Liberating the Legs : When Bare Gams Won’t Do, Sheer Hose and Subtle Socks Step In

In olden days, a glimpse of stocking may have been shocking, but today wearing no stockings with high heels is the real shocker.

“At the recent Richard Tyler fall fashion show sponsored by Nordstrom, the models wore three-inch and four-inch high heels with no hose,” said Mary Dell Barkouras, a Newport Beach fashion consultant. “We’ve seen it in Europe for years, but now it’s coming here.”

Considering women have been wearing dark hosiery for years, this au natural look takes some getting used to.

The coordinated look of black dress, black hose and black shoes created an unbroken line from torso to toe, not to mention that dark hose give the illusion of thinner legs. Now, designers want to liberate the leg with either no hose or hosiery in natural colors.

“Only a few women can get away with this look, in my opinion,” Dell Barkouras says. “It looks best with tanned legs, but we’re not supposed to get tans, (so) a light-colored hose is needed.”

“The nude leg is certainly a fashion option,” said Carol Horowitz, general manager of Neiman-Marcus, Fashion Island Newport Beach. “The hosiery to wear for the look is ultra sheer. It gives the illusion of no hose.”

For fall, Donna Karan, the largest proponent of black legs, has come out with a second-skin hose in Lycra 3-D.

Karan’s and other designers’ nude hose colors are designed in many shades to wear as a summer tans fade.

Karan’s lightweight hosiery can be mixed with linen to add subtle color and texture.

Socks, too, are adopting the subtle look with heathered colors and mild textures for weekend wear.

“Socks look good worn above the knee and below it,” Horowitz says. “The trendy look of above-the-knee socks and short skirts can succeed only on those who don’t mind showing their thighs. Knee socks will also come in the natural shades and in outrageous ones like Gianni Versace’s shiny silver ones for evening wear.”