What to do with old tights?

Tights, once laddered or with a hole in the crotch, tend to get thrown straight in the bin. I always feel bad about it because there’s nothing else really wrong with them but what on earth can you actually do with them? This useful video from the Guardian website’s green section says that the lycra from tights can be used in bandages for women living in the developing world who need to be bandaged in the pelvic region.

It also explains that old bras might look ropey but as long as they are still actual bras, it’s worth taking them to the charity shop because they are very useful to women in places without Marks and Spencers.

Make sure your old tights are washed and clean, then send them to:

Ethiopia Tights Appeal, Tightsplease
2nd Floor Albion Court
18-20 Frederick street
Hockley
Birmingham B1 3HE.

Winter shorts

I photographed myself this morning to see if this outfit looked bonkers or not and I’m glad I did. I haven’t previously approved of winter shorts but this is a really comfortable outfit and it is ideal for these days of feeling cold yet sweaty. I sailed serenely through my day instead of tearing off layers every time I changed environment and then having to put them all back on again.

It also proved to be a very popular outfit with the public. Men talked to me; this happens on infrequent and baffling days. It wasn’t even harassment, it was appreciation. And some fashion students photographed me on Brick Lane and said they liked my colour combinations and my tights. This made me extremely happy as I wasn’t sure anyone appreciated colour anymore and that my gift was going to go unnoticed in my own time, only to be revived by critics in the decades to come.

S

Mantyhose

Just in case you were starting to think this was a proper blog with all of S’ brilliant LFW coverage, let me point you in the direction of ‘Mantyhose’ or tights for men.  Wtf? Unless they are used as thermals I just don’t think this is ever going to catch on. Ever.   

A

Signposts

Hi guys! We’re still reeling from getting linked on the front page of WordPress and have loved all the attention. Here are some little bits while we get our blogging act back together in the aftermath.

• Friend of the blog designer Brooke Roberts gets interviewed by Amelia’s Magazine. A owns some of her amazing bedazzled leggings.
• Style Bubble is the first to get House of Holland tights, which look really fun. As well as the “Pantone” ones she plumps for, I really like these fake suspender ones. They are on the list of stuff to buy when I get a job. There’s a whole line available at My Tights.

 

S

Spring in my Step

Accessorize Rose Sheer – £8

Emilio Cavallini Hearts at ASOS – £10.75

Bebaroque’s Betty – £27

As we’ve already mentioned, S & I are governed by the weather when it comes to the morning ‘what to wear decision’. Every day this week, I have gotten too excited by the prospect of sun and inadvertently worn something inappropriate – too warm, too draughty, too skimpy (compared to everyone else in the office). And inevitably, it’ll be cold again next week so what’s the best interim solution? Tights, I tell you.

Yes, that’s right, tights. All sorts of exciting colours and patterns make these perfect for showing off your fun, spring fashion savvy whilst not actually daring to bare. There are obviously other contenders for the title of ‘Ideal Interim Wear’ but the long cardigan will have to wait its turn for rightly due adoration.

I’ve decided that my black tights are out and fun, patterned, ’spring in my step’ tights are in. I was pleased when coloured tights became acceptable again for women over 20, but recently patterned tights are my favourites.

And what about the boys? Even the most metrosexual of men are unlikely to willingly wear hosiery unless they are part of a dance troupe or in the circus. I’ve always like coloured socks for boys but they don’t seem to like the ‘transported to my childhood’ look. Something to do with being manly, I think.

So, go on, put your best nylon foot forward.

A

A beautiful bag and a shopping failure

Bags, all Topshop.

I am currently obsessed with filling certain gaps in my wardrobe, and I am particularly after leather-coloured accessories to plug those gaps. Today I met up with very stylish friends of the blog PJ and Marisa and mooned a bit over Marisa’s brown leather Prada bag. We agreed that in this case although the name label added to the pleasure of the experience, the bag was just perfect in its own right – lovely brown leather, the right size, well-proportioned, sturdy but slouchy. People say they wouldn’t spend all that money on a designer bag but sometimes you can’t find what you want on the high street and you end up using things that don’t really represent you just because you choose from what’s available.

I definitely found this today when trying to find these elusive accessories and maybe some black jersey pieces, the type of which you might find on a New York gallery owner. Nothing appealed to me except a Vanessa Bruno dress I saw in Urban Outfitters, which at £120 in the sale was still quite a bit too much. Nothing really spoke to me (“I will pull together all that random printed stuff in your wardrobe! Buy me!”)

Instead I decided to buy more stuff I can wear at home and bought a long grey-striped t-shirt at Topshop and as the cherry on the sundae, some tomato-red tights, just because they lifted my spirits when I saw them. Clearly in my heart of hearts I have more in common with a toddler than I do a New York gallery owner.

S