Tights/leggings with dresses in summer - YouLookFab Forum

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Tights/leggings with dresses in summer

Augustina

Hello,

Is it possible to pull off black tights or leggings with dresses in the summer? I'm only 29, but I have very bad legs...not an exaggeration, with poor circulation. But I hate wearing jeans all summer long. I love dressing in the colder months because I feel very comfortable in dresses and tights. Another issue though is that my legs are a lot thicker than the upper portion of my body, like I'm a size 8/10 in my legs (calves, knees, and thighs), but a size 0/2 in my upper body. In the colder months I can balance out my top half with sweaters, but it's a little strange in the summer and I feel like tights could make my legs look even thicker if I'm wearing a short-sleeve top. Any advice?

Thank you!

Dressing

16 replies

Latest reply was from Jules

Anonymous

It sounds really hot to me, but your summers are probably milder than mine. How about some sort of lace or other openwork tights?

Ginger

Veteran

What about capri or cropped leggings? A friend of mine wears them with skirts and dresses throughout the summer, sometimes in colors that coordinate with the rest of the outfit. The cropped length is intentional and looks fine with summer footwear.

Sara L.

Veteran

I like Ginger's idea of cropped leggings. I think really opaque black tights are going to look odd in the summer. Lighter colors or patterned tights might look better.

Stagiaire Fash

Veteran

Are you saying you want to cover up your legs because you find them unattractive, or that you need to keep them warm, because of poor circulation?

If it's the former, there are plenty of breezy, floaty dress, skirts, culottes, and jumpsuits. There are also lots of ways to make your top half look wider, like the boat neck on this black top. V-necks are not your friend there, but wide-set straps like on the white dress might be helpful. Angie's archive has more ideas, better explained. The pieces on inverted triangle and pear body types might be good starting points.

For the latter, I think leggings that coordinate with a sundress or tunic could work well, like the blue dress with patterned leggings or the blue skirt with solid leggings. You could add leggings to any of the floaty stuff too. Black with a dress with black in the pattern might work, but it would be easy to look out of season/seasonally confused. There was a recent post about maxi dresses and how to keep from being too hot in one. Maybe that would be useful to you, in reverse.

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by Stagiaire Fash

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Kate Spade New York Kate Spade New York Whimsy Bi Striped Leggings | Nordstrom

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Catherine Catherine Malandrino Catherine Catherine Malandrino Stella High/Low Tunic Top | Nordstrom

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REFORMATION Reformation Carina Midi Wrap Dress | Nordstrom

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Free People Free People Daisy Chain Midi Dress | Nordstrom

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Billabong Billabong Little Flirt Maxi Dress | Nordstrom

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Joy

Veteran

To balance your proportions in summer how about a thin (think scarf weight) poncho? You could probably just use big summer scarves.
Tights in opaque shades seem too heavy for summer. Would nude micro fishnet panty hose work? Wear bright and sparkly jewelry near your face to bring the eye up. You could even do rainbow hair so that people look up, depending on where you live. Around here it is so common that no one looks.
My sister has to wear compression stockings all year, so wears mostly long maxi skirts I. Summer to cover them. She does not like wearing pants.

nemosmom

Veteran

What about a light colored capri legging? Like a white, pink, or yellow - something that goes with your dress?

Jenni NZ

Veteran

Hi Augustina. I wear cropped pants in summer under short tunic-style dresses a lot. I used to wear cropped leggings until a few years back and just got slightly tired of them- and they were getting old-looking- so I edited them out. You could definitely wear full-length ones as well if your summer is not too hot for that, they would not have to be black, you could pick up colours from the dress. Black ones would look best if there were some black in the print, if the dress is printed, or maybe could be OK with a different solid colour. I am also bigger in my bottom half and still quite petite in my top half, I use a lot of guidelines for pears like drawing the eye to the neckline.

Augustina

Thank you all for your helpful comments!

I do like the idea of cropped leggings (and lighter colors), for some reason I always think of the black full-length ones when I think of leggings.

FashIntern : I don't get too cold because of my circulation- I just mean my legs are kind of red and strained-looking due to poor circulation, so not something I desire to put on display. In fact, the heat exaaserbates it. Thank you for your advice regarding the types of tops I should wear. I think you are dead-on about v-necks. I was shocked seeing a photo of an outfit I wore last summer where I was wearing a short sleeve v-neck (and tights...) and thinking how my top half looked even smaller than usual. I need to try out more maxi dresses. I always feel it makes me look too tall and bean-pole-like with my height (5'8'') and skinny and flat upper half, but I think if I stick to the shapes on top that you suggested, it could make all the difference

Joy: I like the idea of a summer scarf...loving wearing scarves in the winter because it does indeed balance me out. I need to invest in some nice maxi skirts

Thank you all!

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

How about bare legs with midi dresses and high-low maxi dresses for Summer? Ample lower leg coverage and no need for hose or leggings.

Chaus Chaus Dashing Rose Midi Dress | Nordstrom

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Horse Print Midi Dress

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Madewell Seattle Midi Dress

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Preen Line Lois Floral Print Midi Dress

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Leopard Lace Midi Dress

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Free People Tough Love Printed Maxi Shirtdress

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Maisie Jersey Midi Dress

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Preen By Thornton Bregazzi Sida Dress

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Plaid Print Dress

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LaPed

Veteran

With the right dresses and tunics, you can totally wear cropped leggings in the summer. I do this pretty often. For flattery, I'd say the best length is right below the calves, probably about a 21-23" inseam depending on the length of your legs. I try to avoid capris that bisect my calf at its fullest point. Going shorter -- say, right below the kneecap -- would be another option, but it sounds like you'd prefer extra coverage. Most gear brands make options in lightweight breathable fabrics that are good for warm temps.

Since you mentioned circulation, I'm guessing you want the compressive aspect of leggings, but there are also lots of longer skirts and dresses out there right now since midis have been trending for a few seasons. Breezy maxi lengths can be fun in the summer too.

You could also play around with the proportions of your summer outfits. Maybe higher rises to elongate the legs plus loose/voluminous tops, either cropped or tucked, to add volume up top?

Alicewonderland

Veteran

With your height some flowy linen pants would look so elegant and feel so cool yet keep you covered.

rachylou

Veteran

Black leggings worn above the ankle is common look in summer where I live, so I don’t see why not!

Augustina

Thank you guys! This was incredibly helpful...I'm book-marking this post for summer.

Angie- I love a few of those dresses you posted...looking them up now

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

That's great, Augustina. Wearing cropped leggings under dresses can look fab too - but is hot in hot weather unless you're in a/c.

adameesa

Member

Hey u can wear black cotton or light denier tight under the summer dresses which wont make you feel look bad
You can look 40 denier or 15 denier tight which are light weight and light fibre can be worn under summer dress

Jules

Veteran

I prefer to keep my legs mostly covered as well. I have a rayon jumpsuit which is very cool and comfortable. I keep an eye out for light cotton/linen/tencel/rayon pants in various styles - I personally find shorter lengths easier to wear, but long wide linen pants are also great and if high waisted, on trend. For denim, I look for boyfriend styles in 100% cotton and roll them up. Distressing can provide some venting as well!
I’ve also done the capris under dresses and it can definitely work.