From the highest seats at the *Short n’ Sweet* tour, Sabrina Carpenter’s legs gleam as if coated in Krispy Kreme glaze. It’s hard to take your eyes off them.
If you saw her opening set for *Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour*, her Coachella show, or her 2024 VMAs performance, you noticed the same thing: her legs glistened with every outfit change and sassy hip pop.
In the past year and a half, the 25-year-old “Espresso” singer has followed Swift’s stage style by wearing double-layered nude pantyhose. This practical and flattering fashion trick has been popular with stars like Beyoncé and Demi Lovato.
These pop icons don’t need to coat their legs in moisturizer or liquid shimmer; the sheer pantyhose provide an instant glossy effect with no hassle. Now, this performer-approved trend is reaching everyday women, as skin-toned pantyhose make a strong comeback.
Allen E. Gant invented pantyhose in 1959 to help his pregnant wife, who struggled with constantly pulling up her stockings. He aimed to create a garment that extended from the waist to the toes, removing the need for garters completely.
In the 1960s, as Mary Quant popularized the miniskirt, tights helped make the style more “appropriate” for everyday wear. Even with rising hemlines, it wasn’t considered acceptable for women to show their stockings and lace garters. Pantyhose provided a modest solution under the thigh-skimming fashion.
Over the next decade, nude tights became an office staple, mandated by most employers’ dress codes. Bare legs were not allowed, and women had to wear pantyhose if their skirts or dresses were mid-calf-length or shorter. However, by the 1990s, as workwear standards evolved, pantyhose were considered outdated and unfashionable.
Once abandoned in professional settings, nude nylons shifted from polite undergarments to fun, costume pieces. Unless you were a ballerina, figure skater, aspiring Broadway dancer, or even Taylor Swift, wearing skin-tone pantyhose seemed unusual.
In 2024, the fashion scene has shifted again, creating a noticeable generational divide. To millennial non-A-listers, nude tights are still seen as old-fashioned underwear, a throwback to what older generations wore. As one X/Twitter user put it, they’re forever linked to Nora Batty from *Last of the Summer Wine*. But for Gen Z, nude tights are now a sexy staple—an ideal alternative to self-tanner and, according to one pantyhose fan on social media, “very hot.”
Millennials and Gen X who resist the trend often do so because they can’t shake the conservative values passed down from their mothers and grandmothers. One Gen X woman, for instance, shared online that she only wears skin-toned tights because of her family’s influence. “I just can’t bring myself to go bare-legged if I’m wearing a skirt,” she admitted. “If it’s a long summer skirt, fine, but if it’s a tailored skirt with a blazer or jacket, I have to wear pantyhose. I can’t not. I hear my mother’s and grandmother’s voices in my head.”
Some women took to Reddit to share their trauma of being forced to wear flesh-toned “granny panties” in their youth. “My first job out of college required pantyhose with skirts and even with sandals – this was in 2000, and one of the reasons I left after 18 months,” one user shared. “Nope, nope, nope! I always hated them. I’m pale and could never find a nude that matched. I’ve worn black pantyhose, fishnets, tights—anything like that—but nude hose? Never again,” another agreed.
This frustration was echoed by many online, with users pointing out that most companies offer a limited range of skin-toned pantyhose. “The skin tone on my legs DOES NOT match my arms,” one frustrated woman vented on Reddit. Another self-identified “elder millennial” admitted, “I haven’t worn ‘nude’ stockings or tights since I was a kid. I often wear patterned or fashion tights (both sheer and opaque) in various colors as an outfit accent, but never in my skin tone.”
Both high-fashion and affordable brands have continued to promote flesh-colored tights, introducing new offerings and expanding skin tone options. Notable names like the drugstore staple L’eggs are leading the way with more inclusive choices.
The Row, Miu Miu, and Maison Margiela have all championed pantyhose, pushing for their chic revival in recent runway collections—especially in the last two years as the no-pants trend gained traction. For her Fall 2023 ready-to-wear collection, Miuccia Prada made a bold statement: not only can pants be optional, but flaunting what’s underneath is now in vogue.
Gen Z stars like Addison Rae and Sydney Sweeney followed the designers’ lead, ditching pants and pushing tights into the fashion spotlight. But even millennial icons are joining in—Kristen Stewart and Jodie Turner-Smith have both been spotted wearing tiny underwear paired with nude hosiery. While the no-pants look is usually seen with colored or sheer black tights, Stewart opted for skin-toned pantyhose. In March 2024, the *Twilight* star was seen strutting the streets of New York City in light tights and cable-knit underwear.
Sure, the “pants-less” look may be a fashion step too far for anyone but celebrities. But there’s no denying that the trend—along with Carpenter-mania—has brought nude tights back into the style spotlight. Sorry, millennials—it seems Nora Batty was ahead of her time.