One of the joys of spring for many women is the shedding of tights and the unveiling of bare legs. But if it’s not yet quite warm enough for that, this year it’s all about coloured tights. And if they match the rest of your outfit? So much the better.
Kendall Jenner, Bella Hadid and Emma Corrin have taken to this matching look, with Jenner’s recent claret dress and matching tights a much shared outfit online. Matching tights and clothes have also been on the catwalk at influential brands including Valentino, Bottega Veneta and Miu Miu. And Vogue has picked up on the look – calling it “spring’s most controversial trend”.
Black has dominated the tights shelves for years, but now coloured shades are becoming much more easily available, particularly from brands including Heist, Wolford and Falke. John Lewis reports sales of coloured tights are up 167% year on year while Wolford’s coloured tights are bestsellers – with pink shades particularly popular, owing possibly to the new live-action Barbie film.
The matching method might be the “stop traffic” way to wear coloured tights, but they also work as an easy way to amp up a more low-key outfit, one that costs far less – £9 at John Lewis, £35 at Wolford – than a new outfit.
If younger consumers are taking to coloured tights as a fresh fashion update, they might also serve as a flashback. Mary Quant, who died this week, pioneered them in the 60s, worn with her trademark miniskirts and hot pants. They were fashionable in the 70s and 80s when the likes of Madonna, Debbie Harry and Brooke Shields wore coloured and patterned tights as part of an aerobics -influenced wardrobe that looks costume-party retro now. Diana, Princess of Wales was an unlikely pioneer in the matching trend. She wore a red skirt suit with matching tights in 1985.
But then they seemed to fade away to black. The fashion writer Naomi Pike advises putting previous associations out of your mind when trying coloured tights now, saying they “very much need to be as low denier as possible – no opaques for fear of appearing costumey”.
Pike describes herself as a “black tights loyalist”. “They’re a real safety blanket for me as I’m conscious of my legs,” she says. “It’ll be a pivot to wear [coloured] tights that act to draw attention rather than avert the eye,” but she is contemplating trying colour as part of an afterdark look. “Think a sleek party dress with a surprising coloured tight in a super sheer denier worn with strappy stiletto heels,” she says.
Coloured tights can be seen as a bit of a statement. “I think coming out of Covid and lockdown, consumers are having more fun with their look,” says the Wolford chief commercial officer, Silvia Azzali. “If you don’t want to dress too bold, they are a great way to experiment.”
Pike sees coloured tights as an item with staying power because they are a cheap fast track to the “awkward”, geeky look seen on the catwalk of Miu Miu for autumn/winter 2023. “A coloured tight is pretty much the key to achieving this look in a singular garment,” she says. “Add the cost of living crisis, and who isn’t going to welcome the idea of an outfit switch up for less than a tenner?”
