Hosiery

Black tights and New York go together like…well, black tights and New York. You have to have them, but you’re not about to pay for Wolford, no matter what Vogue says. I’ve had the best luck at Uniqlo and Macy’s–both have enormous hosiery departments. At Macy’s you can usually find some good discounts, like two Hue tights for $14 (left), which I recommend for durability and opaqueness. One winter I hit up Marshall’s for discount Calvin Klein and Betsey Johnson, both of which were surprisingly terrible. Calvin Klein’s stretch and sag, and Betsey Johnson’s have a weird unintended sheen. Lesson learned: If hosiery is at a discount warehouse, it is likely defective. As one could imagine, the fast-fashion places sell products worthy of the low prices—they just don’t last, and you’ll end up throwing out multiple pairs and spending more than intended.