Mierswa & Kluska: Jewelry & Garter Belts

images via Mierswa & Kluska

Accenting your garters & hosiery with diamonds & jewels is the ultimate in luxury embellishment, and in this case, the ultimate in an eye-catching jewelry ad campaign.  These images for Park Avenue jewelry caught our eye not so much for the gems but for the sexy hosiery and the peek of pretty lingerie.  The funny thing is that we thought these photos were an update to those we posted on our blog a few years back from V Magazine.  The reality is that these have nothing to do with it, and just share the coincidence of similar styling, concept and posing (maybe not a coincidence then?).  Anyhow, we wish we had some credits for the hosiery and lingerie, but sadly there are none.  In the meantime, we can simply be inspired by the look and maybe do a simpler, small-scale version of this for ourselves!
By the way, here's one image from the V Magazine shoot we referenced above...

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Cervin Stockings

images courtesy of Cervin

As we prepare for the arrival of Cervin stockings here at Faire Frou Frou we wanted to make mention of their handsome website and their blog which is dedicated entirely to beautiful hosiery. You might be surprised to see how often stockings show up in editorial, but it really appears to be the accessory of choice these days.
Cervin is a French company that creates hundreds of varieties of hosiery, and really has a great niche market with their back-seam thigh highs/stockings. Often times well-known lingerie labels (for instance Fifi Chachnil) will have Cervin create their private label hosiery collection. It's pretty easy to see why.
To learn more about Cervin check out their website, and for those stockings addicts out there (which we are discovering there's quite a few of you!), check out their blog too!

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Stockings; as Interpreted by Katja Mayer

images courtesy of Katja Mayer, copyright 2009

The one common denominator in all of these photos is the standout stockings and hosiery. Photographer Katja Mayer has captured several models wearing decorative thigh highs, perhaps while each was practicing their stretches! Our favorite is the purple pair in the first picture, and of course we always love the vintage-looking seamed stockings. What's interesting is that stockings are such a simple item that make such a dramatic impact, particularly when it comes to fashion photography.
To see more of Katja's moody (in a good way), yet stricking work, visit her site.

A Brief Lesson in Hosiery

Whenever someone wants to spice up their lingerie ensemble, they typically end up adding hosiery to up the ante! We just wanted to provide a few basic concepts regarding hosiery, in order to make your purchasing decisions a bit easier.

Basically (and for purposes of this post we'll keep it brief), hosiery can be divided into a few different categories: tights, pantyhose, stockings, and thigh highs (no need to discuss socks here).

We will start with what we consider the sexiest: stockings. Stockings require a garter belt to keep them up on your leg. For those of you wishing to create a vintage look, this is the best way to go. More often than not, stockings are made from nylon rather than silk - this is due to the innovation at Dupont back in 1937. One of our best-selling stockings are those with the black seam along the back, which are very retro-inspired. See images below for example:

Photos below all via Wolford

The next category is the Thigh High (also known as Stay Ups). The thigh high is basically a stocking that can stay up without a garter belt because of the silicone strips around the top of the leg. See image below for an example.

Of course there are Pantyhose, which are nylons that extend up around your waist. Most of you have some experience wearing these! Pantyhose aren't just for the office anymore - they are a great way to accessorize. There are so many tasteful patterns out there that can really glamorize an outfit!

And lastly, there are Tights...good old tights. These are typically opaque and have a heavier consistency than pantyhose (which is why we all wore these to school on cold days when we were young girls). Tights can come in a variety of materials such as cotton and merino wool and have textures such as cable knit and ribbed (we wore the ribbed style back in the early 90s...in red...yikes!). Tights can be incredibly sexy, and we believe everyone should at least own a black pair to wear with high heels or boots. We just added some new hosiery styles to our store - check them out!