Vermont Cynic

Issue date: 11/14/06 Section: Life and Style

Media Credit: vermont cynic

Post Halloween, my boyfriend (who doesn't live around here, thank God) called and asked what my costume had been. Apparently, "naughty school girl" was not the correct answer.

His main concern was the fishnets.

Fishnet tights, according to him, have no fashion purpose other than to seduce the opposite
sex. His response to my costume was something along the lines of, "I can't believe you would wear something like that without me around. You're just asking for attention. Those are the most revealing things a girl can wear."

Disregarding the fact that he sounded like a case straight from a domestic violence handbook, he had raised the age-old question: Are fishnets trendy or trashy?

It's true that people - and girls especially - wear what they do to get attention. This does not mean they're looking to have men trailing behind them, drooling small rivers. Half the time, girls are showing off to other girls.

That's right guys: the female psyche is immeasurably more interesting than yours. Because of the ridiculous amount of interest girls have in each other's clothing, it's harder to impress girls, and therefore it's a feat much more worthy of accomplishing.

The opinions of men become null, because no matter what they think, they'll ultimately be more curious about what's underneath the fishnets, and it's easier to spray them with mace than some chick giving you the death stare from across the Marché.

But trying to pass fishnets off as a trendy idea to other women can be harder than walking up Pearl Street at 3:00 a.m. in stilettos. I can honestly say that women pay more attention to the fashion world around them than men do. That's not just because we wear things like clean underwear and socks sometimes.

The trick is to have confidence in what you're wearing. I chose to don the fishnets on Oct. 31st because my suite-mate (who has two X chromosomes most of the time) told me to wear them since they looked good with the outfit. Right then, the decision to wear the tights was justified: I had another girl's approval, and the resulting confidence to stare right back at the chick who was staring at me at Lambda.

Just because the porn industry has defiled the reputation of fishnets does not mean that common people shouldn't wear them. Personally, I think the accoutrement is one of high versatility. Depending on how you wear them, they can be punk, '60s, gothic, or grunge whether it be Halloween or any other day of the year.

If all else fails, remember that no one will doubt your fashion skills if you wear fishnets with a short skirt and Playboy bunny ears. Just be sure it's Halloween.

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