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&lt;p&gt;Welcome to Vault Law&amp;rsquo;s new feature: Fashion Fridays. Why so surprised? Everyone knows that after spending sixteen hours a day at the office, every lawyer gal&amp;rsquo;s best friend is Bloomingdales.com. What better way to fill the empty void than designer goods?&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The legal world has plenty of unwritten etiquette rules. Strolling the legal catwalk isn&amp;rsquo;t as easy as throwing on your go-to black dress and whatever shoes you can grab . . . or is it? That&amp;rsquo;s what we&amp;rsquo;re going to figure out here on Fashion Fridays: which legal-fashion rules are real, which should be tossed, and which should be created. And don&amp;rsquo;t worry, guys, we&amp;rsquo;ll have plenty of posts for you too.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But today, we&amp;rsquo;re focusing on the lady lawyers and asking: must female attorneys always don stockings when wearing a skirt or dress, or is it OK to go bare-legged? As some one who had to wear tights for four years of high school, I find stockings to be somewhat tortuous. So when I have an opportunity to ditch panty-hose, I normally do (except in the frigid temperatures of late). But my bare-leg preference became complicated when I entered the legal world and had to decide whether it was appropriate or not to get leggy. Ultimately, I ended up ditching the stockings on regular work days after observing my firm&amp;rsquo;s environment and how others dressed. It looks like I&amp;rsquo;m not alone here&amp;mdash;Margaret Davidson, Vault&amp;rsquo;s Manager of Editorial Research, thinks &amp;ldquo;you should wait to test the waters until you can get a sense of what is the norm within your own office.&quot;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;When it came to client meetings, depositions, and court appearances, though, I pulled those suckers on. And while I was interviewing, stockings ruled. To be honest, I never fully understood what the difference was between my own legs and nude-colored stockings. But in professional situations, when I was unsure how others would perceive bare legs, I wore stockings. Gina Salamone, Vault&amp;rsquo;s Client Service Manager, agrees and thinks whether or not one should wear stockings depends &amp;ldquo;on the level of professionalism that is expected in each office, since every company is different.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;div&gt;&lt;img style=&quot;max-width: 250px; display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;&quot; title=&quot;Runway&quot; src=&quot;http://www.vault.com/VCM/blogs/Runway.png&quot; alt=&quot;Runway&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;p&gt;&amp;nbsp;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Taking a slightly different view, Mary Sotomayor, Vault&amp;rsquo;s Senior Graphic Designer, thinks the professional choice is to stick with stockings: &amp;ldquo;I think unless you&amp;rsquo;re in the retail world or a rock star, it&amp;rsquo;s a little unprofessional to wear a dress or skirt without stockings.  Of course, it depends on the formality of your work environment, but as a rule of thumb I&amp;rsquo;d rather be safe than sorry.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;But maybe we should forget about what other people think and look to our own comfort and tastes. As Vault&amp;rsquo;s Associate Producer Cathryn Vandewater points out &amp;ldquo;even the most powerful women in corporate know they&amp;rsquo;ll look dated or out of touch with the orange-leg-thing going on. Anyone who needs a more conservative look should honestly just wear pants.&amp;rdquo; Still a fan of tights, though, Cathryn suggests &amp;ldquo;tights for winter, bare legs but skirt to-at-least-the-knee in the warmer months.&amp;rdquo;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;So what&amp;rsquo;s the verdict? I agree that the decision should be based on your office culture. Once you figure out how conservative, formal, modern or laid-back your office is, you can decide whether or not you should slip on some stockings. And if you&amp;rsquo;re entering an unknown or formal setting (like court), I say to wear them because as Mary points out, it&amp;rsquo;s better to be safe. While wearing stockings is never mandatory, it&amp;rsquo;s not worth it to risk your professional reputation. Finally, if you do opt for stockings, Cathryn&amp;rsquo;s point is an important one: make sure they look good. Wear panty-hose that match your skin tone (or buy solid-colored tights), and don&#39;t wear stockings with runs or holes.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;What&amp;rsquo;s your view on the stocking debate? Ditch em or wear em at the firm, an interview, court? Leave a comment below or connect with us on Twitter and weigh in.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Got some opinions on legal fashion? Are you a fashion guru who also happens to practice law? Vault Law wants to hear from you! Email Mary Kate at mksheridan@vault.com.&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;FOLLOW VAULT LAW ON TWITTER! @VaultLaw&lt;br&gt; SIGN UP FOR VAULT&amp;rsquo;S LAW CAREER NEWSLETTER: VAULT&amp;rsquo;S VERDICT! &lt;/strong&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

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