What Color Pantyhose to Wear for Interviews
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Hunting for sheer tights, aka pantyhose? As of 2025, readers like this affordable pair, as well as fancier options like Wolford or Oroblu — and plus-size readers swear by Berkshire. There are even sheer FLEECE tights! !
Have you ever wondered what color pantyhose to wear to interviews?
Last week we asked two poll questions, so we thought we'd take give you guys a break from all the onerous button-pushing and give you updates on how the polls went.
It turns out we were 100% wrong about wearing off-black pantyhose to interviews — which just goes to show, you can make a major fashion faux pas and still end up with a good gig.
66% of readers thought you should wear nude pantyhose for interviews.
In fact, in our poll on pantyhose colors, 66% of you said nude pantyhose was the way to go, 20% of you said no pantyhose at all was needed for an interview (!!! we're trying to figure out if this is the pants-wearing contingent? the California contingent? the Gen Y contingent?) and a mere 12% said anything in the black family was appropriate.
Looking back, we should have seen the writing on the wall when the WSJ had its big story on Erin Callan, “Lehman's Straight Shooter” (which then morphed into big debates about her choice of shoes — yes, seriously (props to Ms. JD for calling it a “hoary conversation“).
(And, if you weren't following along, she got demoted soon after, although we've heard no connection between her footwear or pantyhose choices.)
{related: If you're on the hunt for all the interview suits, check out our roundup of the best women's suits of 2024!}
As of 2024, some of our favorite mid-range suits for women (which sometimes have such frequent sales that they come down to the same range as our “budget” suits) include Ann Taylor, J.Crew, Talbots, Banana Republic, Brooks Brothers, and Antonio Melani. (Talbots and J.Crew usually have plus sizes, and the others offer petites.)
Commenters gave shout-outs to higher-end brands (Spanx, Victoria's Secret's thigh-highs, DKNY sheers, Calvin Klein sheers, Donna Karan nudes, Ann Taylor pantyhose) as well as drugstore brands (L'eggs Sheer Elegance Control Top, Hanes pantyhose, Jockey pantyhose, and “Berkshires in bulk” for interviewing).
Regarding our poll regarding whether women should button their coats to stand and unbutton them to sit — you guys are pretty evenly divided. Which, really, means it's anyone's call regarding whether to unbutton your suit or not.
53% of you said that yes, sometimes, suits should be buttoned (that includes the 8% of you who said this should absolutely be done); another 45% of you said that women didn't have to do that.
(Which, we've realized, does not add up to 100% — perhaps it's time to find a new polling widget?)
Psst: here are some of our favorite tights for work if you're on the hunt…
(plus Berkshire for plus sizes — and here are two great fleece-lined options — and here's a great way to store tights!)
The polls are hysterical considering that in LA, people show up for interviews with facial piercings. They wear baseball caps and don’t ever take them off (even in nice restaurants) and grown men wear capris.
Are you an HR professional in the Los Angeles area? Is this something you can personally attest to or is it just provincial ingnorance masquerading as reactionary ettiquette?
Like you I know that pantyhose, especially the cheaper lines, can be very maddening but have found a brand that makes my legs look and feel their best: Hanes Silk Reflections. They have a wide variety of colors, come in sheer-to-waist or control top (which does not cut me in half) and they feel like a silky second skin on my legs! This gentleman simply LOVES his Hanes!
giving a presentation on corporate dress and panty hose are a must but finding pictures of women w/ hosiery and suits isn’ t the easiest to find
http://blog.imagebylauren.com