Sick of Black Tights? So Are Style Insiders, With Every Chic Dresser Suddenly Wearing These 5 Alternatives Instead
From Kate Moss roaming around Paris in a slinky little black dress and a pair of seductively translucent light deniers to Alexa Chung in a silky mini slip and Burberry’s Nova Check pumps, there’s no denying that black tights are as British as they come.
But to some, this cool-weather staple still reeks of the sixth form corridors and stuffy libraries that used to play host to them, causing a slight aversion to donning the beloved hosiery style. That’s where the chicest alternatives to black tights come in.
In recent years, tights have slowly risen in the ranks from a forgotten underwear drawer to a considered and foremost addition to thoughtful outfits. You can blame this on Chanel's creative director Matthieu Blazy, who first helped whet consumers’ palettes for elegant tights during his tenure at Bottega Veneta. Indeed, during the Italian designer’s sophomore season at the house, he presented a look that featured a chunky navy jumper paired with black tights and a pair of knickers. This act of wearing tights as trousers swiftly became one of the year’s biggest trends, adopted by everyone from Kendall Jenner while out in Beverly Hills to Emma Corrin gliding through glittering grand canals at the Venice Film Festival.
And while black tights will always be a true sartorial classic, it’s moments like these that encourage you to expand the horizons of your personal taste and explore more innovative options. These sophisticated alternatives to black tights aren’t total substitutes, but rather fresher choices that can breathe new life into a stale outfit or transform a look into something far more intentional and impactful. Better still, these choices all offer the same thermal support and layering benefits that black tights do, which is an essential element for surviving the frigid winter months that await us, without actually breaking the bank, given that most expensive-looking high-street styles start for less than the price of sickly sweet iced coffee at one of London’s trendiest cafes.
As for what alternatives to black tights are dominating? It’s a combination of bold neutrals and vibrant patterns, including the beloved tiger-print pair famously worn by Chloë Sevigny to a film premiere in 1996 and the saturated tones seen on Miu Miu’s spring/summer 2023 runway.
Ultimately, the question isn’t whether to wear tights or not to wear tights, but what tights to wear, and as the below proves, there are countless slick and polished options for you to choose from.
With that in mind, keep scrolling through for the 5 elegant alternatives to black tights that will have you swapping, or at least pausing, your well-loved and long-standing pair of dark stockings.
