Hosiery options for your LBD

Question: If you are going with a black shorter dress, is it appropriate to wear black hose and black shoes?

Answer: Yes, of course!


Elie Tahari dress, Bluefly, $190.40


With a dressy dress, you have essentially three options for hosiery. You can go bare legged, which is only really advisable at this time of year in WARM climates; if you choose to do this, think about rubbing on a little self tanner, for good measure.

Your second option is sheer hose, which are best with heels; flat shoes and sheer hose can look frumpy. Choose a color that matches your skin tone as closely as possible.

Option three is black hose; choose a pair that are silky and sheer and NOT shiny (although shimmery can work, as long as the rest of your outfit is fairly simple AND you have slim legs). As with sheer hose, black hose are best with a wee heel, because they are dressier than tights or bare legs. A black dress with black hose and black shoes will give you a long, slim leg line, and that's always a good style statement.

For less dressy black dress wearing, you can opt for bare legs or tights (in black or color, depending on your age and outfit and mood). You can also pair a black dress with knee-high boots and wear either tights or hose (but really, wear something; that bare legs-and-boots look is hard for most women to pull off).

And finally, remember that peep toed shoes require either bare legs or tights. No panty hose and peep toes, please.