if you have legs like Gwyneth’s you’re going to want to show them off, aren’t you? Gwyn also gains points for always abiding by the “legs OR boobs” rule: no low-cut dresses here – or at least not while her legs are out!
