His Hoses Are Roses: Nude Leggings the Jacobs Way

From my front-row screen access to the Marc Jacobs Spring '10 collection show, I learn that fashion's erstwhile blue-haired boy has gone in for pale, loose leggings in a big way.

As Cathy Horyn of The New York Times reports, this is essentially Good For The Women (as opposed to other innovations from the fashion front, which are Horribly Bad For The Women, as Fluff Chance notes so perceptively at the Emperor's Old Clothes).

Jacobs might not agree, at least publically, but I'm convinced that the reason these leggings will be a huge trend the world over is modesty. Like the salwar element of Pakistan's national dress, the salwar kameez, they cover the legs while allowing unhindered stance and movement.

Isn't this why the garment essentially refuses to go away? We wear them for warmth, and we wear them for comfort (that lovely supporty lycra stretch against the legs) and we wear them most of all when that skin, fully exposed, would feel epidermally incorrect.

Anyway, if you don't feel like paying Jacobs-level prices for loose beige leggings, another option is to look online for silk longjohns typically used for skiing, which are much of a muchness. Keywords might include "thermal" "base layer" "tights". Do get them new, obviously. As ever, the word "nude" ignores the vast majority of women whose skintone is darker than bisque.

To wear, simply wack them on under a dress--they are near-brainless to style, which is one more significant reason to give them a try.

(photo top, Elizabeth Lippman for The New York Times, photo bottom from www.salwarkameez.org.in)