ON WEARING TIGHTS

I’m one of those women who will use any excuse not to put on a pair of black opaques tights unless necessary. But as winter colds up, I don’t go out without any black tights on. I mean, a pair of 80-denier opaque tights underneath my trousers (plus thermal shirt, a hat, a pair of  gloves and the whole shebang) as if London is experiencing a sub-zero temperatures! 

The sun might be out and the temperature might not change from one day to the next, but it’s not the deciding factor of whether to wear tights or not. For instance, this morning it’s sunny and having a tights on, plus a thermal shirt, just feels wrong – or at least it feels wrong until I’m outside, shivering. Anyhow, London is cold and wet almost everyday in the winter months where black tights are really practical and entirely appropriate.

I learned on my first year of living here though that British women have a particular attachment to black opaque tights that baffles a tropical girl like myself. Back then I didn’t, for the life of me, understand the women’s obsession with black tights in the spring and summer months. Seriously, most British women wear them all year round! I finally figured out the reason: they have hairy legs and are too lazy to shave everyday. LOL! In the Philippines, black tights are relegated to the back of the drawer. Back then I only wore them when I visited another country on a winter season. Filipino women proudly bare their legs whether rain or shine. Now that I call London home, I only wear tights when it’s too cold. And I have a simple rule — all winter I wear trousers and my legs are hidden away but on a warm day, I let my legs breathe.

This season, on the countless days (just like in the last 16 years of living here) I’ve found myself staring at my 80-deniered thighs on cold, overcast days. It’s been freezing cold nowadays, between 30-43°C temperatures, and it has finally persuaded me to quit complaining about wearing tights. If I stick to my ‘rain-or-shine-wear-tights’ rule during AW season, I suspect my legs will walk me in to April or May of next year having never seen the light of day. 

Note: Featured image from Comedy Card