There’s a nasty cold sweeping the nation; last week MRLA succumbed, this week it’s me, in New York, and of course at the worst possible time – Halloween time! Most probably my most favorite holiday. And guess what else? It snowed! Not a little drizzle, no, but full on. That’s two obstacles standing between me and my beloved Halloween. (Well, the celebrations thereof, which happen on the weekend, and besides I have other plans on Halloween day – I’m going to see a live taping of the Conan show! ♥ ♥ ♥).
I’ve already gone on about my love for Tim Burton, so I’ll spare you the gushing over The Nightmare Before Christmas being my Halloween and Christmas classic, and how I used to have a crush on Jack Skellington and wanted to look like Sally, even though she was a stitched together doll whose arm kept falling off. Instead, I will gush about warm, sweatery things, in an attempt to channel feelings of warmth, and also to plan my winter wardrobe because apparently winter decided to come two months early this year. Though sweatery and Halloweeny need not be mutually exclusive, as you can see from these snuggly, sweatery, animally robe things from Urban Outfitters…
Owl, Penguin, and Tiger Buddies, from Urban Outfitters.
…or these amazing wearable blankets from Vík Prjónsdóttir, an Icelandic brand that looks to mythology for design inspiration.
On left, Shield of Wings, inspired by the Sea Eagle; on right, The Healing Hands, inspired by the Alaskan Shaman; both from Vík Prjónsdóttir.
Perhaps you always wanted to be a lumberjack for Halloween, but could never get that full beard going? Fret no longer, with Vík Prjónsdóttir’s beardcap you can be sporting a lumberjack beard in no time!
But I digress. Let me be clear what I mean when I say “sweatery.” The emphasis is on the “y” part – I’m really talking about tights that are made of sweatery textiles. I think it’s really cute how the fashion world divides seasons into autumn, winter, spring summer, but I like to wear whatever I like whenever I like to wear it. Mostly this means wearing springy/summery things in autumny/wintry weather, and to accomplish this fashion feat while maintaining a modicum of comfort, well, that’s where tights come in. You can make anything into winter wear with the proper tights and coat (even bodysuits! I’ve done it before and I’ll do it again!)!
Tights have been a staple in my wardrobe, since, well, forever (at a Halloween party this weekend I met a girl, dressed as an Italian widow with black eyeliner tears streaming down her face, whose mother, having grown up in Soviet Russia, only came to know tights in her adulthood – so sad, so cold!). My go-to tights, especially of the woolen variety, have come from Hansel and Basel since a friend tipped me off to their fun patterned tights and socks a few years ago, with a supporting cast consisting of Wolford’s shiny tights, Anthropologie’s lacey tights (though I am such a klutz and constantly ripping them with my rings), and American Apparel’s fun colored opaque tights (like, every color you can imagine).
Hansel From Basel, from left to right: diamond line tights in ocean; homme stripe tights in dark grey; donegal kneepad tights in oatmeal.
Hansel from Basel, from top left to bottom right: diamond line tights in oatmeal; colorblock tights in brown; air balloon tights in charcoal; textile tights in melange grey; my lost glasses tights in black; textile tights in off white.
Wolford, from left to right: Versailles tights in night/silver; Neon 40 tights in cosmetic; Glam tights in ivy/black.
Anthropologie, from left to right: Eley Kishimoto’s Foula leggings (for the record: I have a strange aversion to leggings/footless tights, but they’re starting to grow on me); Eloise’s Battenberg tights in multi-colored; Eloise’s Battenberg tights in cream.
American Apparel opaque pantyhose in various colors (we’ve all seen our fair share of American Apparel ads, I know, but this one is just so wholesome, I had to include it)
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