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The nudes, in that yellowish beige, no matter how advanced you are stylistically, they will always make you look like an old lady.
But why lately, designers and brands want to instill in us the idea that even those ugly nylon knee socks, which we hide under boots and trousers, have their own beauty and coolness?
We change our minds. We see things with different eyes. Don’t tell me this hasn’t happened to you Birkenstocks. Or with the low-rise skinny jeans, the capri pants, the white socks with sandals (suffocated laughter), the flip flops with the heels, the velvet jumpsuits and and and…
Don’t feel ashamed. We’ve all cracked something in the past and then become obsessed with it. Let me tell you…my bucket list starts with Crocs and doesn’t end…
There are many brands that have created guilty pleasures from time to time. However, the true master, who knows exactly how to make an unsightly element of wishful thinking, is Prada. Miuccia Prada made ugly chic one of her trademarks. Thanks to her, ugliness became attractive and the acceptance of the awkward and unconventional turned into common behavior.
So much so that today the aesthetic of Cringe Chic invades our wardrobes almost without us realizing it.
Yes, because while for Prada ugliness is a tool of self-expression and social commentary, for many of us it is simply imitation. The desire to follow a trend. And if in 2024 our drawers are filled with transparent knee-high nylon stockings (perhaps in their nude version), we will curse Mrs. Miuccia. It will be her fault, that she proposed this type of stocking in many of her collections. For example in SS19.
This transparent nylon stocking with elastic, which reaches just below the knee, is the key-item from autumn to next summer. The fundamentally anti-sexual piece takes its revenge and seems to be taunting us from the catwalks.
We saw knee-high socks in classic transparent black, white or nude versions on the Fall/Winter 2024 runways from Acne Studios, Shiatzy Chen, Weinsanto, Casablanca , and Cecilie Bahnsen .
Emilia Wickstead combined them with oversized sweaters, embroidered skirts with 3D flowers and loafers. Tommy Hilfiger gave them a preppy style, with mini skirts, polo shirts, turtlenecks and jackets. Even in the SS25 collections, these ugly socks remain hot. In different fabrics like silk or lace, and more attractive with floral embellishments, net, embroidery and bright colors.
They flirt with the coquette aesthetic seen at Yuhan Wang, Vivetta and Simone Rocha; get a sporty touch at Melitta Baumeister and get more playful at Natasha Zinko , while returning to preppy style at Kent & Curwen.
Celebrity Success
Bella Hadid loves them. She wears them with capri pants, suits with skirts, shorts or mini skirts, combined with sneakers or loafers. Kristen Stewart even made them sexy, wearing them as thigh-highs, daring them with high heels, shorts and a sports top or with a maxi skirt and a bejeweled top. During the tour promoting Joker: Folie à Deux, Lady Gaga wore lace knee-highs to show off her outfits reminiscent of Courtney Love during her grunge years. Julia Fox went even further, opting for the granny style with knee-high nude compression stockings.
So, even if we’d like to never see them again, I don’t think they’ll do us any favors. We have two choices – either ignore them and criticize whoever wears them or put all prejudice aside and incorporate them into our everyday outfits. And not well hidden under clothes and shoes. In 2024, knee-highs are destined to be prominent. The simplest combination is with a pleated skirt, shirt, V-neck sweater, jacket and penny loafers, in full preppy style. But this is not the only option. Knee-highs are quite flexible – let your imagination run wild.
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