TikTok's latest fashion craze? Tights as pants

Celebrity starlets such as Kylie Jenner and Hailey Bieber have swapped their pants out for tights. (Photo: Getty)
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Hitting the farmer's market to pick up flowers or meeting your friends at a fancy restaurant without pants is likely the premise of many people's worst nightmare. But thanks to the unwavering influence of the Jenner sisters and the luck of TikTok's trend cycle, forgoing pants in favor of sheer tights is the latest trend pushing the needle on the adage less is more.

So why are fashion It girls like Hailey Bieber and Kendall Jenner ditching their trousers in favor of sheer tights?

The look made its way to the mainstream during Bottega Vennetta's Spring 2023 ready-to-wear show in September. The runway model sashayed down the catwalk a knit sweater, sheer black tights and a pair of slingback heels.

While sending a model down the runway seemingly underdressed turned heads, it was the influence of model and 818 founder Kendall Jenner that brought the look onto For You Pages (FYP) everywhere.

Jenner was spotted rocking the exact same look in November while leaving a photoshoot in Los Angeles.

Not to be outdone, her sister Kylie Jenner donned a similar version of the look in September during Paris Fashion Week at Loewe's Spring/Summer 2023 fashion show.

The combination of the Jenner sisters' propensity for virality and the insatiable quest for the next big thing on TikTok has led to a medley of users giving their own take on the pantsless trend.

"I saw Kendall's first and I was like, 'Whoa,'" Stephanie Koutsoukos, a 27-year-old content creator and fan of the body-baring trend, tells Yahoo Life. "I was like, 'Oh, this looks kind of cool.' And so I was like, I'm just going to try it out for my events tonight."

Koutsoukos, who lives in New York and has nearly 25,000 followers on TikTok, chose to pair the look with a Fendi bathing suit, an oversized blazer and chunky black heels. Her January styling video raked in over 4 million views and more than 500,000 likes.

Risky looks of this caliber are not Koutsoukos's typical style, but she hoped the daring ensemble would get her creative juices flowing again.

"I'm definitely more into classic pieces but I was just kind of in a rut so I decided to kind of branch out and try this out," she says.

And since she works in the content creation space, daring looks are par for the course.

"People said it looked great, but [I was at] an influencer event. And I feel like in New York, at least, people go all out with their outfits at these events," she explains.

As to be expected, she did receive a few odd looks from people while taking photos before heading out for the night.

"When we were shooting [photos] in Grand Central Station, we got a few stares. No one said anything, but we definitely had people staring," says Koutsoukos.

Still, Koutsoukos is planning different ways to style the look.

"I would probably do all black and then a really oversized tan blazer to balance it out, but I would do it again," she says. "I felt super confident."

As the trend has gained momentum, others keep trying it out and showing it off on social media. Sandra Damian wanted to put her own spin on the barely-there getup, but wasn't sure if it would work on her body type.

"I hadn't really seen anybody try that one yet that had a curvier body like me," Damian, a content creator based in California, tells Yahoo Life. "I thought, 'OK, everyone that I'm seeing wear this trend has a very particular look, and I don't really fit into that look. So let's see how it would work with someone who was a fuller, curvier figure."

Damian shared the look on TikTok, asking "Is it a fit, or is she just skinny?"

While Damian ultimately loved the trend with the right styling, in terms of wearability, she says it's a hard pass.

"Would I wear it again? Probably not. I understand why it's appealing to some people because it's different from all the baggy clothes people are wearing nowadays. But is it practical? Not for me," she says.

While it's one thing for a trend to take off on TikTok, the jury is still out on whether or not it will catch on with the general public.

Sierra Mayhew, a fashion editor at Who What Wear, says it's more likely serve as a jumping-off point for similar but less risqué looks.

"Trends are a great way to get an overview of what people will be wearing," Mayhew tells Yahoo Life. "I think people are going to wear short skirts and tights and this trend is a more dramatic way to go about it."

Still, she doesn't see it catching on for those outside the celebrity and influencer space.

"When it goes out to the regular everyday consumer, it'll be more of something that inspires them to wear a pair of tights and a micro miniskirt or Daisy Duke shorts shorts," says Mayhew.

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