This morning I was watching “The View” and Elisabeth Hasselbeck was wearing this look. She donned an empire (reapeat after me, om-peer) dress which was black on top and beige on the bottom, black opaque tights and beige open-toed sling back shoes. I remember when this look hit some of the runways in the fall of 2009 or so and I didn’t really like it then either. Perhaps I am just old enough that I prefer the old rule of matching your stockings to your shoes, or at least wearing the darker color on your feet. What Elisabeth did was chop herself into segments visually. There was just too much contrast for my taste. Another option in her case could have been to go bare legged but New York winters aren’t exactly conducive to baring one’s toes.

Even if I were to abandon the old rules, I would prefer a longer legged look. I have heard from a few petite people that would like some tips for dressing tall and finding clothes that fit. This is a great place to start. Designers’ runway looks often need reinterpreting by the time they hit the streets. Some trends just don’t work and should be left to the leggy models who can get away with anything.