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SCMP Reporter

THINK of legwear as a cheap thrill. For $12 and up, up, up, you can change an outfit from casual to dressy. You can show off your sense of humour, give insight into your personality or jazz up last season's investment buy.

    And you can indulge in a little pleasure shopping without breaking the budget.

  Spring-summer legwear takes its fashion cues from ready-to-wear. When designers jumped on the short-skirt bandwagon, legwear manufacturers offered women imperfection-hiding opaque options, with a little Lycra for added control.

   Now that skirts are long and slit, crocheted, mesh or macrame stockings are peeking through and snagging glances.

  Lovers of the grunge look have opted for fishnet stockings and ankle-skimming socks with sandals or masculine-style boots.

  A pair of opaque stockings worn under this summer's chiffon skirt or pants can turn an ensemble from risque to sexy.

  Okay. That's the word from fashion scribes in Europe and the United States. But what about steamy Hongkong?   ''Stockings are not healthy in our weather,'' opines designer Roddy Leung. ''With the grunge look, you don't need them. And with sandals or platform shoes, they're not necessary.

  ''The power of colour in the past seasons dictated the stocking trends. In 1991, the colours were shocking. So were the stockings.

 ''But for the next season, we're not emphasising colours. And if the trend continues, the stocking manufacturers will think more about texture and construction than colours.''    Designer Peter Lau begs to differ. ''I include stockings, even in the summer,'' says the owner of the XCVIII boutiques. ''Most Chinese women wear them by habit. Seldom do they bare their legs, unless going to the beach.

  ''For daily life - going shopping, lunch, the office, women want to look professional. Stockings are always an accent and require co-ordination.

  ''Women can buy very expensive designer stockings or inexpensive ones in the supermarket. But, in fashion, the wearer must co-ordinate between stockings, shoes and clothes.''   Then we asked the retailers ''what's hot'' and got these responses.

  ''Sheer'' is the word from Christine Choi, merchandise controller, Marks & Spencer. ''We're selling denier as low as seven and shades of bamboo and ivory or anything close to leg tones.''   Stockings or thigh-high styles requiring no garters outsell pantyhose in the summer. ''They're cooler and stay-ups (thigh-high stockings that reach mid-thigh and stay up with elasticised tops) are very popular''. Prices range from $29 to $49.

   ''The look this summer? The 60s,'' says Phyllis Kwan, operations manager for three H&A Sock Shop outlets.

  Fishnet styles dominate in soda fountain shades, she explained. Tones range from cotton candy pink, lemon and lime to mocha and black.

  A boon to wearers is innovation in fabric technology. ''It used to be nylon and Lycra. Now, it's micro-fibre (a type of Lycra that fits snugger, gives more support and is more sheer).

  Wild patterns and colours are not for the majority of her customers who are mainly Chinese. ''They just want comfortable pantyhose in neutral colours.''    Helena Lee doesn't mince words when it comes to trends. ''Fishnets. Fishnets. Everyone wants them,'' reports the manager of Fogel, an exclusive Swiss speciality legwear store in Central.

  ''It's probably a return to the 50s. Everything in fashion is cyclical,'' laughs Lee. At Fogel, women can buy pantyhose for the office for $160, a sexy pair of textured stockings in dragonfly motif for $860 or $1,400 or more for a glittery stone-encrusted style.

  Hongkong's heat dents sales slightly. ''Europeans and Americans go bare legged. They're more casual and feel comfortable that way. Not Chinese. It's just not done.''   At Seibu, knit patterns are very popular, especially with the denim crowd. Buyer Cathy Choy reports that the fine and coarse/net mesh patterns are teamed up this season with worn-out jeans and denim shorts. As for leg ornaments, adhesive stones and motifs and centre back piping are what customers buy.

  Conservative and elegant may not be thrilling. But such styles in neutral shades are consistently solid sellers, according to Christy Wong, general manager, Marguerite Lee. But every time the wedding bell tolls, more lace stockings with garter belts go out the door.

   At Joyce Boutique, fishnets continue in demand. And trailing behind is white cotton socks, according to buyer Eva Shun.

  ''Women wear them with a masculine-style boot, a long skirt or sandals.

 The grunge look makes black fishnets in demand.''   Shun agrees micro-fibre is the favoured fabric. ''It is very soft and not as shiny as silk. Hongkong women don't want the shiny look.'' 



The hole truth about hot legs