Recently in Hosiery Category

I recently met ShāToBu creator Dr. Denise Perron and what struck me about her is that like the folks behind the Bootcamp kits, which I wrote about over on Beauty Snob, she stresses the importance of balancing diet, exercise, and products and insists that there are no quick-fix solutions. She was very straightforward and I immediately trusted what she had to say because of it. The compressing hosiery that Dr. Perron has come-out with are quite ingenious. Not only are they way more comfortable than Spanx, so you can wear them all day, but they also increase the amount of calories you burn while engaging in everyday activities by an average of 12% (proven via scientific studies conducted at the University of Virginia). Sure 12% isn't astronomical, but that's extra calories you're burning without engaging in any additional gym time (the burn comes from the design which incorporates resistance bands into the garment, so muscles work a little harder and more calories are burned during daily activities). Dr. Perron has also come-up with a few exercises you can easily work into your everyday life (pictured above and after the jump), all of which can be done with or without ShāToBu, but with of course you'll get the added benefits from the additional resistance.

I'm not a big fan of stockings. In fact I'm not even a big fan of socks (hence my loving Uggs no matter how un-cool they are!). I do however find Les Queues de Sardines' offerings divinely eye-catching. I first came across them at Colette in Paris and while I would never wear any of these myself, I can appreciate the humor, provocativeness, and originality in the designs (they retail for about $60). Each pair is screen-printed by hand in limited quantities and you can find ones that feature everything from rain drops, to veins, to lips.

Would you wear a pair of Les Queues de Sardines ("tails of sardines" in French) stockings?

I'm going through a thirty-something crisis and am coveting all things I had when I was 5 years old. I was quite the miniature style maven back then and always had a pair of cheeky opaque white, red, pink, or purple tights with my dresses. I got a pair of Merona purple tights at Target on a whim last month (now $1.48 on the website-- for a couple of dollars you can instantly update your wardrobe!) and it's turned out to be more useful than my drawer full of Spanx. I wear my purple lovelies with gray or black shift dresses and pair them with boots or Marni platforms. Colorful tights worn with simple dresses make me feel fun and young without looking ridiculous. Now I'm on a mission to get more colors; I found a gorgeous aqua blue (Aruba) from Hue on Bareneccessities and a pair of deep blue. I'm really jonesing for a pair of fuschia tights, will continue hunting. At least this is an inexpensive obsession, most of the tights are under $10. Blue tights from Merona.

When shopping for tights, keep these key points in mind:
*Solid colors are best-- Merona has great solid color tights (I'd stay away from polka dots and stripes when doing bright colors, that should be left to the 5 year olds) at Target or you can go luxe with $400 tights from Maison Margiela.
*White and ivory colors-- This should not be worn if you don't have slim legs, you'll just draw attention to them and make them look bigger than they are. Stick with dark blue, dark purple, etc.
*Moss green- is not a good look on anyone, it looks like mold and well, who wants moldy looking legs!?!?
*Not ready for colorful tights? Grab a pair of gray tights and wear them with everything!

What do you think of the current tights trend? Snob or Slob?

As I told you the other day, I am obsessed with tights.  As a little girl, I had them in multi-hues and wore them daily with my little dresses and patent leather Mary Janes.  Nowadays, I throw them on with my platform Loubies or YSL booties and tiny skirts (pairing opaque tights with a micro mini skirt takes it from cheesy to stylish!)  I love Wolford but its tights are made for amazons, I am small so they sag around my ankles creating unsightly elephant ankles and I end up tugging them up my bum all day long, so annoying!  I have a few from Spanx that I love but just discovered Falke-- made of cotton, polyamide and elastane, these suckers will not sag!  They are also great for the warmer climates of California and Texas.  Falke also makes wool tights if you live in colder climate but they sound itchy to me.