Style Help!

I need help from my more stylish friends—or friends who have any knowledge at all about clothing. As you can well imagine after reading this blog for years, my knowledge extends to asking, "Is it clean?" So, I'm a bit out of my depth here.

This is what I need to know: what is the current thinking on pantyhose/stockings on the east coast if you are not Lady GaGa?

I've eschewed all things pantyhose since moving to SoCal. It's one of the best things about this place. When it gets down to a frigid 60, I wear black, opaque tights. Otherwise, my legs are gloriously unsheathed (or are protected in trousers when shaving or the weather is difficult). Most of my trips back east in the last 10 years have either been very, very casual, or during the summer when this was not an issue. Sadly, the luck has run out, and I will be in NY at some point in November. I will need to dress in a business-like manner, but pants don't quite cut it. So… what's the pantyhose rule? Are black stockings (rather than tights) going to peg me as hopelessly out of date? Do they need to have patterns on them—much like all the stockings I wore in the 1980s?

Also, is Carson correct—are red shoes only for whores? Because I have an incredible pair of red heels…which I also can't figure out how to wear unless I'm stockingless. Sigh.

I wait for your wisdom.

Kate