Bare Legs in Winter? Emily Post Would Faint.

I just really can't get behind this whole 'bare legs in winter' fad that's going around.

There are a few things I can count on during fall and winter: the air getting colder, bundling up in cozy sweaters and blankets, drinking a delicious hot beverage that truly warms from the inside out, wearing an array of fun tights, not having to shave my legs every other day, and giving my pedicure a break.

It's like we're adding to our workload here, ladies. Are you telling me you want to go back to shaving/waxing and pedicuring every week? Please!

A bit warmer than normal? Go for a light wool gabardine and cotton t shirt under an open-knit sweater. And for goodness sakes put on a pair of tights.

There are a fantastic array of sheer hosiery options that will not cause you to overheat while still keeping you seasonably appropriate (and giving you coverage if you have scars, blemishes, or spider veins).

First of all we have a great secret weapon: nude-colored fishnets. Beyonce and Lady Gaga wear them while performing as they add a fuzzy, airbrushed quality to legs. Cellulite is less noticeable and so is uneven skintone.

J.Crew's Nude Fishnets

Fishnets are actually really comfortable.

Try tights with open weaves. They are much stretchier and therefore less binding. They also breathe nicely and you can wear them through spring.

And don't forget that Duchess Catherine made the stodgy old nude pantyhose look modern and pretty. Go for a denier of less than 15 for ultimate sheerness.

Her legs look smooth and covered, not old and crotchety.

Don't Be a Paleist

Today, I noted to an acquaintance that she was looking particularly tan after her Thanksgiving vacation. She beamed at me and said that her son told her she should stay tan because it 'makes you look healthy'.

You know that moment in TV crime dramas when the camera pans over a destroyed apartment, past broken picture frames and an overturned potted plant, finally coming to rest on a scantily clad young woman smeared in blood? You know how your first thought is "Oh holy cow, that chick's dead! This'll be a good one!"? Well, you knew she was dead and not just unconscious because the Makeup Department had spent two hours perfecting her gray, lifeless pallor.

Pale does not equal Dead, so why does Tan seem to equal Healthy?

Check out Nicola Roberts:

Tan, but her skin looks dull. And orange.

Pale. Skin is not dull, but luminous. Also, not orange.

I do think that her tan makes her gorgeous eyes stand out, but it also looks as if she bathed in a tub of iodine. Her skin looks lifeless to me. And orange. Very, very orange. In interviews, Nicola said that she used both tanning beds and self-tanner to get a 'bronzed' look. She has also said that she regrets this phase of tanning as she now realizes the damage she has done to her skin. She has Embraced her Pale and looks lovely.

Tanning is not healthy. This is irrefutable and I guarantee that no doctor would claim that UVR (ultraviolet radiation encompassing UVA and UVB rays) is beneficial to the health of human skin. Is it a great source of Vitamin D? Absolutely, but so is fish.

I resent the implication that I am not, nor do I look, healthy simply because my skin is pale. This kind of thinking is dangerous.

There is no healthy tan. The women who are willingly giving themselves wrinkles, thickened skin, and age spots have skewed perceptions of beauty and the very real risks to which they subject themselves.



My pale skin should look healthy, because it is.