Welcome to The Director’s Cut, an interactive column featuring fashion, beauty and career advice from RGNN Director and Founder, @isabelevabohrer.
In the run-up to a recent trip to Paris, – one of many, as the French capital almost feels like a second home to me at this point, – I rediscovered a pair of black lace tights I bought at H&M many years ago. I remember it well; the tights in question caused quite the envy back in 2018 among the women in Havana, Cuba. We were in Cuba for one of our RGNN Academy Internship and Mentoring Programs. The women of Cuba love lace tights but could not buy them themselves; tights were one of the many products not available on the island. So much so that they would ask me to bring them a few pairs from abroad whenever we flew to La Habana from Madrid. The things we take for granted in Western society…
To cut a long story short, I haven’t worn lace tights for years. My latest go-to have been these black sheer ones from the Kendall Jenner selection at Calzedonia – I unboxed them on TikTok back in December, and thank Kendall Jenner or not, still receive likes and comments on these videos to this day.
And so it was that the other day, I rediscovered my black lace pair, wore them to the first-ever fashion exhibition at the Louvre, and thought, I really should look into other styles and colors. Burgundy, which if you have been following me on social for a while is my favorite, I contemplated.
Fast forward to another visit to Calzedonia, including an incredibly helpful sales associate who was wearing a pair of burgundy macramé tights herself, I came home with more pairs than I thought. In fact, the SA should get a raise – she was spot-on with her sizing recommendations and sold me not only on the pair she was wearing, but five other ones as well.
So, without further ado, here is the full run-down of what I bought, including sizes, and how I plan to style them all. Enjoy!
#1. Burgundy lace with florals
GET THE TIGHTS
Size: I am wearing size M/L. Runs small, I would usually be an S/M, and am so glad I got M/L.
GET THE LOOK
How I am styling them:
- With the light beige hourglass blazer from Zara that I have been loving so much. Complete side note, dear Zara, if you could make this in burgundy and navy as well, that would be great.
- Another one of my go-tos is heart bags, especially ever since I got married wearing my Rosantica Cielo bag, so here it is with my little H&M burgundy heart bag.
- If I had to go to a place where I needed a bigger bag, I would take my burgundy Hermès Kelly.
- Add a pair of beige YSL slingbacks, – I was after these for *so* long and finally found a pair in my size on Vestiaire Collective, brand new.
- Last but not least, a pair of gold earrings, these ones are from Celine.
- Oh, and wouldn’t this be great in fall/winter, throwing over a burgundy Max Mara teddy coat? I think I will be doing that…
#2. Ivory lace with florals.
GET THE TIGHTS
Same tights as the above burgundy, but in ivory.
Size: I am wearing size M/L. Runs small, I would usually be an S/M, and am so glad I got M/L.
GET THE LOOK
How I am styling them:
- Enter the Zara hourglass blazer again, but this time in black.
- Adding a Mexican touch with my Rosantica Taco bag.
- For the heels, my staple; the Christian Louboutin So Kate 120 in black patent leather. A nappa leather would probably look equally elegant as well.
- The Rosantica bag has silver crystals, so a silver hoop would have worked. But I don’t mind pairing gold and silver hardware, and the vintage gold, quilted heart earrings I have have silver crystals. (I also got them for Valentine’s Day last year, so they always bring me good memories!)
#3. Black floral longuette tights
GET THE TIGHTS
Size: I wear wearing size S/M. Runs true to size.
GET THE LOOK
How I am styling them:
- The look I wore to Armani / Silos in Milan. To give you a run-down, the black dress is from Zara – show me something with shoulder pads and I will probably buy it. They just give this dress the perfect shape. So much so, that I first bought this one with ¾ length sleeves. Then, a few seasons later, Zara came out with a long sleeve version that I also bought; for the winter, it is such a great basic to have in your closet.
- Vintage patent leather top handle bag with a leopard closure. Fun fact: the leopard closure was actually a brooch that Pilar from Pilar Ilusion, one of my favorite vintage stores in Madrid, gifted me. I knew that I would get more wear out of it on a handbag and so I asked a local artisan if she could affix it to the patent leather bag for me – it turned out precisley how I wanted.
- The model on the Calzedonia website was wearing these tights with a pair of patent black pumps, and I loved that look, so So Kate in patent leather it was.
- Earrings (heart-shaped, my favorite) are also vintage. If you are like me and can’t get enough of heart-shaped earrings, I have an entire wishlist here…
- Last but not least, this is actually my first pair ever of longuette tights. Would I buy more? I didn’t think I would be a fan, but these have changed my mind for the better. (People also *ate* up the outfit on TikTok, but that is another topic…)
#4. Floral fishnets in ivory
GET THE TIGHTS
Size: I am wearing size M/L. Runs small, I would usually be an S/M, and am so glad I got M/L.
GET THE LOOK
How I am styling them:
- This is the look I wore to the Worth exhibition at the Petit Palais in Paris. I really can’t get enough of Zara’s ivory hourglass blazer dress. I also love how versatile it is – style it with ivory tights instead of burgundy, and the outcome is completely different.
- Burgundy heart bag from H&M, as you will have seen above.
- And the YSL slingbacks that I am wearing on repeat as well.
- Since there is no hardware at all on this outfit, this would work great with gold or silver. Also, I found these Tom Ford sunnies in my husband’s drawer – officially keeping them for me now, lol.
#5. Burgundy macramé
GET THE TIGHTS
Size: I wearing size S/M. Runs true to size.
GET THE LOOK
How I am styling them:
- Did I just go and buy a new pair of shoes just to wear this? Maybe yes. And did I say I love burgundy? Because I didn’t have a pair of burgundy heels, so consider it justified. The look turned out exactly how I thought and the Gucci Guinevere 105 slingbacks are just as fabulous (and sparkly!) as they were in the photos.
- For the bag, I could keep it monochrome and go with the burgundy heart bag from H&M or sparkly with the Rosantica Cielo, depending on the occasion.
- Maybe I need to buy a pair of burgundy earrings? I just realized I don’t have any…
Are you thinking of buying a pair of lace tights yourself? Let me know and if you have any recommendations, please share them as well! I don’t think these will be the last ones I buy…
Questions or comments? Follow me on IG @isabelevabohrer or TikTok and say hi! See you soon!
