Category Archives: Linda Fiorentino and pantyhose
A Grizzly goes to London
Robin Maryland, president, ActSensuous
Readers of this blog have come to know and appreciate my column, Credit ‘wear’ Credit is Due, in which I heap loads of praise on some worthy celebrities for their devotion to wearing pantyhose.
And we’ve had some great ones, haven’t we? Ann Curry, Fran Drescher, The T-Mobile Girl (Carly Foulkes), Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez, Kate Middleton, and Carrie Ann Inaba (for doing a complete 180 and finally wearing pantyhose on every episode of the game show “1 vs. 100,” which she hosted recently.)
Minus that headline, I’ve also glorified some other devoted pantyhose wearers, such as Anne Hathaway, Julianna Margulies, Milla Jovovich, Meredith Vieira, Katy Perry, Parker Posey, Linda Fiorentino, Kim Basinger, Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock. And there are many, many more who deserve such recognition.
Then, a couple of months ago, I introduced a whole different column. This one shines the spotlight on those celebs who completely miss the boat, just don’t get it, lack the finest sense of true femininity, and always miss opportunites to show some real professionalism, elegance or class.
So, for only the second time, I am handing out the coveted (NOT) ActSensuous Grizzly Award.
And this time, the hardware goes to one Stacy London.
Fashion consultant Stacy London always wears beautiful dresses and high heels, but unfortunately, she's a devoted and vocal follower of the "bear" legs culture.
That’s right, the co-host of TV’s “What Not to Wear,” a reality makeover show, in which London and her wonder boy sidekick, Clinton Kelly, use their superior brains and good taste (yes, I’m being sarcastic here) to completely trash the wardrobe of their guests and reinvent them in their own fashionwise images.
And, as many normal people have written in comments to online postings by or about these two “fashion experts,” they often do it in a completely arrogant and insulting manner.
A perfect "Beauty and the Beast" scenario as the professional and classy Meredith Vieira, left, who always wears pantyhose, interviews fashion expert Stacy London, who never wears pantyhose. Does London not see how much better Vieira's legs look than hers?
As readers of this blog know, I despise so-called “fashion experts” who make universal rules and tell everyone what they can and cannot wear, as if their likes or dislikes about fashion trends are somehow more appropriate and obviously more sound than what anyone else on the planet thinks. It’s “fashion experts” like these two who’ve come up with the “rule” that one can never wear pantyhose with open-toe high heel dress shoes — a rule that, incidentally, is almost never followed by anyone with half a brain, and one that is standing up less and less to scrutiny everywhere.
So Stacy London, possibly the queen of all “fashion experts,” gets the second Grizzly Award (after Sarah Jessica Parker for obvious reasons)? But it’s not just because she’s a “fashion expert.” Rather, it’s because she’s on record as stating that she likes bare legs for all seasons. That, and she’s using her credentials and influence to further her own agenda — a personal dislike and distaste for pantyhose as a fashion accessory.
Here’s are a couple of excerpts from a 2008 segment of TODAY.com where London is a style contributor, answering readers’ questions about fashion:
Q: I was watching “What Not to Wear” when you appeared horrified by the idea of wearing hose. I know it’s not really the style now to wear nylons, but I have terrible spider veins on my white legs. What do I do now that skirts are knee-length and those veins are so obvious? Any advice?
A: First of all, the only hose I really hate are the semi-sheer ones in suntan or black. They look dated and remind me of a time when women would walk to work in their suits, those hose, white sweat socks and white leather aerobic sneakers. Blech. Might as well throw in a whole can of hairspray, too. Too ’80s! Stay away from anything that has a mid-range denier number that indicates the sheerness of the hose (10 is very sheer, 30 is semi-sheer and 50 is opaque).
I recommend a good self-tanner for the pale-leg situation, but also realize that won’t help with spider veins. Look for opaque tights and try them in a subtle color, like a burgundy or deep purple, when wearing a neutral-color knee-length skirt or suit. They will hide your legs and add a visual punch to your outfits!
Q: You indicated that pantyhose were no longer proper attire. You stated that in summer, go with bare legs and in winter, wear tights. I enjoy wearing pantyhose and want to know if I am old-fashioned if I wear them?
A: I did not mean to indicate in my last segment that pantyhose are no longer appropriate attire. My feeling is that those that are considered day sheer or mid-denier don’t look modern, but a bit dated. The denier number on hose shows you how sheer the stocking will be. The lower the number, the more sheer they are.
For example, a denier of 10 will be supersheer. These are great for evening, especially with a little shine or a back seam, as they look natural and simply enhance the legs for evening. A denier of 30, is what I have most trouble with; it’s neither here nor there. It’s not sheer. It’s not opaque. You know? It’s like a relationship: Either you’re in or you’re out. This wishy-washy sheerness dates an outfit to the ’70s or ’80s, when this style was most popular. But when you get to a denier of 50 or above, and the stocking is clearly opaque, I think this becomes a more modern and relevant look. A shiny tight like this can be used for day or evening.
OK, first, the country’s leading fashion expert comes out and blatantly tells women to go with bare legs in the summer? She also tells women to use self-tanner for pale legs? Seriously? Second, she recommends opague tights in a subtle color, “like burgundy or deep purple?” (Those colors are subtle?)
Stacy London actually wore this outfit during the Keep A Child Alive's 5th annual Black Ball Nov. 13, 2008 at the Hammerstein Ballroom in New York, NY.
Hey, look, I respect others’ opinions, and the fact that London is considered a fashion expert, if that’s her best advice about leg coverings, then too bad for her and anyone who listens to her. While I completely disagree with London about everything she says about pantyhose, I’ve got no problem with her actually saying it. She’s entitled to say what she wants. Where I have a problem with her is on her point about denier ratings.
She specifically says that it’s pantyhose with a denier rating of 30 that she finds objectionable. She even cautions “If they come in an egg, you don’t want to wear them,” referring to the L’Eggs brand (owned by Hanes) of the 1970s and 80s. But she’s wrong. L’Eggs and their competitors (the most widely-known one being No Nonsense) made their pantyhose in a 20 denier rating.
As she said, denier rating determines how sheer the nylon fabric is. The lower the number, the more sheer the pantyhose. When I created ActSensuous in 2001, I looked into the 10 denier rating she referred to, and yes, they are super sheer, but the fabric is coarse and not very natural looking. They are not soft or silky at all, and while there may be a market for them, it’s not a very big one. You almost never see anyone wearing pantyhose like these. And, yes, denier ratings as high as 50 are available, but they are tights that are thick and, in my view, not suitable in some venues, such as a formal dinner engagement, nor for proper business attire.
No, my problem with London’s remarks are about the pantyhose of the 1970s and 80s being so awful. I loved pantyhose in the 70s and 80s, and I’ve never known of a 30 denier rating. But what do I know? The pantyhose of those decades were made almost entirely of 100 percent nylon fabric in a 20 denier, which is exactly why I made ActSensuous in a 20 denier. I think those are precisely the kind of pantyhose that true pantyhose lovers love. Those are the style, the look and the feel that we all miss. Maybe London meant to say a 20 denier rating is what is so awful.
By the way, ActSensuous has hundreds and hundreds of customers from all over the world, literally from Atlanta to Bangkok, from California to Denmark, from New York to New Zealand. We’re big in England, France and Australia. We have customers from China, Korea and Japan. I don’t think there is a country in which we don’t have customers. And they all tell us ActSensuous are the softest, sheerest and sexiest pantyhose they’ve worn. But, really, what do we all know? We’re not “fashion experts” like Stacy London and Boy Wonder.
In doing the research for this post, I ran across this forum on the Internet:
To the question: “What’s your honest opinion of Stacy London and Clinton Kelly of What Not to Wear? Do you like this Show …?, most answers were negative, but even some of the supportive ones came out against their obvious negative slant against pantyhose.
I particularly love this response:
LindsaySheers said:
… Why is (Clinton Kelly) telling me what all men find sexually alluring on women?
A lot of gay men know a lot about fashion, but to get such advice on that subject, I would like a 2nd & 3rd & straight opinion.
… These two complete followers of Brittany and Sarah Jessica Parker have agreed that they do not like pantyhose, (fine), however, they dictate to their audience and columns that, “No one likes them.” “Everyone looks bad in them.” Etc…
I think my legs are my best feature and every boyfriend I have ever had have all confessed to me, after that shyness period passed, that they were all ‘ga ga’ for me (girls in general) when wearing sheer silky pantyhose (hence my nickname, given to me by my current boyfriend sitting kind of to the side here & still a little shy) and tights, but mostly the sheer nude/tan/beige hues.
Lastly, the show was/is not only incorrect on so many levels, but caters to and from their mindset only. Falling into this show would have you most likely ending up as a follower. Be a trendsetter, not a follower. Be stylish. Be sexy. Be yourself. Not what they insist on.
Let me tell you something: this LindsaySheers gets it. Good for her.
If ever a case could be made for wearing pantyhose, click on the image to see the expanded version. Stacy London looks very lovely in this photo, but wait until you get to see a closeup of those legs.
You know, I want to like Stacy London.
She’s a beautiful and charismatic woman, she’s very intelligent, and she has accomplished great things in her life.
Before co-hosting “What Not to Wear,” she started her career as an editor at Vogue magazine, then, became a stylist for celebrities and designers, then, a fashion contributor on many Today show formats.
She is or has been a spokeswoman for several brands, including Revlon, Pantene, Woolite and Dr. Scholl’s® For Her Comfort Insoles.
Along with Kelly, she’s written a book, “Dress Your Best: The Complete Guide to Finding the Style That’s Right for Your Body.”
I actually felt a little bad when I named Sarah Jessica Parker the first recipient of the ActSensuous Grizzly Awards because, when researching her for the piece, I actually found several pictures of her wearing pantyhose. That’s right, the one celeb universally “credited” with creating the bare legs culture with her “Sex and the City” TV series and movies, actually wears pantyhose fairly regularly. It was more symbolic that SJP had to get the first Grizzly Award.
But I don’t have any reluctance about bestowing upon Stacy London the second Grizzly Award. I can’t find a single photo of her wearing pantyhose. Granted, some of the pics of her on the Internet are of low resolution and too small a file to really be able to tell if she’s wearing or not. But based on everything London says and stands for, I am pretty sure she is not wearing pantyhose in any of the pics on the Internet. Certainly, she comes across as if she hates pantyhose, thinks they are old-fashioned and irrelevant today.
The dynamic duo, Clinton Kelly and Stacy London of TV's "What Not to Wear."
I liked “What Not to Wear” when it debuted in 2002.
I watched quite a few episodes and I remember longing to see London wearing pantyhose with those beautiful dresses and high heels she always wore. But it never happened.
I thought that was such a missed opportunity on her part — a chance for her to show professionalism, class and elegance in the role she held. But, to her, it wasn’t a missed opportunity at all.
This lady just doesn’t believe in pantyhose … period.
Like LindsaySheers, I too was upset and offended when I saw a video of London and Boy Wonder “explaining how to wear pantyhose,” especially when they admitted the video was made only because they were getting so many inquiries from consumers about why they never talked about pantyhose. Then, when they said that nobody looks good in suntan pantyhose and no one should ever wear them, I realized that there is probably no one more deserving of the second ActSensuous Grizzly Award than Stacy London.
Here’s that video:
http://tlc.discovery.com/videos/what-not-to-wear-how-to-wear-pantyhose.html
So, what do you think? Could there be a more worthy recipient of the ActSensuous Grizzly Awards than Stacy London?
Entertainment industry can make or break pantyhose
Robin Maryland, President, ActSensuous
Is what’s considered fashionable a case of art imitating life, or life imitating art? Everyone knows that fashion was influenced more by the golden era of Hollywood than anything else, and I am sure it’s every bit the case today.
Life Imitating Art
By now you know that Sarah Jessica Parker is “credited” with creating the “bare legs movement” with her “Sex and the City” TV show and movies. When everyday women saw the show’s high-profile characters strutting around New York City – fashion capital of the world – all dressed up minus the pantyhose, they completely lost their minds, adopted the idea, and from the mid-1990s to present, pantyhose practically disappeared as a fashion staple.
Art Imitating Life
As the bare legs culture grew in popularity among non-celebrities, naturally, more and more actresses and entertainers jumped on the bandwagon, too. It was almost as if celebs felt obligated to sport the new fashion look since they are expected to be the trendsetters in such things, and it had become clear that anti-pantyhose fever already was firmly established among the general population.
Coming full circle
While pantyhose were disappearing in society, even in the workplace, the entertainment industry’s role in it was evolving from instigator in creating the bare legs culture, to one of jumping onto the bandwagon, to now becoming the one place where pantyhose most likely are seen and appreciated today.
There’s one thing you can depend on about fashion – no fad lasts very long. What’s “in” eventually becomes what’s “not in,” and you can be sure that as soon as what’s not in takes off and everyone gets enough mileage out of it, ultimately, it will become what’s in again.
Geena Davis
Today, entertainers appear to be split on the wearing of pantyhose. Thankfully, some truly professional stars, such as Geena Davis, Julianna Margulies, Linda Fiorentino, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Fran Drescher, Holly Hunter, Goldie Hawn, Shelley Long, Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman to name a few, never bought into the bare legs thing and, as long as the role or the scene they played didn’t preclude it, they always wore pantyhose. And there are some bright new stars today who are contributing to bringing pantyhose back into popularity, among them the likes of Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, and for the most part, Katie Holmes, Kate Moss, Megan Fox, Kate Beckinsale, Jessica Alba, Milla Jovovich and Olivia Munn.
Pantyhose on display
Already this year, stars wearing pantyhose has been a frequent scene in many TV programs, movies and entertainment venues.
Paula Abdul jokes with host Craig Ferguson during an appearance on The Late Late Show Jan. 12, 2011.
I have to give props to Paula Abdul, who always wears pantyhose as host of her new show, “Live to Dance,” and always wears when she makes appearances on the late night talk shows. To me, that shows that she is professional and classy. Good for you, Paula.
So, it seems that the best we can hope for these days is this pantyhose love-hate relationship in the entertainment industry. Last week, I saw Gwyneth Paltrow on Jimmy Fallon. She wore a short dress and very sheer nude pantyhose. Sadly though, lovely little Sandra Oh appeared on Jimmy Kimmel, wearing a slacks outfit.
Those who have seen Sandra only on “Grey’s Anatomy,” might be surprised to learn that she has gorgeous legs (and feet), and she’s shown them off in pantyhose in several movies. Sadly, she mostly does the bare legs thing during red carpet or publicity events. I just don’t get that. She doesn’t seem like the follow-what-everyone-else-is-doing type to me. She is one celeb I really wish would glam it up a lot more because she can do it so well, and it would show a totally different side of her. Oh well. I still love her.
Maggie Q stars on TV's 'Nikita.'
Also last week, I couldn’t wait to see Maggie Q on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno just to see if I would win the bet I made with myself that she would wear a short dress and high heels but no pantyhose.
Sometimes, I just hate being right. Then again, with someone like Maggie Q and her perfect Asian skin, whether she’s wearing in this picture or not can be difficult to tell.
She really looked good on Leno. Here’s a small pic I found of Maggie on the Internet. Is she wearing? Could be. I doubt it, but I want to believe that she is.
This weekend, I re-watched the movie, “Get Smart,” with Steve Carell, who did a great job as Maxwell Smart.
When the movie first came out a few years ago, and when I saw it again on Saturday, I was so disappointed in Anne Hathaway for not wearing pantyhose in her role as Agent 99. (She “Missed it by THAT much!”)
UPDATE (See the Reader Comments on this post. Looks like I was wrong about Anne Hathaway. One reader provides compelling evidence that, at least in one scene, Agent 99 indeed was wearing. “Sorry about that, Chief!”)
And speaking of spy shows, another celeb I am disappointed in is Piper Perabo, who stars in TV’s “Covert Affairs.” She’s really lovely, but she did the bare legs thing on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson last week. Sorry, I just think that shows a lack of class, and I had a different image of her than that.
I have written before about my disappointment in the way she often doesn’t wear pantyhose with her otherwise professional attire on “Covert Affairs,” despite that advertising spots almost always show her in pantyhose.
Again, I don’t know who’s at fault – Perabo or the show’s costume designer – for Perabo’s character not wearing pantyhose on ”Covert Affairs.” I wonder how much say Perabo has about the matter, and which way she’d lean if she did have a say.
It’s interesting, as one reader commented, that advertisers don’t miss the opportunity to show off Perabo in pantyhose during promotions for the show.
Check out this site: http://www.emrahyucel.com/tr/entry/category/all/company/5/customer/0/page/8
and scroll down to the bottom of the page. You’re looking for page 16.
<< ÖNCEKİ 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | … 94 | SONRAKİ >>
On page 16, the “Covert Affairs” set is about halfway down the page. These are some beautiful publicity photos, and hopefully, a sign of the outfits to come on this show.
And it’s not just on TV and in movies that pantyhose are finding their legs again. One of this blog’s devoted followers, Peter A., pointed out earlier this month that everywhere he looked, he saw the professional models and visitors wearing pantyhose during the Jan. 18 Detroit Auto Show. I love that. Thanks for the photo, Pete.
