Oh hello darling, and welcome back to September on benpechey.com. Where we will continue September’s fashion content.
One of the biggest hurdles to our style - and freedom as an extension of this - are the things that hold us back. Some of these things are social, learnt from the culture and perceptions around us in society. The rest are often self-imposed.
Exploring the concept of my gender through fashion has been a wonderful key in the lock moment for me. However, this was not a linear process. Dresses have always held such an allure to me, and have been in my wardrobe for the past three years. The first couple of years didn’t live up to the freeing moment I expected. The emancipation that lay in the fabric, was halted by my insecurities.
Unlocking level-dress meant that I had to explore my legs. I think up until this point I had taken them for granted. Suddenly in the context of a dress, my legs seemed strangely blotchy, long and too exposed. I would only wear dresses with jeans or trousers. It was a personal frustration to me that I wasn’t able to move past this.
This all changed for me - look at me making this sound dramatic like a reality tv voiceover moment - when I found that tights worked for my style. They bridged the gap between being exposed but also provided the comfort of covered legs. My first explorations fitted badly & didn’t last much longer than one wear, they rolled down or just weren’t long enough. The missing element was inclusive tight brands.
Snag tights were a firm favourite of my sister and mum, and I naturally fell into them as a place to try. The brilliant thing is, that Snag lives up to their claims, making garments for all bodies that fit. Their tights are comfortable, well-fitting, wash well, and last as a product. They also have super-inclusive branding and marketing.
I also have recently fallen in love with Better tights, who are similar in process, perhaps a smaller size range capping at 26 to Snag’s 32, but still with sensational products - thank you to Sara Brown for introducing me to them!
However, I digress. Tights were the thing I needed, they took all the pressure off dresses and skirts. This was very much the last hurdle of my own making. Tights allowed me to embrace all lengths of dresses sans trousers, and have allowed me to further push what my gender means to me. It is silly how one small garment has given me such freedom. Freedom, that in warmer months has allowed me to go tights free too - quite the personal coup I tell you!
If you are looking for an arc to this tights tale, I would say it is this; never underestimate how much of a difference small changes can make for you. This applies of course to fashion and dressing, but can also be extrapolated to wider personal ventures.
So there you have it, tights changed my life, and we love to see it!
Shot by Rachel Pechey
