Sheer genius

Wolford fishnets in W Magazine

To say I love stockings more than any other winter accessory is an understatement, but I was a late bloomer in the Wolford arena. I'd seen their stores in Milan, been tempted to enter even, but I pretty much thought $110 tights were a bit of a joke, even if they are supposedly the creme de la creme of legwear.

I mean stockings encrusted with gold? sure. But just normal opaques, really? Stockings ladder faster than you can say supercalifragilisticexpialidocious and you can cheat the chills with a $10 just-as-good pair from the supermarket. That's a whopper of a saving.

I guess I just didn't really get what the big deal was, and still didn't when my dad actually took me into New York's flagship store and bought me my first two pairs. According to him, they never ladder - yea right. Never is a very long time.

But, three months and a trillion washes later (actually in the washing machine, and not on the delicate cycle either) they are in one piece, have no pulls or any of that annoying bidding, are super-duper soft and are still going strong. Now I get it. Why buy 20 $10 pairs every winter when you can buy three Wolford pairs and never have to buy a $10 pair again. Sheer genius.

Julia Reston-Roitfeld wearing Wolford stockings in Page Six magazine

Wolford tights in Paris Match shot by Karl Largerfeld

Jessica Stam teaming Wolford hosiery with sneakers